- It was my first Disney film and my first favorite film.
- Cinderella, the character, was my first favorite character.
- The film caused the story of Cinderella to become my first favorite fairytale in general and thus I had to watch/read everything Cinderella-related.
- Because of this I fell in love with Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Lesley Ann Warren and it became my first musical.
- It was my first real go-to-thing when playing make believe: I was ALWAYS Cinderella. I would beg to play with my grandmother's tea kettle. I even begged her to let me wash her kitchen floor with a rag. (Yes, children are impressionable goofballs. That can't be disputed.)
- One of the picture storybooks based on the film was also the first book I ever "read" and by that I mean, it was the first piece of literature I ever memorized by heart. I asked to have it read to me so often that I eventually got to the point I would "read" it out loud to myself instead.
- Cinderella was the first Halloween costume I picked out for myself (you know, not those bunny and pumpkin costumes your parents pick out for you when you're a baby haha).
I can safely say Cinderella was my first love and the very first formative fictional thing in my life.
I literally can see the influence of Cinderella throughout my life and because of this, I will always have a hard time discussing it. My first instinct is to gush about how 1. I adore the Walt Disney film and 2. how much I will always be a sucker for other renditions of the classic fairytale. I have yet to get tired of the story.
And even though there have been other characters and stories that have come along to take the top spots as favorites, I will always without hesitation say that Cinderella simultaneously shares the position of honor in my heart that those things do because it/she was first and because the impact it has on me and emotion it creates in me has been so unwavering through the years.
I began this post to gush about the 1950 Disney masterpiece that started my love affair. I wanted to talk about the characters, the art, the music, the aesthetic, the behind the scenes stuff, and more. But instead it turned into me tackling the criticisms often hurled at Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the general plot because that's something I'm passionate about combatting. You know, the criticisms that all three are problematic and horrible for impressionable girls.
Cinderella
There's a reason little girls should aspire to be the Cinderella of this film and it has nothing to do with the misconception that it teaches girls to accept abuse and marry a prince to escape said abuse.
But, yes, the abuse is there, needs to be addressed, and is even more chilling than most casual fans typically recall or even acknowledge when critiquing the film. If you listen closely to the narration at the beginning of the film, it specifically says that Cinderella was not immediately made a servant in her own home. Instead it says the home first fell into disrepair and the money squandered on the stepsisters - implying that the servants were discharged and Cinderella left to see her beloved home fall apart (my pet headcanon is that she likely began trying to take care of it herself because of her love for her father's memory and this made it easier for her to be pushed into the role of servant). But what is most chilling is that the narration says Cinderella was "abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become a servant in her own house." Think about it. That means she was abused and humiliated APART from and BEFORE becoming a servant. She was abused and humiliated in other ways than being forced to be a servant in her own home. We have no idea how long it took for the money to be squandered or how long she was abused/humiliated before becoming a servant. We don't know if this abuse was strictly emotional or also physical. We just don't know.
So why exactly didn't she run? That's the question everyone asks. "You're teaching girls to be weak! You're teaching them not to stand up for themselves and their agency. You're teaching them if they can just be perfect enough, someone will save them eventually!" Yeah on a pedestrian level, it can be problematic through a modern lens. But fairytales aren't supposed to be viewed through a modern lens or accepted as gospel guides to life. They're supposed to show us the cruelty, the frailty of life. Walt Disney just happened to be an optimist who preferred the happy endings to be a little more rewarding. Instead of seeing Cinderella as a strong, independent woman living in 2015 we see a character in a society where a woman's power is defined by her pomp and wealth and it's up to her to achieve it by one means or another. Cinderella is the victim of abuse in a society where abuse can't possibly be understood the way we understand it now (and even now so many poor children, women, and men are abused and also don't run because of one psychological justification or another that makes them stay).
Note: To support this, and later arguments regarding societal expectations/power structure, the opening narration even states that the kingdom is rich in Romance and Tradition. Meaning, there are outside forces at work here.
What I love about Cinderella, and what we should be teaching our young girls from the get go when they fall in love with Cinderella (instead of assuming they don't have the critical skills to understand) is how Cinderella takes the power scheme and flips it on its head.
We see a contrast between Lady Tremaine, and by extension her daughters, and Cinderella.
Lady Tremaine works within the limited power constraints allowed her by society, the ones I mentioned earlier, as do her daughters. Lady Tremaine clearly believes, or at least it's easily implied, that the only way she can be a successful woman is through money and marriage. She had one husband before, but he died. She had to deceive in order to catch herself another man for provision. Conveniently he dies too and that's okay so long as she still has his fortune to squander on vanity. But then the money starts to run out. What's to be done? What we see in the context of the film is that she turns her stepdaughter into convenient, free service and then fixes her sights on having one of her daughters catch a prince.
On the flipside of this, Cinderella courageously accepts her lowered status in life (as sad as that may seem to some). While we don't know if she was threatened to be kicked out/sold if she didn't work as a servant, we do know that she works in exchange for a place to live and food to eat. That means she's got a different kind of hustle than Lady Tremaine. She could try to run out and find another way of living, maybe through a loveless marriage, but she doesn't. She works and maintains her integrity while doing so. She uses her brain, her willpower, her ingenuity, hard work, etc. to survive. Through it all, she remains kind and dreamy, not abandoning her values, but at the same time people tend to overlook her low-key sass and spunk. She has a curt tongue when she feels like it!
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| People hate on this dress, but I can't because it was her mother's and made for her by those who love her. |
From a feminist standpoint, Lady Tremaine exercises power through internalized misogyny - relying on money from marriage and lording over another woman who she views as a threat. Whereas, Cinderella exercises power over herself and her circumstances, and has a confidence in herself that keeps her from feeling threatened by others the majority of the time (e.g. she couldn't care less that Lady Tremaine has tried to keep her from revealing herself to the Duke; once she's free she runs right down those stairs and does her thing even if there could be consequences!)
Another key moment of her development comes when she finally does give up on her dreams - the scene where she runs with tattered dress to the garden. Do you know why this is so important and how discouraging it is that so many people just don't get it???? It's important because this is the first time ON SCREEN we see Cinderella physically abused and denied her human rights. When Cinderella stood up to Lady Tremaine about the invitation, she was fighting for agency and for her right to go to the ball. She was telling Lady Tremaine in other words, "How dare you try to deny something that the government has given me access to." That's weakness? Thus, when she thinks she is able to go (thanks to her animal friends who, by the way, wouldn't have been around to even help her if she hadn't helped them first, so it's not like Cinderella didn't help herself at all in that situation) only to have her right viciously ripped from her, that's when the abuse is too much. Working as a servant she had integrity, determination, and hope. Having a right given to her and then taken away is the straw that breaks the camel's back. That means, underlying all this is a subtle feminist message - the message that THIS. IS. NOT. OKAY. Being treated like that or treating someone like that is the quickest way to a broken spirit.
That's why I don't understand why people want to criticize Cinderella for being weak. Her weakness was wanting to keep her head up in the face of adversity? Her weakness was wanting not to treat others the way she was constantly treated, as we see revealed in her kindness to animals? If that is weakness then the unfortunate implication is that Lady Tremaine, who went out there and hustled to get ahead in life, taking no heed for anyone but herself and her daughters, is the strong one. And if that kind of cruelty is viewed as strength, well, then is it any wonder how messy society is these days?
If Cinderella's compassion is weakness, then I'll gladly go on following her example. But the truth is, she wasn't weak.
Prince Charming
What about the prince? Isn't he just shallow? Doesn't he just fall for Cinderella because she's gorgeous? Trophy wife, yeah?
I would like to personally watch the movie with each person who thinks this and do a play-by-play of the scenes where the King and Duke are talking. Because, just like Cinderella, Charming is trapped in a society with expectations and trying to resist them rather than conform. The King expects him to settle down with the first woman who is good enough and who will make a suitable mother. The King is acting patriarchal and trying to shove those rules of patriarchy onto his son. He scoffs at the idea of true love, implying it's really just lust anyhow ("the right conditions") and he insists that it's his son's duty to get married and get cracking at making grandbabies for him before he dies. He has no consideration whatsoever for the woman.
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| 10,000% DONE. Thinking about jumping out the window tbh. |
But none of this is Charming's idea. He wants love. He's not about to settle into a loveless marriage just for the sake of what's expected of him. We don't know what else is in Charming's history, but we do know that he's simply not interested in any of the women parading in front of him at the palace. He's bored of the pageantry/fakeness of it all and knows exactly what his father is up to and still resisting.
Cinderella catches his eye because she's different. Is there lust and chemicals and lightning striking and all that jazz? Of course. It's called romance for a reason. All of a sudden it's as if maybe, just maybe, he was wrong and a woman worth being interested in has shown up after all. So what does he do? He doesn't make her play the silly game of parading herself like all the others. He goes to her, shows that he's interested, and she accepts his invitation to dance. Then, after all the ringing bells, they spend time alone, away from the pageantry. It's presented as a musical montage, but it's important to note that it's a duet signifying that both are attracted to one another and in realization that this is something special. Again, this is the part where it's supposed to be romantic so suspension of belief is always going to be necessary. Since we know they weren't really singing, then you could just as easily fill this montage space with them talking about themselves, their hopes, their views on life, etc. (You know, the thing that modern adaptations of the fairytale rightly try to expand upon.) People who don't understand this, probably lack critical analyzation skills and have to have things spelled out letter by letter to comprehend what's going on.
Is Charming above criticism? Nope. Not at all. He should have gone looking for her instead of the Duke. And that's where the plot gets a little thin and we just can't know why. I mean, from a behind the scenes standpoint, the artists just didn't want to draw Charming all that much more and because sending the Duke by himself allows for comedy during an otherwise dramatic spanse of film. Additionally, it's convenient writing because I'm pretty sure Charming would have taken one look at both Anastasia and Drizella and known it wasn't either of them so there would have been no time for Cinderella to escape before he took his leave. Within the context of the film we're left to assume there were other things that prevented his going door to door himself - and the best bet would fall back on the King and the necessity to keep Charming safe, keep pompous appearances, etc. Sending an ambassador reeks of royal protocol.
Other Criticisms?
The Fairy Godmother has to swoop in and save the day.
Only, she really doesn't. She only manifests after Cinderella gives up. First, it implies that Cinderella didn't need help before that moment. She was strong and doing well on her own. What Fairy Godmother does for Cinderella when she does show up is help her help herself. She doesn't wave her wand and make the prince fall in love with her or magically make her life a million times better! She merely restores to her the basic right that was stolen from her: in this case, the right to go to a ball she was invited to, that she desperately wanted/deserved to go to, and that she would have gone to if not for injustice.
Theres is nothing problematic about this because Cinderella's struggle in that moment is a real struggle that exists to this day. Sometimes people will try to deny you access to what you know is your right and, yes, sometimes you will need help. Sometimes a miracle or somebody else coming along and caring about your struggle and helping you pick yourself back up and encouraging you to go try again is what it takes to succeed.
It's up to Cinderella after that point to decide what to do with this help. She goes to the ball and all on her own manages to have a good time and fall in love.
Okay, but she still has to fall in love and get married to escape.
It's still a story about true love conquering all, so obviously she falls in love. And there's nothing wrong with that. People fall in love every day. Stop trying to shame romantic types just because we have reached a point in history where we also value independence and non-romantic relationships. Cinderella could have gone to the ball, become best friends with the prince, told him about her situation, and he could have stepped in, no strings attached. Yes, that would have been just as great and valid. If you want that story, then write it and get it out there! I mean it! It deserves to be told too!
But in the context of this movie, it really goes back to flipping societal expectations on their heads while still working in the confines of said society. Cinderella's father (Lord Tremaine?) thinks it's best and proper to give Cinderella a mother so remarries for the sake of doing so. Lady Tremaine's previous husband is dead, possibly implying she needs another husband for provision, and so she marries for the sake of it. Lady Tremaine expects her daughters to marry well. The King expects his son to marry period. It's all loveless and hollow.
Cinderella doesn't care about going to the ball to land the prince and better her position/broker her freedom and spends the whole night enjoying herself and falling in love with a man she doesn't even realize is the prince. Charming doesn't care about finding a wife and mother for his future children and ends up finding one anyhow. Both achieve what they set out to do: 1. go to the ball and enjoy herself as she has a right to 2. find love in a natural way when the time is right and not just because it's expected of him. But then destiny steps in and they end up getting each other as their token prizes in addition!
If anything, the moral here is that fighting for your right to exist outside of societal expectations can lead to more meaningful relationships. In this case, Cinderella and Charming get to have love that the others don't. If it gets Cinderella out of her poor living conditions and near someone who will cherish her for what she's worth, then that's just a bonus and not something she was even worried about. And let's not discount the fact that Charming doesn't seem appalled that he fell in love with a servant girl, the lowest of the low in his kingdom. People need to stop assuming that it's automatically problematic that the person who chose to cherish and love Cinderella for what she is worth turned out to be a prince and not some pauper down the street (it would be ridiculous to assume that no man in the area knew about her situation after all). Of course, Cinderella falling in love with a pauper would have been fine too, and obviously more realistic, and I would root for it just as much to be quite honest if they were right for each other.
Even if people never accept my position that the prince is a misunderstood guy who genuinely falls heads over heels for Cinderella as a person or even if they're never okay with the romantic storyline, I will always fight to make people understand that in spite of all these things Cinderella, as a character, is still strong. To tell me she isn't, to tell me she is weak, will always be something I take personally. Walt Disney created a breathtakingly gorgeous film about a breathtakingly wonderful character that has impacted me too deeply to ever take those kinds of statements lying down.
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