Lady Tremaine is Mother Gothel lite. She doesn’t have the screentime Gothel does, but she has a lot of the same mannerisms. She’s extremely passive aggressive and manipulative. Unlike Lucifer who delights in directly antagonizing the mice and Cinderella, Lady Tremaine does so indirectly. It’s clear she delights in torturing Cinderella, but she does so in the mind. It’s a unique type of evil that works perfectly for the film. Of all the leads, Lady Tremaine is really the only one with any sort of personality. She is clearly jealous of Cinderella’s charm and beauty, and yearns to upgrade her own status. She has clear goals and a deliciously evil personality. I’m glad Disney revisited this archetype with Mother Gothel, as it’s certainly a unique sort of evil that I personally like to see.
The songs in Cinderella are good but not great. As a whole they’re very solid, but they don’t have many standouts. “Cinderella” is my favorite of the bunch, as I love the voices of the mice and their can-do attitude throughout the song. The scene itself is very iconic, as the idea of mice and other forest animals helping to fashion a dress has since been copied in a number of different media. “Sing Sweet Nightingale” is my second favorite of the bunch, and it’s beautifully sung by Ilene Woods. “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” is arguably the most famous of the bunch, but it’s a little lacking in the vocal department. I love the art direction for the sequence, but not so much the song. “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” is another big single from the film, but always seemed a little boring to me. It does have a good message though, and its theme served as the main theme throughout the entire film. Each of these songs are good in their own way, although independently none would make my top 20. They make up a very solid soundtrack for a great film.
Cinderella is a good film. Perhaps I’m blinded by its status as a classic, but I genuinely enjoy watching it a lot. It’s one of those rare films that I could watch over and over again and not get sick of it. It always flies by when I watch it, and there isn’t really a boring sequence where I struggle to maintain my focus. Its leads are a bit flat, but the soundtrack and dreamlike atmosphere are fantastic. Its message may be a little naïve, but to young dreamers I think it’s great. Maybe combine the film with Pinocchio or The Sword in the Stone just to make sure kids understand they need to learn and go to school to become successful as well. Dreaming isn’t everything!
Next Up: Another classic falls.