This
3D
animated
Cinderella
story
is
a
far
cry
from
the
original
classic,
written
by
Charles
Perrault
in
'Histoires
ou
contes
du
temps
passe"or
by
Brothers
Grimm
in
their
folk
tale
collection
"Grimms'
Fairy
Tales".
This
animated
film
has
a
'Western'
flavour
blended
with
fantasy.
In
director
Pascal
Herold's
version,
the
action
takes
place
in
a
city
named
Felicity,
a
place
very
much
like
the
Wild
West.
Here,
a
Red
Indian
Styled
witch-doctor,
Little
Cloud,
is
substituted
for
the
fairy
godmother
and
in
place
of
horses,
the
natives
ride
ostriches
and
fly
giant
birds
that
resemble
vultures
and
eagles.
Also,
in
place
of
bandits,
we
have
pirates,
who
literally
sail
the
'Sea
of
Sand'.
And
Cinderella
is
no
demure,
timid
young
girl.
Instead,
she
is
an
aggressive
cowgirl
nicknamed
Blind
Chick.
She
is
in
control
of
the
situation
except
when
it
comes
to
issues
concerning
her
step
mother.
Cinderella's
step
mother,
Felicity
is
the
don
of
the
place.
She
controls
the
city
with
her
mafia
style
of
operations
and
hence
has
the
town
named
after
her.
One
day,
the
Russian
Prince
Vladamir
along
with
his
mother,
the
duchess,
visit
the
city
Felicity
and
the
adventurous
action
begins.
The
pirates
are
after
the
Prince's
diamonds
and
Cinderella's
step
mom
is
very
keen
to
form
a
bond
with
the
royals.
The
pirates
trail
the
royals
to
the
party
organised
by
Felicity.
And
there
at
the
famed
party,
the
charming
prince
meets
Cinderella.
Here,
instead
of
losing
her
glass
slippers
Cinderella
loses
her
tooth.
While
there
are
a
couple
of
weird
twists
to
the
tale,
this
Cinderella
story
is
hard
to
digest.
It
is
a
pot
of
confused
ideas
brewed
together.
Apart
from
the
characters
being
anthropomorphic,
the
animators
seem
to
be
confused
with
the
models,
thereby
rendering
ridiculous
outputs.
Cinderella
is
a
cross
of
a
dog
and
a
deer.
Her
step
mother
Felicity
is
a
cross
between
a
bear
and
a
St.
Bernard,
and
the
list
can
go
on.
While
the
landscape
is
the
Wild
West
in
US
with
the
Shaman
et
al,
the
presence
of
the
ostriches
transports
the
mind
to
another
continent.
Similarly,
the
background
score
is
an
amalgamation
of
all
other
genres
except
the
classic
western
haunting
score.
Visually,
the
frames
though
perfect
with
the
setting,
lack
the
finesse
and
lustrous
glow,
making
the
film
look
like
a
period
saga,
and
the
3D
was
unwarranted.
The
film
could
have
well
been
rendered
in
2D.
This
inexplicable
mishmash
of
elements
makes
Cinderella
an
eyesore.
This
would
definitely
confuse
kids
and
make
them
wonder
if
all
fairy
tales
and
folk
tales
are
that
bad!
(IANS)
Director:
Pascal
Herold
Cast:
Yolande
Moreau,
Alexandra
Lamy,
Isabelle
Nanty,
Antoine
de
Caunes
and
Michel
Boujenah