Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches. So if you are in the mood for a little romance, stop by the Westport Library’s audio visual center and check out a romance. You’ll find romances grouped together for easy browsing and all designated by a distinctive sticker marked, appropriately enough, romance.

Speaking of romance, a classic love story was brought to life through the magic of Walt Disney Studios and released to theatres the day after Cupid’s holiday in 1950. Cinderella featuring a lovable fairy godmother and the errant glass slipper is still popular after all these years. This popularity was especially important at the time, as the Walt Disney Company was facing an uncertain future. According to information supplied on the Disney website, “When Cinderella came out in 1950, the studio had been doing little better than treading water… So when Walt poured resources into Cinderella it was part of a strategy designed to return to his greatest successes in the past -- feature-length animated films. The effort paid off. Cinderella received a couple of Oscar nominations, and during its initial release it was one of the highest grossing films of the year, at over $4 million.”

Curiosity, something librarians abound in, got me to take a brief look at the myths and tales which helped to create the version of Cinderella we all know so well. After all, long before there were movies, there were stories to be told. One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of glass slippers. Here’s a link to a version of the Complete Tales of Charles Perrault as available on Google. More recent movie versions of the “Cinderella” story include Ella Enchanted and Ever After.

Today's question is a fun one. Who provided the voice of Cinderella's fairy godmother in the animated film? You may be surprised.