Cinderella (1950 film)/Headscratchers

• About the Disney version: Right after the mice sing their song and Jaq and Gus go after the stuff for Cinderella's gown, they see the stepsisters complaining about always having to go wearing the same old sash and beads, to the point of calling them "trash". If that's what they thought, then why did they have to tear Cindy's gown later on because of them?
  • Because they're just that spoiled. The fact that they rip up her dress over accessories they don't even like makes their Kick the Dog all the more epic and the scene that much more heartbreaking.
  • Because it was just an excuse. They needed a reason to keep Cinderella from going to the ball. Lady Tremaine recognizes the beads and the sash as belonging to Anastasia and Drizella. The two step-sisters then tear her dress, making it impossible for her to go to the ball. They couldn't have cared less about the beads and the sash.
  • Because they're jealous bitches who hate the idea that Cinderella could take things that they don't like and look good in them.
• Why do people keep trying to compare the Disney version to the Brothers Grimm tale even though the opening credits say they used a different version as their source?
  • Nobody reads the credits?
• Am I the only one who noticed how Cinderella sang a whole flipping song about how precious dreams are and how nobody can tell her to stop dreaming, and then not even a minute later she tells her dog to stop his dreaming? I know it can be argued that she was just trying to protect him, but still, hypocritical much?
  • Her dreams were of a life of freedom and romance; his were about doing not-so-nice things to Lucifer.
  • Plus, there are two meanings of "dream" in action here. First there's an experience in your mind during sleep, Cinderella is against these if they include actions that will get you in trouble in real life. Second there's a hoped-for vision of the future, Cinderella is for these. It's all she has to keep going, after all.
• When Lady Tremaine locks Cinderella in her room in the Disney version, why doesn't the fairy godmother show up and unlock the door? She was willing to make an entire dress and carriage for her earlier, so surely unlocking a door would be no trouble.
  • She's not there to fix Cindy's every problem with a wave of her wand (if she were, she'd probably have shown up a lot sooner). Cinderella's friends were helping her escape, and they succeeded. She didn't need magic that time. Had they failed, maybe then the Godmother would have intervened. Just like before, when she showed up only after the attempt by the animals to help Cinderella attend the ball was unfairly ruined.
• What happened to the sister's baker boyfriend from the second film? Is the third movie before that one?
  • In effect you're right, the third movie was more a retelling of the first story; the second one was the true sequel.
  • The end credits of the third movie show a still shot of the baker offering her a cupcake, implying that they do end up together the second time around as well.
• Why is the cat considered a villain? I know he's Lady Tremaine's pet, but for most of the movie, all he's really trying to do is eat the mice. Isn't that what cats do in real life?
  • He also tracks mud over the floor (making multiple paths) right after Cinderella wiped it (see here).
    • He also baits the dog and, when he traps one of the mice under the cup towards the end, it seems pretty obvious he's doing it not to catch a mouse but to foil the attempt to rescue Cinderella.
  • They're not really just pets, though--clearly the cat is more intelligent than real-life cats. And he was a very malicious cat. You'll notice Cinderella doesn't treat him like a feared villain, just the mice, who *do* have a reason to be scared of him.
  • I think Lucifer may have started out just trying to catch mice, like all cats like to do, but after so many years of being thwarted by Cinderella he began to really hate her. Thus all the malicious behavior.

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