Disney+ has announced that a new 4K ultra-high-definition recreation of the 1950 animated film Cinderella will debut on the service on August 25. It will bring the Disney Princess back to the platform for World Princess Week.
The return of Cinderella is part of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ ongoing centenary celebrations included in Disney100’s programming roadmap. This will be the first time the film will be available in 4K, which Disney says was a multi-year effort by the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, working with key members of Walt Disney Animation Studios on the project.
In a Disney press release, the executive touts the restoration of Cinderella as a version that has restored the film “to its original grandeur, authentic to the artistic ambitions of the Studio’s creative team, and that looks and sounds better than ever.” This reconstruction in 4k resolution will have its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where 52 years ago it won the Golden Bear for its international debut.
Working with our restoration team along with in-house technical experts, external suppliers (such as Mike Underwood of Picture Shop Hollywood) and consultants from Walt Disney Animation Studios, we were able to make this 1950s classic look and sound better than whenever. We started this process by taking the original nitrate negative from the Library of Congress and scanning the subsequent color records of the exposure at 4K resolution. We then did some cleaning to remove dirt and as much artifacts as possible. The restoration tools currently available have allowed us to create a sharper, higher-quality image than previous efforts. To ensure we didn’t lose any detail or artistic choices from the filmmakers, we turned to Disney Animation legends and authorities,
Kevin Schaeffer, Director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios, said in a press release
Dorothy McKim (Special Design and 2D Animation Producer for Walt Disney Animation Studios) worked with Bob Bagley (Disney Animation Director of Digital Imaging) based on feedback from Giaimo and Goldberg to restore and preserve the film’s color, contrast and accuracy can be found in the original. Giaimo, who worked as a production designer on Disney’s upcoming Wish animated film, the two Frozen and Pocahontas films , said:
It was an honor to work on this restoration with Eric and really celebrate the original intentions and classic Disney aesthetics of these great artists who worked with Walt, especially the wonderful Mary Blair, and get just the right level of depth and saturation.
Addressing one of Disney’s main complaints about Cinderella’s previous high-definition restoration, which turned her silver dress bluish, obscuring many details, Goldberg added:
Working with Mike to bring this film back was truly a labor of love. We both really love this movie and felt we had to keep it. Viewers watching this renovation will see more clarity, but also more subtlety. They will see the differences in colors between shots and discover how one color interacts with another. Mike and I knew what the movie should look like, and it took us a long time just to bring back Cinderella with smoky blonde hair and a silver dress. I’m proud that the Studio felt it was important to get the right to do this restoration and entrust this task to a handful of us and believe that we will do it.
Cinderella debuted in 1950 and was a hit. He has received three Oscar nominations. Here is a synopsis of this Disney movie:
With a wicked stepmother (Wilfred Jackson) and two jealous stepsisters (Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves) holding her captive and in rags, Cinderella (Clyde Geronimi) has no chance of attending the royal ball. When her fairy godmother (Hamilton Luske) appears and magically transforms her reality into a dream come true, Cinderella charms the handsome Prince Charming at the ball, but must face the wrath of her enraged stepmother and sisters as the spell wears off at midnight.
Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi directed Cinderella . His voice cast includes Ilene Woods as Cinderella , Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine, Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother, Rhoda Williams as Drizella Tremaine, Lucille Bliss as Anastasia Tremaine, James MacDonala as Jaq, Gus and Bruno, Luis van Rooten as the King and the Grand Duke , Don Barclay as the doorman and William Edward Phipps as Prince Charming (with Mike Douglas providing the singing voice of Prince Charming). Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman wrote the songs.
Cinderella in 4K will stream on Disney+ on August 25.