Cinderella III: A Twist in Time

This is another one of many direct-to-video sequels to Disney animated features made in the past seventeen years, and the second sequel to the 1950 Disney version of "Cinderella". Both of these sequels were made over fifty years after the original. I saw 2002's "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True" earlier this month, and unsurprisingly, it didn't mean much to me. I didn't think this one, released five years later, would be any better until I saw that it had a significantly higher rating here, so even though it was another one of the Disney direct-to-video sequels, which are usually fairly weak, I had higher expectations for it than I did for the middle "Cinderella" film. While this film still can't match the original, it is above average.

The Fairy Godmother's magic wand falls into the wrong hands when she accidentally drops it in front of Anastasia, who has been spying on the couple's wedding anniversary and witnessing the Fairy Godmother doing her magic, and by doing so, she has found out how Cinderella and Prince Charming got together in the first place! She takes the wand back to mother Lady Tremaine and sister Drizella, and when the Fairy Godmother comes to retrieve it, she is accidentally turned into a statue! Now realizing this wand's power, Lady Tremaine uses it to reverse time and return to the moment where the Duke came with the glass slipper! Before Cinderella gets downstairs, her stepmother uses the wand to change the size of the slipper to fit Anastasia! Since Cinderella is the one who danced with the prince, she is determined to prove that she is the one. After her cruel stepmother and stepsisters leave for the palace, Cinderella secretly goes there as well, with her mouse friends, Jaq and Gus, to assist her. She thinks Prince Charming will remember her from the ball, but Lady Tremaine erases her from his memory!

The musical numbers in this sequel aren't that good if you ask me, and this already shows at the schmaltzy beginning, but the songs aren't exactly bad, either. At least they are sung by the characters, and are not like the pop songs performed by Brooke Allison and featured in "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True". The only exception here is "I Still Believe", performed by Hayden Panettiere, but we don't hear that one until the closing credits. The humour in this second sequel usually fails, with the sight gags that include conflict between Anastasia and Drizella, who make a huge mess in one of the palace rooms at one point. I don't think anything here made me laugh, not even the scenes involving the King, as much as this character made me laugh in the original 1950 Disney flick. However, I have no complaints about the animation in "Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time", and the story is the main thing that keeps this direct-to-video release from being boring, even if it wasn't 100% satisfying to me for some reason. It most certainly wasn't like I didn't care what was going to happen to the characters.

As with any direct-to-video sequel to a Disney animated feature, some fans of the original theatrically released movie (in this case, one which was made and shown in theatres long before the invention of the home video) are bound to hate "Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time". However, some fans of the 1950 "Cinderella" movie could be surprised. The premise sounded interesting to me before I watched the film, as much as some viewers might be disgusted by it, and may be the main reason why this particular Disney direct-to-video sequel is better than most of the many others I've seen. I almost feel I could rate it a seven out of ten, but not quite, and if I did that, it would mean I would be giving it the same rating I gave the original. I'm sure many Disney fans would consider that inexcusable! Still, even if you've seen "Cinderella II" and don't like it, you might not want to just assume that "Cinderella 3" isn't any better.

I'm a complete romance fluff person and this movie satisfied my taste. You really feel how much Cinderella and Charming love each other, and its so sweet to see that, even if it is only a cartoon. The characters are rather out of character for my taste, but thats only if you're traditional. The plot was decent and the animation, while nothing can compare to the original, is decent and colorful as well.I'm sad to say that the second movie actually had better music than this one. Music is something i really expect from a movie and sadly while slightly entertaining, it did not deliver. The stepmother definitely shows her evil side a little more in this one, a perfect villain. Not to mention you have two sets of comedy reliefs, the stepsisters and jaq and Gus, a great pair. But if your as much of a kid as i am then you will definitely get a kick out of this movie.Buy and watch over and over, trust me you won't be the only one.

Recently they've been advertising that Cinderella III: A Twist in Time along with the other Cinderella movies are going back into the "Disney Vault". I never wanted to see the sequels of Cinderella before, but do to the wonderful world of subliminal messages, I broke down and decided to rent the sequels. I watched Cinderella 3 yesterday and even though it was kinda weird, I don't think it was a continuation of the second Cinderella movie, it was pretty cute and a wonderful children's movie. The animation was a big improvement from the second Cinderella, it was a lot more bright and fun to watch. The story was a pretty clever idea, it was nice to see what happened to the wicked step mother and Cinderella's ugly step sisters.

Cinderella and her prince are just living happily ever after, nothing could be more perfect in her life. But when we visit the step mother and her greedy daughters who are living Cinderella's former life of yucky chores, but when one of the daughters, Anastasia, she sees the fairy god mother and steals her wand. The step mother thinks it's time for revenge on Cinderella and turns back time with the wand. Now it seems that the prince wants to marry Anastasia, and Cinderella gets squat. But when the mice find out about what the step mom did, they are going to make sure things get set back right with Cinderella and her prince charming.

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time is pretty fun to watch, it has a good story, fun songs, and just makes you go "Aww", all the ingredients to a decent Disney movie. As we know that many Disney sequels don't really work that well, normally since they're released straight to video or DVD, they're low budget and not that fun. Even though Cinderella III: A Twist in Time isn't up to Cinderella's original magic, it's still a fun little movie that I'd recommend for any child.

6/10

Cinderella III is the story of our beloved Disney Princess celebrating her one year anniversary married to the prince. The Fairy Godmother is there as well, and carelessly flings her wand in the bushes while singing. The wand lands in the hands of Anastasia, one of Cinderella's stepsisters. And soon, the wicked stepmother takes matters into her own hands by reversing time to when the duke arrived to try the slipper on the feet of the stepsisters. BUT, this time- the wand is used to make it fit Anastaia's foot. From there, a suspenseful series of events follow Cinderella as she tries to set things right.

This film is amazing. It is the best Disney sequel I've seen to date. The animation isn't the quality of a theatrical release, but it much better than most direct-to-video films are.

The story is very suspenseful and creative. It is slightly predictable, but aside from that, it keeps your attention and not once will you be bored.

The acting is wonderful. The voices are obviously not that of the original film, but the actors do their best to bring feeling to the characters, and that is what matters. (In my opinion, the actress who voices Anastasia did a wonderful job.) The film contains some new songs. No song is as great as anything you'd find in a golden Disney film, but again- these songs are ones you want to listen to again. Along with the songs, the score to the film is wonderful especially in climactic scenes. And yes- there are "action" scenes in this film, and they are wonderful.

This film wasn't made for money. It was made to please all the fans who were disappointed in "Cinderella 2." And let me tell you, Disney did something right with a sequel for once.

I have to admit that before watching this one with my 2 year old daughter, it seemed virtually certain that I'd be doing a great deal of groaning and yawning for the next hour and fifteen minutes. After all, a movie made for young girls, released straight to video, and branded with a 3 at the end of the title, doesn't really sound all that thrilling.

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised! The artwork, score, and voice acting were all up to Disney's usual high standards. But I was most impressed with the writing / screenplay. Where the original Cinderella was and always will be a classic, I felt it lacked character depth. It was a wonderful movie… in its day.

C3's characters had real world problems and values. The plot was a great twist on the original. This one's a great little flick for any child or child at heart. I was surprised to see even my little 2 year old got emotionally involved in the story and stayed with it almost all the way through! At the end, I felt slightly disappointed that it wasn't released in theaters.