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Posted by CK-Auctions It's easy to grumble about the direct-to-video Disney sequels. Believe me, I've spent so much energy and time lambasting the foul Eisner-era business practice that I fear it's become just another speck in the wall of white noise. The argument against these mutations becomes even more difficult when they turn out to actually be kind of...good. While Cinderella (voiced by Jennifer Hale) and her Prince (C.D. Barnes) did go on to live happily ever after, the bitterness of defeat still burns within the Wicked Stepmother (Susan Blakeslee). After witnessing the power of a magic wand wielded by the Fairy Godmother, Stepmother and her vile children, Drizella (Russi Taylor) and Anastasia (Tress MacNeille), conspire to steal the miraculous stick, using the opportunity to rewind Cinderella's memorable night and position Anastasia in the role of the lucky future princess. Again penniless and pitiful, Cinderella, with her two mouse pals Jaq and Gus, fights to retrieve the magic wand and stop the wedding before it's too late. Compare "Time" to the classic 1950 original, and you might as well bang your head into a wall. "Time" looks and feels like a DTV production, and makes no assumptions it can hit the heights of Walt's masterwork. The new film puts those expectations aside and simply tries to have fun with itself. Technically speaking, the production is more assured than many might be expecting. The talented "Time" animators do manage to recapture, if not the depth, than the movement of the characters, taking the lead of the 1950 animation and smoothing it out for far lower ambitions. Much of "Time" is a color feast, brimming with golds and pastels that create a warm fairy tale environment for this story, and if the production didn't have the budget for widescreen grandeur, they do nail down a great atmosphere of friendliness to the picture. A vampiric business plan might have given birth to this film, but the production does their best to keep the show engaging and welcoming despite severe limitations. Director Frank Nissen helmed the lovely "Pooh's Heffalump Adventure," and long ago was a contributing animator to the Canadian fantasy curiosity, "Rock & Rule." The filmmaker has a jovial way with his work, and a playful atmosphere infects "Time" early and doesn't let up. The picture doesn't waste a single moment getting to the story, and from there gallops off to relish some wicked villain behavior, a modest stab at song and dance, marvelous rodent slapstick, and various levels of misplaced magic. "Time" is light on its feet, and color me shocked to find that it contains some laugh-out-loud moments, most coming from the frantic mice Jaq and Gus, who deservedly get much more of the spotlight in the sequel, and even a song of their own. Special attention must be paid to voice actress Tress MacNeille, who gives a rich, sweet reading of Anastasia that the film eventually comes to rely on in an unexpected way. MacNeille is an industry vet, perhaps best known for her stellar work on "The Simpsons" (once you hear the voice, you'll know exactly who she is). She brings vulnerability to the character along with a take on Anastasia's buffoonery that's worth at least one deep belly laugh. MacNeille is the gem of "Time." If you have any questions about this review please contact us at contact@ck-auctions.com Posted by CK-AuctionsRead full review
I bought this movie because I'd lost my first copy, but I originally purchased it due to my love of Disney, especially Cinderella. In Cinderella II, Disney made a mishmash of random scenarios and labeled it as a movie. In Cinderella III they made a real plot and one that is fun and easy to grasp by all ages. Even my Power Ranger loving 4 year old nephew really got into the action in this one. In my opinion, this ranks up there with the other (very few) good Disney sequels like Lion King II. Those looking to leave Cinderella with her original happily ever after might be turned off though, since this totally rewrites the last scenario of the original by having Anastasia's foot fit the slipper. Leaving Cinderella to fix her new dilemma without her fairy godmother's help.
We bought this movie to share with our four grandchildren who live with us (ages 6 through 13), and even though we had not seen the second sequel to the Cinderella movies, the plot was easy to follow (now we are working on ordering the Cinderella II film!). The characters were true to form from the original Cinderella, and there was actually some excitement to the plot, some humor, some new songs, and more antics with the mice and Lucifer, the Cat. Stepmother gets hold of the Fairy Godmother's wand and changes the outcome (at least initially) of Cinderella's "happily ever after" ending. We liked how the communication and relationship between Cinderella and Anastasia (stepsister) evolves and makes the plot more interesting. All of us enjoyed this movie, sort of a time travel fairy tale.
A mixed bag, I understand, it was made for children who generally don't question a story line or the actions of characters. I did expect an update of the animation, it is very similar to the remake of the original. There was more action, more drama... I did watch it to the end and may watch it again, the mice were more annoying than ever but Anastasia has a bigger role ;-) The step sisters were great but, as I said, slapstick geared to younger children. There is a segment of Cinderella tapped in a pumpkin heading for a cliff that was a bit of Nightmare before Christmas... creepier than you might expect for Cinderella, I imagine most parents watch a video before showing it to young ones Sad that Disney has been reduced to social justice and remake after remake after remake but, no surprise when the hand rails in Pirates of the Caribbean are duct taped and smugglers run has a character scolding riders like a mom who watches the view everyday while they ride in the smart car version of the Millennium falcon... I keep hoping for a return of the great creativity of Monsters Inc and Rapunzel, Coco.... wishing on a star... for the old days of Disney family influence Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
It seems like Disney and it's hired help took 30 minutes to write the entire plot to this story. I was looking forward to seeing this one, and I was very disappointed, and for a few reasons. 1. It seems that they didn't have enough written down to make a movie, and had the "mad lib" the rest, like how Prince and Cinderella found themselves on the ship, happily ever after. Then the step mother appears again, and does something else to try to marry off Anastasia. 2. Speaking of which, didn't she have a boyfriend (the baker) in the second part? What's up with all the "I want to fall in love" when she had a boyfriend. What was the entire big deal with that part anyways? 3. Why would Anastasia be so desperate to have to price love her that she was actually willing to go through what she went through thanks to her stepmother. If the stepmother wanted to be in royalty that badly, why didn't she do to herself what she had done to Anastasia at the end? It was just another Disney excuse to make money off of Disney fanatics, because this movie is a total waste of your money and your time!Read full review
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