In addition to restoring classic shorts, Walt Disney Animation has also been working on older films, and on August 25, will debut a 4K restoration Of Walt Disney’s 1950 animated classic ‘Cinderella.’
The Details
To honor Disney’s 100th anniversary, Disney Animation has chosen World Princess Week to released this restored version of the beloved film.
The restoration is 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.
Working with Dorothy McKim (special projects and 2D animation producer for Walt Disney Animation Studios), and Bob Bagley (digital imaging manager for Disney Animation), the team was able to restore and preserve the rich colors, contrast, and accuracy of the original cels and artwork.
“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,” explained Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios.
“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 they didn’t lose any of the detail or artistic choices of the filmmakers, Disney Animation legends and authorities, including Michael Giaimo and Eric Goldberg were involved in the process.
“Working with Mike to restore this film was really a labor of love. We both really love the film, and felt strongly that we had to preserve it. Viewers watching this restoration will see more clarity, but they will also see more subtlety. They’ll see differences in color from shot to shot, and discover how one color works with another. Mike and I knew what the film was supposed to look like, and it took a lot just getting back to Cinderella having dusty blonde hair and a silver dress. I’m proud that the Studio felt it was important to get this restoration right, and trusted a handful of us to do that,” added Goldberg, one of the all-time animation greats and veteran Disney directing animator, director, and mentor to new generations of artists.
The Film
Walt Disney’s “Cinderella” was first released in 1950, and was hailed for its stylish and experimental look, sophisticated and expressive animation, and delightful storytelling.
Based on Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale of the same title, it is the 12th Disney animated feature film.
The voice cast features Ilene Woods as Cinderella, Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine, and Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother.
It was a major hit at the time of its initial release, and rescued the Studio from a dire financial situation brought on the challenges of the war years.
It also received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Sound Recording, and Best Original Song for “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”.
Here is the original trailer for the film:
This was not a restoration. It was a massacre. The “restorers evidently thought that the original color relationships were not enough for today’s tastes so they bumped up the colors making them garish and unwatchable. This is a disgrace and insult to the fine artists that lent their artistic sensibilities to this film. For shame
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