Noell Wolfgram Evans · From fps #5 · November 1, 2005 | Cinderella is the perfect story to be told through animation. Sure, it has seen life in other media, but there you're always distracted by things like the worthiness of the actors (wondering if he is handsome enough or if she has the right mix of royalty and humility) so that eventually you lose the essence of the story. In animation, all that arbitrary carping is gone and the fantasy can just envelop you with no judgments or strings attached. You accept what you see on screen as the truth of what it is.

Cinderella Platinum Edition Directed by Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson Walt Disney Studios/Buena Vista Home Video, 2005 Originally released theatrically in 1950 81 minutes Shop for Cinderella DVDs and more: Amazon.ca Amazon.com AllPosters.com

This was not lost on Walt Disney, which is why, in 1950, he turned that story into the studio's twelfth animated feature film. Now, 55 years later, Cinderella is being released as a two-disc platinum-edition DVD. It's a great DVD set that celebrates and explores the story of the woman, her prince, her fairy godmother and a glass slipper.

Cinderella may be a near-perfect animated film. It is a stunning achievement, with a beautiful look (thanks in large part to the work of the peerless concept artist Mary Blair), direct hits on all the right emotional marks, a great mix of humour and drama and some of the most evil and frightening of all Disney villains—real people.

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You'll find it and many other articles in the November 2005 issue of fps, available for only 99 cents US.