Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (February 26, 2002)

This is the first of two sequels to Cinderella (1951). This film is a collection of three short stories, all set after Cinderella has married Prince Charming and became a Princess. The film starts off with Cinderella’s Mice wanting to create a new storybook containing new Cinderella tales. The first story details Cinderella’s adjustment to courtly life and its many procedures. Cinderella is given the task of organizing palace banquets and parties while the King and Prince Charming are away. However, Cinderella is upset with all the traditions and stuffy procedures, so she decides to forgo them and organize them her own way. In the second segment Jap, one of the mice, thinks he is too small to help Cinderella like he did in the original film, so the Fairy Godmother turns him into a human. Eventually, after a series of incidents, he learns to be happy the way he is. In the final tale, Anastasia, one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, falls in love with a baker, which Lady Tremaine and her older sister Drizella disapprove of. This last story is by far the best; It was interesting watching Anastasia fall in love with a commoner and show her sweet side (I am glad one of Cinderella’s stepsisters secretly has a heart!) it was also cute seeing Cinderella’s attempts at playing matchmaker. Besides this story, however, the rest were simple and subpar. The first was clique and the second had an interesting premise but its execution left much to desire (it was too short to be meaningful). The animation lacks the charm of the original, though it does have its moments (I particularly enjoyed the CGI Ferris wheel during the second segment), and the voice acting was fine. Overall, Dreams Come True is a passable Cinderella package film. It has some fun songs and is lightyears better than the Beauty and the Beast equivalent, Belle’s Magical World. If you are a fan of Cinderella it may be worth a quick watch but otherwise it is nothing special, easily passable in favor of the third Cinderella sequel, A Twist in Time (which I will also review!)

Final Rating: 4.5/10