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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.66:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Greek: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, Greek
  Extras
  • Featurette
  • Animated menus
  • Music video
  • Interactive game

Cinderella II - Dreams Come True

Disney/Buena Vista . R4 . COLOR . 70 mins . G . PAL

  Feature
Contract

It's cheesier than a kilo of Kraft, more saccharine than a tub of fairy floss, and cornier than a crate of cobs. It's the latest in a long line of unnecessary sequels to classic Disney films. It plays more like three television episodes strung together than a coherent feature film. It's Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.

To be fair, the film achieves exactly what it sets out to do. As a sequel to the 1950 classic that ended with the characters living "happily ever after," there was hardly a plethora of narrative threads demanding to be explored. Thus, the film-makers have chosen to animate three fairly undramatic, inoffensive stories, mainly revolving around the first movie's supporting cast (indeed, Cinderella's poor Prince gets all of three lines of dialogue).

The first tale revolves around Cinderella's conflict with a snooty, domineering castle overseer. The second involves a mouse who dreams of being a man (I could identify), and the third shows one of Cinderella's ugly step-sisters falling in love with the local baker.

Unlike many of Disney's recent releases (arguably from Aladdin on), Cinderella 2 is not a kiddie's flick that caters for adults; it aims strictly for the pre-teen crowd. The girls will love it, but if you want a film that you can enjoy with them, look elsewhere.

  Video
Contract

Cinderella 2 is blessed with a beautifully crisp 16x9 enhanced picture. As is typical of all of Disney's recent releases, it's remarkably sharp and detailed, with vibrant colours and shadows. All in all, impossible to fault... although the animation itself is fairly simple, as expected in a direct-to-video affair.

  Audio
Contract

The 5.1 mix is more than adequate, with surprisingly frequent use of the surround speakers and clear, crisp sound.

  Extras
Contract

There's a great selection here for the tots, but no meaty behind-the-scenes info for animation aficionados.

Game - Cinderella's Enchanted Castle: Actually a series of three simple point-and-click games, this will occupy the tots for ten minutes or so.

Story Book - A Little Misunderstanding is a very worthwhile feature boasting a new story starring Cinderella's pet mice. The kids can read along with or without a narrator.

Featurette - Musical Magic is a simplistic overview of the composing process. Six minutes of insight for the kids, but even they might find it a tad patronising.

Music Video - Put It Together: A horrible pseudo-rap version of a Disney ballad, accompanied by a surprisingly fuzzy montage of excerpts from the film.

  Overall  
Contract

Cinderella II is a decent film for pre-teens, with decent animation and great video and audio quality... but parents and older viewers beware, there's nothing here for you.


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      And I quote...
    "Cinderella II is not a kiddie's flick that caters for adults; it aims strictly for the pre-teen crowd. "
    - Terry Oberg
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Palsonic DVD3000
    • Receiver:
          Diamond
    • Speakers:
          Diamond
    • Centre Speaker:
          Diamond
    • Surrounds:
          Diamond
    • Subwoofer:
          Diamond
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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