"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on June 30, 1950 with Verna Felton reprising her film role.
Walt Disney had not had a huge hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The production of this film was regarded as a major gamble on his part. At a cost of nearly $3,000,000, Disney insiders claimed that if this movie had failed at the box office, it would have been the end of the Disney studio. The film was a big hit. The profits from its release, with the additional profits from record sales, music publishing, publications and other merchandise gave Disney the cash flow to finance a slate of productions (animated and live action), establish his own distribution company, enter television production and begin building Disneyland during the decade.
Walt Disney turned for the first time to "Tin Pan Alley" song writers, to write the songs. This would later become a recurring theme in Disney animation.
Ilene Woods beat exactly 309 girls for the part of Cinderella, after some demo recordings of her singing a few of the film's songs were presented to Walt Disney. However, she had no idea she was auditioning for the part until Disney contacted her; she initially made the recordings for a few friends who sent them to Disney without telling her.
According to Ilene Woods, who did the voice for Cinderella, it was Walt Disney who suggested the layered harmonies in the "Sweet, Sweet Nightengale" sequence. She thinks that it might have been the first time that it was attempted (Mitch Miller claimed to have invented the technique during his tenure as A&R man at Columbia Records a few years before 'Cinderella' started production)
According to Marc Davis, one of the directing animators of Cinderella, at least 90% of the movie was done in live action model before animation. Dancer Ward Ellis was the live action model for Prince Charming. Cinderella's carriage is actually a live-action model painted white with black lines; this was the first time this technique had actually been used.
Disney restored and re-mastered the movie for its 4 October 2005 DVD release as the sixth installment of Disney's Platinum Edition series. According to the Studio Briefing, Disney sold 3.2 million copies in its first week and earned over $64 million in sales.
GOOFY HOLLER: When both the King and the Grand Duke fall from the chandelier.
Gus' full name is Octavius, presumably after the Roman Emperor.
June 2008 Ranked #9 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Animation".
Live action reference was used extensively for the human characters to keep the animation costs down.
Lucifer was modeled after animator Ward Kimball's cat. Animators were having trouble coming up with a good design for that cat, but once Walt Disney saw Kimball's furry calico, he declared, "There's your Lucifer."
Not only is the name of the Prince never revealed, he is nowhere in the film mentioned as "Prince Charming".
The carriage that Cinderella and the Prince take after the wedding has an emblem of a sword and two hidden Mickey Mouse heads around it.
The first film to be worked on by the legendary "Nine Old Men" of the Disney animation department.
The first fully-developed, feature-length film the studio released after wartime cutbacks forced them to release several "package films" (Melody Time, Fun & Fancy Free, et al). The success of the animation department depended greatly on its success.
The royal proclamation on the castle gate wall reads: " All loyal subjects of his Imperial Majesty are hereby notified by royal proclamation that in regard to a certain glass slipper, it is upon this day decreed that a quest be instituted throughout the length and breadth of our domain. The sole and express purpose of said quest is as follows to wit: That every single maiden in our beloved Kingdom shall try upon her foot this aforementioned slipper of glass, and should one be found whose foot shall properly fit said slipper, such maiden will be acclaimed the subject of this search and the one and only true love of his Royal Highness, our noble Prince. And said Royal Highness will humbly request the hand of said maiden in marriage to rule with him over all the Land as Royal Princess and future Queen."
The story takes place roughly in June. In the movie, the sun rises slightly before 6:00 AM (in France), as it would within a few weeks of the summer solstice. Also by this time, a pumpkin would have grown to 20-40 pounds.
The transformation of Cinderella's torn dress to that of the white ball gown was considered to be Walt Disney's favorite piece of animation.
To save money when animating the pumpkin coach, the animators drew the coach to seemingly float on air so that they would not have to animate the turning wheels or the filigrees.