Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (DVD, 2002)

Studios have begun to realize the potential of the children's video marketplace, especially over the past few years, as Disney has cranked out direct-to-video sequels of such films as "The Lion King" and "Lady and the Tramp". Sure, these films do not have the same energy or fun (or animation quality) as the originals, but studios realize that they have familiar characters that will gain attention as families pass by. I will admit that I've found a few of these passably entertaining (see the recent "Balto" sequel) and a few have even been considered good enough to go the theatrical route instead (Disney's new "Return To Neverland"), but usually, they're dissapointing and uninspired.

"Cinderella" seemed like the least likely to be remade, but Disney has given it a try. The results, I'm sorry to say, are mediocre at best and poor at worst. Rather than actually providing a full-length story, the filmmakers have decided to split the 73-minute length into three different stories, the first of which involves Cinderella learning more about being a princess. While I'm sure young children will enjoy this little feature, I was waiting for something, anything to happen. It didn't.

The next segment focuses on Jaq (one of the pair of mice that are the most entertaining characters here), who is a mouse but wants to be a man. The fairy godmother arrives and grants his wish, but the main drama of the story revolves around the fact that the cat that chased Jaq when he was a mouse is still chasing him when he's human. Fascinating. The third story involves Cinderella's evil stepsister Anastasia (hey, that's the title of an animated film more enjoyable than this one), who finds love, although her even more evil mother is displeased than he is only the local baker.

I know this is a kid's film, but the story and dialogue were both terrible. The film contains lines like, "Someday I think I'll get this princess thing right", to which the prince replies, "I think that day is today." There's little conflict or even general imagination to the three stories; we're presented with small concerns which are predictably wrapped up with a generic happy ending. No tension, no excitement, no suprises. To make things even worse, the actors providing the voices of the characters often give bland readings that make the already weak dialogue sound even worse.

As previously mentioned, kids might like this (I'd be surprised, though), but personally, I found it extremely boring.


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