The Modern Princess

A girl covered in soot dreams of having a greater life until one day a Fairy Godmother grants her wish, thus Cinderella was born. Dating back almost 200 years with at least 300 different versions across the globe this simple tale is unavoidable. Of course the first thing to come to mind is Disney’s animated movie from 1950, followed closely by Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) starring Drew Barrymore, the made for TV Cinderella (1997) starring Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, and most recently the 2015 remake with Cate Blanchett. [1] With all of these I’m sure you can guess the plot points and inevitable conclusion of happily ever after. So what good comes from remakes let alone a sequel? What comes after happily ever after? Recently I found out and I must say I was caught off guard. Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007) is not only a shockingly good sequel to the original but effectively built on the feminist ideals that Disney set in motion almost sixty years earlier.

Though there is Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002), I consider Twist in Time a true sequel as our story begins where Disney originally left us in 1950: with Cinderella married living in the castle and the wicked stepmother and stepsisters stewing in their anger. From there the plot of the original movie is turned on its head. The Fairy Godmother’s wand is stolen by Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother, and she uses it to rewrite history. Now it is Anastasia, the red headed step daughter, that the prince remembers dancing with at the ball and Anastasia who magically fits into the glass slipper. This leaves Cinderella distraught as she is the only one that can remember her happy life with the prince. Yet, simply flipping the story on its head isn’t what caught my attention in this movie.

Figure 1.

Right off the bat this made for DVD Disney movie gave off a brash vibe that was very uncharacteristic to the happy-go-lucky Disney we all know. With witty side jabs at the ugly stepsisters and cruel intentions of the Lady Tremaine, this movie kept me guessing what bizarre twist would happen next. One specific instance of this tone was a reference to the original 1950 film. In the scene where the pumpkin transformed into a carriage (fig. 1) it was a magical moment just before Cinderella heads off to the ball to change her life forever. This same transformation happens in Cinderella III, yet with a dark twist. Instead of being a magical moment, Lady Tremaine teleports Cinderella inside of the claustrophobic gore of the pumpkin's entrails while it transforms around her not into a magical carriage but a prison transport. After that borderline horror moment of this children's movie, it turns into Cinderella kicking ass and taking names for the remainder of the film. So much so that she literally rides in on a white horse to stop the wedding between the prince and the ugly stepsister to save the day.

Looking back from today Disney has had many examples of “girl power” in their newer movies from Tangled (2010) and Frozen (2013) to even Jessie from Toy Story 2 (1999), the grit and glam aesthetic has become a necessity in our new wave of female empowerment. Considering this, seeing Cinderella punch her way through a pumpkin prison and fight to get back her life was not too surprising. It did in turn make me reconsider the original 1950 film and how it also could have affected women.

Disney’s original Cinderella may seem quite antiquated by today’s standard of feminism, but with sixty years of progress it is often difficult to look back and see the value in an animated film. The outward appearance of Disney's original is as cut and dry as a bedtime story because it is one. A simple story that showed how good looks and a little magic can get you your happily ever after.[2] The reason for this cut and dry plot was simply because Disney was failing.[3] After the success of Snow White (1937) Disney had a few films that fell far short of the success they were hoping for: Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942). Even with these memorable films it would be eight years and a war before the next big name animated feature, Cinderella (1950). Disney needed a hit with familiarity and popularity of Snow White, another princess fairy tale. Therefore using Cinderella and adapting it in a similar way Disney sought to reclaim their audiences and effectively save the company.[3]

With both the original tellings of the fairy tale and Disney’s film, appearances and transformations are the leading plot points for this story.[3] Playing off of these themes, Disney connected this story to the zeitgeist of femininity in the early fifties and late forties. This may initially seem a shallow method of portraying feminine movements and ideals, yet in considering major events of the mid 20th century and the works of one french fashion designer this film would paint the future of feminism.

Figure 2.

Initially we find Cinderella in the simple garbs of a servant (fig. 2) wearing a mid-calf length dress and head scarf. These fashions were quite commonplace throughout America and Europe due to the rationing of WWII. Dresses were left simple and functional due to the many restrictions and sheer lack of material, leaving fashion in a backseat to practicality. This too can be said for her headscarf as hat making materials were in short supply.[3] The headscarf further alludes to the war-time maiden comparison, referencing the popular Rosie the Riveter esthetic of women working factory jobs to help in the war effort (fig. 3-5). With the established period and ideals of wartime Europe and America we see Cinderella not compared to a helpless servant but that of the hard working women that lived through this period and got their hands dirty in place of and alongside the men of this time.

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Figure 3, 4, 5.

The next phase of this story, the transformation, is perhaps the most important and telling of Disney’s intentions for the perception of this new princess. At this point it is important to look back at the costume and character design choices made in Snow White thirteen years earlier. Standing at only 5 ½ heads tall Snow White's top heavy flat chested figure is more resemblant of a child's figure by animation standards than that of a full fledged woman (fig. 6). This kewpie doll figure along with the popular curled bob hairstyle of the thirties presents Snow White as the all American girl[3] but that is what she would remain, a girl. This young appearance is then dated in the renaissance style dress inspired from story book animations of the 19th century that she would remain in for the duration of the film.

Figure 6.

Seeking to distance Cinderella from Snow White, Disney sought to create a more mature and universal look for this new icon, one that would not be constrained by the fairy tale it came from. This distancing is most evident in the hand-me-down pink dress Cinderella fixes up with the help of the woodland critters (fig. 7). This girlish pink dress with puffy shoulders and a few too many bows not only references the dated dress of Snow White but also references the hand-me-down dresses of depression and war era debutantes (fig. 8). This hand-me-down is then ripped to shreds by the savage ugly step sisters, ergo Disney, both squashing Cinderella's hope to attend the ball and dismissing this fashion from the presentation of this new character.

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Figure 7, 8.

Finally we arrive at Cinderella’s final and most iconic dress that is thanks to a real life Fairy Godmother by the name of Christian Dior. In February of 1947 Dior released his Haute Couture line of women's fashion and the world was never the same. With cinched waists, hourglass figures, and yards of folded and scalloped fabric this decadent display wowed the audience so much that it caused one reporter to state “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian! Your dresses have such a new look!” Thusly this line was dubbed Dior’s “New Look.”[4] For a generation of women that had become accustomed to mannish uniforms, restrictions, and rationing, this opened the door to what it meant to be a woman again, essentially bringing the glam back to a decade of women that had already proved their grit. Dior sought to bring back lightheartedness and the art of seduction in a decade that was mired in conflict while creating something that would stand the test of time.[4] Nothing goes to prove his success more than the most iconic piece from this show, the bar jacket (fig. 9), whose influence can be seen throughout women's fashion even today. Images from this event are nothing short of breathtaking as model after model walk through the hall looking every part the princess every little girl dreams to be (fig.10).

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Figure 9, 10.

Turning back to Cinderella’s magical gown we see direct influences of the bar jacket in particular with the low cut top and complementary figure. Emphasized further by the transformation of the war time pin curled hair to a sophisticated updo of the late 40’s, choker, delicate earrings, and elbow length white gloves (fig. 11).[3] Disney effectively evokes the prestige of high fashion that was being reintroduced to the world. No longer was Disney showing us a girl with bows in her hair, but a full fledged woman meant to stand the test of time much like Dior set out to achieve in his New Look.

Figure 11.

It is important now to look past this glitz and glam to the references being made in the use of this fashion much like the significance within her pre-transformation garb. This transformation is truly an allegory for the post-war boom experienced in America as well as Europe.[5] This can be seen, of course, in the shedding of her simple restrained dress to be clad in Dior, but also in the transformation of victory garden pumpkin into a sleek new ride.[6] Most telling of all, is the iconic glass slipper that can readily be interpreted as a symbol for peace and prosperity.[3]

Now with all of these references and not so hidden allegories, this leads me to see what appears to be a simple fairy tale as something much greater. Disney has turned this seemingly shallow bedtime story into the telling of the cultural shift between two of the most trying decades of our collective history. This leaves me to infer that the real message is not that beauty will win out the day, but instead the reclamation of beauty that was there all along. Cinderella was beautiful before she lost her father and was cast into the soot. Then, much like Dior’s New Look, the Fairy Godmother reintroduced what it meant to feel beautiful and to be confident in oneself. That is the message that should be gleamed from this film.

Establishing the original film as a telling of reclaiming femininity as power, I see that Cinderella III: A Twist In Time is the other side to the story Disney began all those years ago. Sixty years have passed and most of what was new and exciting about Cinderella is now taken for granted. The references of victory gardens and rationing fall on deaf ears with today's youth and new wave feminism dictates the power of pink as girls outnumber their counterparts on honor rolls and in college. No longer does Disney have to show the soft spoken inner beauty of the original, but instead turns it around showing what can be done when the cards are stacked against her. Not unlike the rights and social equality that women are still struggle for today in our own country. This takes the original happily ever after and shows that it is not taken for granted, but earned every step of the way.

1. Holmes, L. (2015, March 13). A Girl, A Shoe, A Prince: The Endlessly Evolving Cinderella. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2015/03/13/392358854/a-girl-a-shoe-a-prince-the-endlessly-evolving-cinderella

2. Young, J. (n.d.). Insights from a Cinderella Story. Retrieved April 04, 2017, from http://www.folkstory.com/articles/cinderella.html

3. Chrisman-Campbell, K. (2015, March 09). Cinderella: The Ultimate (Postwar) Makeover Story. Retrieved April 01, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/cinderella-the-ultimate-postwar-makeover-story/387229/

4. The New Look Revolution / The Story of Dior / The House of Dior / Dior official website. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2017, from http://www.dior.com/couture/en_us/the-house-of-dior/the-story-of-dior/the-new-look-revolution

5. Boundless. "The Post-War Boom." Boundless U.S. History Boundless. Retrieved 7 Apr. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/politics-and-culture-of-abundance-1943-1960-28/culture-of-abundance-215/the-post-war-boom-1187-2238/

6. ~ Victory Gardens History ~. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2017, from http://www.futurefarmers.com/victorygardens/history.html

Editor: Shannon Schroeder