Cinderella

Directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi, Cinderella follows Ilene Woods’ title character as she attempts to escape a harsh existence underneath the thumb of her wicked stepmother (Eleanor Audley’s Lady Tremaine). Filmmakers Jackson, Luske, and Geronimi deliver a predominantly engrossing fairy tale that benefits from its gorgeous animation and assortment of compelling characters, and it’s clear, too, that the picture’s proliferation of agreeable attributes, including a selection of memorable periphery figures (eg Drizella and Anastasia, Jaq and Gus, etc), perpetuate the compulsively watchable atmosphere. And while the midsection is perhaps not quite as tightly-constructed as one might’ve hoped, Cinderella, which contains a handful of legitimately iconic songs, builds towards an impressively (and unexpectedly) thrilling, ticking-clock climax wherein Cinderella strives to try on that infamous glass slipper – which does, in the end, confirm the movie’s place as a justifiably celebrated animated endeavor from Disney.

***1/2 out of ****