Cinderella 2 - Special Edition [DVD]

I suppose my summary of this DVD film would be; "not as good as the original Cinderella, but very good".

I have a five-year-old daughter who loves this film like no other. The story keeps her entertained, the DVD interactive games amuse her for a good long while and she enjoys the read-along section too. For those raining English winter days, this is some of the best money I ever spent.

Well worth the money.

Although the original triple Oscar nominated Walt Disney classic animation film dates from 1950, this 'sequel' Cinderalla II is a `straight to video' release from 2001. The original Cinderella is naturally in a different league to Cinderella II, having a particularly dark Stepmother and in comparison is a visual treat. It's not unlike Disney's Snow White, mixing humour and songs one minute with dastardly deeds the next. In many scene's the stepmother's cat [Lucifer] becomes the villain in proxy, made more menacing as Cinderella's friends are mainly mice and birds.

My daughter, then 8, found the 50's classic a bit scary and much prefers this later frothier Cinderella II, which follows Cinders naive attempts to be a dutiful wife and all round Princess of the People. In fact the simple stories in Cinderella II are quite entertaining, and it follows Cinders attempt 'fit in' at court and to help her stepsister find love. At 11 my daughter moved on to seasons of The worst witch, Charmed, Bewitched and the likes of the Cadet Kelly teen movies, but to be honest she has probably just watched Cinderella I and II to death. Deep down I'm sure she still really loves the 'I'm a little princess' and 'Some day my prince will come' romanticism of these movies. Originally we only had the VHS version of this film, so this Special Edition DVD was a welcome step up in image quality.

There is a now a third 'straight to video' instalment in the Disney Cinderella series called 'Cinderella III: A twist in time' which my daughter (now 13) has quite enjoyed watching a couple of times, and the wicked stepmother is still as bovine as ever - this 'film' is also available on DVD. Of the three, this Cinderella II is still my daughters firm favourite [and she still watches all of them]. You can buy a Cinderella [1950] Special Edition set, where you also get a few fun extras on a separate DVD. In this set you get just the movie & extras on a single DVD, plus the usual few adverts for other Disney films. Another option is the combined `Cinderella [Classic]' and `Cinderella II - Dreams come true' triple DVD set that apparently adds in a similar extras DVD - but it may be cheaper to buy these three DVDs as the two separate Special Edition sets. Cinderella III - Twist in time is only available on its own at the moment.

Personally I prefer the classic 50's original Cinderella (which I saw at the cinema as a child in the 60's), but certainly I found this Cinders II watchable as well - it has a certain charm (but it's not quite up to the standard of Barbie's Nutcracker, Rapunzel or Swan Lake). So recommended as a very good buy for any preteen girl who likes Barbie and Pink (probably from 4 up). My son (now 9) has sat through these Cinderella movies once or twice in sister's bedroom when younger, but definitely prefers the likes of the Fantastic Four and Sky High (or the PS2/Wii).

Following on from the classic story, Cinders 2 is less one film, more a series of separate cartoons reuniting the characters of the first film, spun together with a thread of the fairy godmother reminiscing with the mice.

This is a textbook Disney straight-to-video sequel. With saccharine sentiments and deficiency of villains, it cashes in on an established, classic franchise, surviving on an injection of just enough enthusiasm to bear the Disney name. The animation is good enough, the music is good enough, and the plots are thin but mildly distracting. A few extras are thrown in as a token of goodwill.

If you have a young person in your household who is into the Disney princesses then this will prove a good buy as it has been for our three-year-old daughter. This is one to keep the kids quiet, as opposed to entertain the whole family.

It is assumed if you are considering this as a purchase that you already own the original film. In the unlikely scenario that you do not, then from a monetary perspective consider the box set containing both films.