Cinderella

Plot

In this silent animated short, Cinderella is depicted as the 'ash girl' who endures harsh treatment from her two wicked stepsisters while performing endless menial labor. Meanwhile, the handsome prince of the territory is occupied with hunting bears until his father, the king, decrees a grand ball inviting everyone in the country. Cinderella's fairy godmother magically appears, transforming her rags into a beautiful gown and providing transportation to the ball, where the prince immediately falls in love with her. As midnight strikes, Cinderella flees the palace, losing one of her glass slippers in her haste. The prince, determined to find his mysterious love, searches the entire territory with the lost slipper, eventually finding Cinderella and living happily ever after with her.

Historical Background

The early 1920s was a transformative period for American cinema and animation. Silent films were at their peak, with stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton dominating the box office. Animation was still in its infancy, with pioneers like Winsor McCay and the Fleischer Brothers establishing the medium's potential. The post-World War I economic boom was giving way to the Roaring Twenties, but regional film production centers like Kansas City struggled to compete with Hollywood's growing dominance. Disney's Laugh-O-Gram Studio represented one of many attempts to establish animation production outside of California. The film industry was transitioning from short subjects to feature-length productions, though animation remained primarily in the short format. This period also saw the rise of movie palaces and the standardization of film distribution networks, making it increasingly difficult for independent producers to survive.

Making Of

The production of Cinderella took place during a critical period in Walt Disney's career. Working out of his Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Disney and his small team of animators worked tirelessly to produce fairy tale adaptations for local theater chains. The studio operated on extremely limited resources, with Disney often sleeping at the office and eating beans to save money. The animation was created using traditional cel techniques, with each frame drawn by hand. Disney himself contributed significantly to the animation process, working alongside artists like Ub Iwerks, who would later become his key collaborator. The studio's financial struggles meant that these shorts had to be produced quickly and cheaply, yet they still showed early signs of Disney's innovative approach to storytelling and animation. The failure of the Laugh-O-Gram Studio shortly after this film's release led Disney to relocate to Hollywood with little more than his animation skills and determination.

Visual Style

As an animated short from the silent era, the cinematography refers to the camera work used to photograph the animation cels. The film was created using traditional cel animation techniques, with drawings inked onto transparent celluloid sheets and photographed against backgrounds. The animation was likely shot on 16mm or 35mm film using standard animation cameras of the period. The visual style reflects the limitations of early animation, with relatively simple character designs and limited movement compared to later Disney works. The black and white format required strong contrast in the drawings to ensure clarity on screen. The camera work would have been static, focusing on the animated action without the complex camera movements that would later become a hallmark of Disney animation.

Innovations

While technically primitive by modern standards, this film represented the standard animation techniques of its time. The use of cel animation was still relatively new in 1922, having been popularized only a few years earlier. Disney and his team were working to refine their animation techniques, experimenting with character movement and timing. The film demonstrates early attempts at personality animation, where characters show distinct emotions and personalities through their movements. The production also showed Disney's early understanding of story structure and pacing in animated form. These technical and artistic foundations, though basic, would serve as the building blocks for Disney's later innovations in animation technology and technique.

Music

As a silent film, Cinderella (1922) had no synchronized soundtrack. The music would have been provided live by theater pianists or small organists who would improvise or use standard cue sheets appropriate for the mood of each scene. The accompaniment would typically include classical pieces, popular songs of the era, and original improvisations timed to match the on-screen action. For fairy tale subjects like Cinderella, musicians often used light, romantic themes for the romantic scenes and more dramatic, sometimes comical music for the scenes with the stepsisters. The lack of recorded sound meant that the storytelling relied entirely on visual elements, intertitles for dialogue, and the musical interpretation of the live accompanist.

Memorable Scenes

• The magical transformation scene where Cinderella's fairy godmother appears and transforms her rags into a beautiful ball gown, representing one of Disney's early attempts at magical effects in animation
• The midnight escape sequence where Cinderella flees the palace, losing her slipper on the stairs, creating tension and urgency through visual storytelling
• The prince's bear hunting scene, a unique addition to the traditional Cinderella story that showcases Disney's early tendency to add action elements to fairy tales

What Critics Said

Contemporary critical reception of this specific short is difficult to determine due to the limited documentation of reviews for regional animated shorts during this period. Local newspapers in Kansas City likely mentioned it as part of their coverage of the Laugh-O-Gram series, but these reviews have not been widely preserved. Modern animation historians and film scholars view the film primarily as an important historical artifact rather than as a standalone artistic achievement. Critics today recognize it as evidence of Disney's early talent and his developing approach to animation and storytelling, though it's generally considered primitive compared to Disney's later work. The film is valued more for its place in Disney's biography and animation history than for its artistic merits.

What Audiences Thought

Audience reception in 1922 would have been limited to moviegoers in Kansas City and surrounding areas where the Laugh-O-Gram shorts were distributed. The fairy tale format was popular with audiences of all ages during the silent era, and these shorts likely served as entertaining fillers between feature presentations. Children would have been particularly drawn to the animated format and familiar story. The film's reception among local audiences was probably positive enough to encourage Disney to continue producing similar shorts, though the studio's financial failure suggests that audience appeal alone wasn't sufficient to sustain the business. Modern audiences rarely have the opportunity to see this film due to its fragmentary survival and limited availability, though animation enthusiasts and Disney historians express great interest in it as a historical curiosity.

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