Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time – Disney+ Talk

23rd June 2021

Aside from ‘The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride’, I’ve never been impressed by the sequels to classic films that Disney brings out. They either seem pointless or erase any impact that its predecessor has (I’m looking at you ‘Mulan 2’ and ‘The Little Mermaid 2’). However, I have been recommended a threequel by one of my friends, which is ‘Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time’. As well as the recommendation, I have heard that this is a suitable entry in the trilogy and so have decided to watch it.

‘Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time’ sees Cinderella and Prince Charming live happily ever after. However, their happy ending is put in jeopardy after the Evil Stepmother finds the magic wand of the Fairy Godmother and uses it to erase Prince Charming’s memories of Cinderella.

While I can’t call this a feature film, with a runtime of 60 minutes, I can say that it’s actually quite enjoyable. While the concept of undoing a film’s plot has been executed before, this film uses that to question the original film’s logic (how come the Prince only remembers Cinderella by her foot size?) and further develop certain character’s personality, mainly the step sister Anastasia. Here, it tries to make the latter character sympathetic; all she wants is true love and a happy ending. And, while memories of her past horrific behaviour still linger, this character development mostly works for the story the film is telling.

I would also see the sequel’s moral as be yourself and that there’s more to a person’s looks that attract a potential partner. Prince Charming is tricked into marrying Anastasia, but his true feelings of love just aren’t aimed at her, no matter what the Stepmother’s spell does. An example of this is when Prince Charming and Anastasia share a dance and Charming doesn’t feel anything for her during this sequence. He even says, ‘I held her hand and I felt nothing’. The morals are very important ones to have, especially in the age of social media, where looks and likes are the peak importance. Despite this film being fourteen years old, it’s still relevant.

The songs and animation are also good. There aren’t many songs featured, but they’re catchy when they do appear. They also help advance the plot as well as reveal how a character is feeling in that moment. This is an aspect that Disney are good at; even if their straight-to-DVD sequels aren’t good, the songs will always make a lasting impression. The only critique I have is with the animation. This was a straight-to-DVD release, so attention to the animation quality is lacking. The visuals are a lot simpler than its original source material and are not as detailed, which is a shame. It’s still watchable, but the animation quality isn’t as good as the original.

I was overall surprised by ‘Cinderella 3’. While it uses a tired concept, it uses it to give viewers a good message. And, while the animation isn’t as good as other films, the songs are catchy. While I usually wouldn’t recommend Disney’s straight-to-DVD releases (aside from ‘The Lion King’), I would definitely recommend this one.

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