(c) Disney

Disc 2 Features:
Thankfully such shamelessness is mostly absent from the second disc’s list of bonuses, lead off by two unused musical sequences in Deleted Scenes. Disney producer Don Hahn introduces the original “Cinderella Work Song�? that originated the idea of the mulitple Cinderellas eventually used in “Sing Sweet Nightingale�?, and “Dancing on a Cloud�?, a pet concept of Walt’s, where the two fairy tale romantic leads literally dance in the clouds. The idea and song was replaced with the more earthbound “So This is Love�? number and finally done in the finale of Sleeping Beauty nine years later.

More “Music and More�? on disc 2 starts off with the intriguilingly titled Cinderella and Perry Como, which is actually an excerpt from Como’s show where the songs from the movie were first heard publicly. Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella, sings “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes�?, while Como himself croons “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo�?. The perils of live TV are seen when Woods flubs a line, and there is a surprise appearance by a familiar fowl.

In addition to the demo recording of the Title Song, seven Unused Songs are heard in demo form (audio only):

• “I’m in the Middle of a Muddle�? (also available on the film’s soundtrack CD) and “Sing a Little, Dream a Little�? are variations of “The Work Song“.
• “The Mouse Song�? explains why the mice wear clothes.
• “The Dress My Mother Wore�? is a sweet ballad, whose ideas are echoed in the final dialogue.
• “Dancing on a Cloud�?, reminiscent of Schwartz and Dietz’ “Dancing in the Dark�?, is offered here again.
• “I Lost My Heart at the Ball�? recalls a song later written by Rodgers and Hammerstien for their take on the tale, “Lovely, Lovely Night�?.
• “The Face That I See in the Night�?, a haunting, Cole Porter-esque ballad for the Prince.

Three short, audio only Radio Programs include an excerpt from Village Store (1948), announcing the casting that very day of Woods, and two 1950 interviews with Woods from Gulf Oil Presents and Scouting the Stars.

Just when you thought you had escaped all the mindlessness of the first disc’s features, you click on “Games and Activities�? and get the House of Royalty, which makes that “Every Girl Can Be a Princess�? song look like a feminst tract. Some kid from The Disney Channel named Sally shows us all how to “look, live and act like a princess�?, so of course the first person she talks to is fashion guru Isaac Mizrahi (I guess he of all people should know … ). Then in trots the cast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (a - surprise! - ABC show) to do their design thing on little Sally’s bedroom; unlike their regular gig, no tears are shed or “oh my god�?s uttered. Real-life princess Catherine Oxenberg tops it all off with some tiara talk and lessons in waving like a real princess. The whole thing plays like a junior version of something you would see on the Style Network, which - surprise! - is also owned by the Disney Company.

Carrying on the do-it-yourself design theme of this section is The Royal Life, a DVD-ROM Design Studio, accessible on a PC with a DVD-ROM drive, where young princess wanabes can design their own palaces and gowns. Finally, apparently left over from one of those Disney Princess DVDs, a “dance like a Disney Princess�? tutorial that is, believe it or not, titled Princess Pajama Jam.

Now back to something (gratefully) completely different with “Backstage Disney�? and the 38-minute From Rags to Riches: The Making of ‘Cinderella’. Divided into four chapters, the feature begins with an overview titled, naturally, “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes�?. The usual suspects (historian John Canemaker, animators Andreas Deja and Glen Keane, songwriter Richard M. Sherman) are on hand, as well as archival interviews with some of the actual filmmakers (animators Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas and Ward Kimball). It is mentioned why Walt could identify so well with this particular story, as he himself was a “Cinderella story�? of sorts (the same could be said of the film itself as well).

“Of Mice and Nine Old Men�? focuses on the animation of the film, identifying who did what in the film:

• Eric Larson and Marc Davis: Cinderella.
• Milt Kahl: The Prince, the Duke, the King, the Fairy Godmother.
• Frank Thomas: Cast against type as Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother.
• Ollie Johnston: Anastasia and Drizella, the two ugly stepsisters.
• Wolfgang Reitherman: The mice, notably the climactic “key�? sequence.
• Ward Kimball: Of course, the comic characters - Lucifer and the mice.

For financial reasons, extensive live action reference was shot for the animators, which may account for the film’s lack of lushness, ala Pinocchio and Fantasia.

“A Perfect Fit: The Voices of Cinderella�? includes archival footage of Ilene Woods (odd, considering she is still alive) and new interviews with the two surving cast members, Mike Douglas (yes, the Mike Douglas of talk show fame), who sang for the prince but who’s Chicago accent prevented him from speaking for him, and Lucille Bliss, the voice of Anastasia. An interesting bit of trivia is revealed: Verna Felton, who so delightfully voiced the Fairy Godmother as well as several other Disney characters through the years, passed away on the same day Walt did.

The music of Cinderella is often not recognized as much as it rightfully should be, that is until “Musically Ever After�?, which delves into how important Tin Pan Alley was to popular music of its day, something that Walt knew when he hired songwriters Al Hoffman, Mack David and Jerry Livingston for the picture. The results were three hit songs (“A Dream Is a Wish …�?, “Bibibbidi …�? and “The Work Song�?) that prompted the very first music-publishing venture for Disney. Another first was the overdubbing of Woods’ vocals in “Sing Sweet Nightengale�? (allowing her to sing harmony with “herself�?), which was the first time such a thing was done in films.

Fleshing out the behind-the-scenes info are three more excellent featurettes: