The Cinderella story goes by many names and different guises around the
    world. In Irish folklore the tale is known as "Fair, Brown and Trembling", on
    the Continent there is the tale of "The Cinder Maid", and Russia has "The
    Babba Yagga". But it's Charles Perrault's version that has become best
    known in the West, through pantomime performances, storybooks and
    films - like the Disney classic from 1955. Perrault tells of the fair Cinderella,
    who is abused and downtrodden by her spiteful stepmother and two ugly
    stepsisters. When a Royal Ball is announced, Cinderella is visited by
    a fairy Godmother who weaves her magic to allow her to go to the event
    and capture the heart of a handsome Prince. But as the clock strikes
    midnight, so the Godmother's spell unrivals and Cinderella must flee the
    ball or risk discovery. She leaves behind her a beautiful glass slipper,
    which the Prince duly takes around every house in the kingdom, in the
    hope of finding the mysterious girl with whom he has fallen in love...

    Cosgrove Hall bring this classic fairytale to life in glorious stop motion. 
    It was their first such feature, and bravely, Mark Hall and his team chose
    to let the tale unfold without dialogue. What we have then, is a forty minute
    feast for fans of this beguiling art form. Every twist and turn of the tale is
    told through movement, action and reaction... and music, because
    Woolly Wolstenholme and Davy Rohl provide the film's electronic score.
    which parps, trumpets and pines along with the highs and lows of the story.

    For budding animators and students in the field, this is a must-see film.
    It's the first of a quartet of fabulous folktales filmed by the studio, between
    1979 and 1990. With each film, the technology is ramped up. The puppets
    become increasingly sophisticated, the sets more detailed, the photography
    ever more handsome. View the four films in sequence and you'll be lost
    for words. Stop-motion just doesn't get better than this...

    » "Cinderella" was first broadcast on Boxing Day, 26 December 1979

   » The groom who accompanies the Prince on his visit to Cinderella's
        house carries a list of names, from which we can identify the members
        of the houshold:

      Charles Bunbury Esquire = Cinderella's kindly father
      His Sound Wife Martha = Cinderella's cruel stepmother
      Daughter Millicent = Ugly Sister
      Daughter Prudence = Ugly Sister

 

    Promos/Tie-ins

     In 1983, Thames/Methuen published a 32page storybook, written by Olive
     Jones, and featuring a number of stills from the film...

 

     Cinderella on DVD

       The Fool of the World + Cinderella
                 Region 2 double bill / Clear Vision / November 2001

 

     director:           Mark Hall
     producers:        Mark Hall, Brian Cosgrove
     exec producer:  John Hambley
     music:              David Rohl, Stuart J Wolstenholme
     animators:        Marj Graham, Jackie Cockle,
                             Barry Purves, Andrea Lord,
                             Steve Moss
     puppets:           Bridget Appleby
     sets/models:    Chris Walker, Peter Saunders,
                             David Allen, Andy Wilson
     model cam:       Joe Dembinski, Jim Noble
     rostrum cam:    Frank Hardie
     film editor:        John McManus
     col processing:  Humphries Film Laboratories, Manchester

 

      On the web


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