National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Released in 1950, Disney's Cinderella arrived at a pivotal moment for the studio, following a stretch of leaner years marked by wartime disruption. Its success helped restore Disney's confidence in feature animation and its financial footing, paving the way for the celebrated films that followed. Drawing on the classic fairy tale, it became one of the studio's enduring works, admired for its hand-drawn artistry, memorable music, and timeless storytelling.

The Midnight Strikes moment captures the story's turning point, when magic gives way to reality and everything hangs in the balance. To hold a physical film cell from this sequence is to own a genuine frame that once passed through a projector, a tangible piece of animation history rather than a reproduction.