New 4K Restoration Of Cinderella Will Stream On Disney+

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! Disney's animated "Cinderella" is not just a classic, it's also the film that saved the Mouse House from financial ruin. The outset of WWII hit the studio hard after the triumph of its first-ever animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," in 1937. With the European and Asian markets (obviously) in the tank, the likes of "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," and "Bambi" all bombed at the box office in the years that followed. It was only thanks to so-called "package" animated features like "Saludos Amigos" and "Fun and Fancy Free" (which strung together older or recently-animated shorts and, thus, were much cheaper to produce) that Disney was able to remain afloat in the '40s and scrap together the funds to make "Cinderella" in the first place.

Nearly three-quarters of a century later, the Mouse House is repaying the favor by unveiling a brand-new 4K restoration of "Cinderella" on Disney+. The restored version of the film will begin streaming on August 25, 2023, during World Princess Week as part of Disney Animation's ongoing 100-year celebration. This restoration is (per Disney's press release) "the culmination of a multi-year effort involving the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, working closely with key players from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The result is a version of the film that is restored to its original grandeur, authentic to the artistic ambitions of the Studio's creative team, and which looks and sounds better than ever."

A select few got to see the restored version of "Cinderella" earlier at this year's Berlin International Film Festival. It was a bit of a full-circle moment for the film, which won the Golden Bear for Best Music Film during its international debut at the festival 52 years ago. Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios, commented on the announcement:

"Working with our restoration team along with internal technical experts, outside vendors (like Mike Underwood at Picture Shop Hollywood), and advisors from Walt Disney Animation Studios, we were able to make this 1950 classic look and sound better than ever. We began the process by pulling the original nitrate negative from the Library of Congress and scanning the successive exposure color records in 4K. We then did a cleaning pass to remove dirt and as many artifacts as possible. The current available restoration tools allowed us to produce a sharper and higher quality image than previous efforts. To make sure we didn't lose any of the detail or artistic choices of the filmmakers, we turned to Disney Animation legends and authorities, including Michael Giaimo and Eric Goldberg."

The results speak for themselves, as you can see from the side-by-side shot comparison in the above image. I'm also just happy to see Disney showing their animated films the respect they deserve. Films like "Cinderella" are a vital part of our collective pop cultural heritage. They're not just fodder for live-action or photo-realistic animated remakes to be locked away in a figurative vault and never acknowledged or looked at again once they've been "re-imagined." They should be preserved and passed on to younger generations, just like they've been in the past.

To reiterate, the restored version of "Cinderella" begins streaming on August 25, 2023, on Disney+.