Cinderella II: Dreams Come True – Cinderella II-Dreams Come True (2002)

Directed by: John Kafka | 70 minutes | animation, family, fantasy | English voice cast: Jennifer Hale, Rob Paulsen, Corey Burton, Russi Taylor, Tress Macneille, Susanne Blakeslee, Chris Barnes, Andre Stojka | Dutch voice cast: Ingeborg Wieten, Jon van Eerd, Joep Onderdelinden, Henny Orri, Ryan van den Akker, Elsje Scherjon, Fred Meijer, Wim van Rooij, Paul van Gorcu, Lotti Hellingman, Hetty Heyting, Marcel Maas, Beatrijs Sluijter

‘Cinderella II Dreams Come True’ is the unnecessary, yet entertaining in its own right, sequel to one of the most successful Disney fairytale adaptations ever, 1950’s ‘Cinderella’ (‘Cinderella’). The mice Gus and Jaq (Tom and Pieter in the Dutch version) were dissatisfied with the ending of the original fairy tale (“And they lived happily ever after”) and devised the plan to make a book themselves with the adventures of the new-fangled princess.

The first story begins when Cinderella and her prince come home from a romantic honeymoon. Unfortunately for Cinderella, her new husband has to leave on business right away and is more or less left to her own devices. However, she does get the job of preparing the Royal Banquet, but it soon becomes apparent that she has trouble with all the rules of the Royal House. The princess is a lot more headstrong than in the original fairy tale, because she decides to do everything in her own way and thus to remain herself.

The next story is about Jaq, who is disappointed that he can never help Cinderella again. As soon as he wishes that he is a human, this will be fulfilled. But even then it turns out to be very difficult to help Cinderella and at the end of the story it turns out that what Cinderella really needs is a mouse…

Finally, in the third story we see three old acquaintances from the previous fairy tale, the least beloved: Cinderella’s evil stepmother and stepsisters Anastasia and Prudence! Anastasia and Prudence are desperately needed by their mother, so the Royal Banquet is an excellent opportunity, because that’s where all the Rich Men come. If Anastasia falls head over heels in love with the baker, it must of course be stopped, because marrying the baker, no, that is below her means. Cinderella plays the matchmaker and of course Anastasia can embrace her baker.

The fact that this film is split into three parts can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage. It may be useful for small children, because they do not have to pay attention for as long. For adults it can be irritating because it seems that you are watching a TV series instead of a movie. What is a pity is that Cinderella only plays the leading role in one story and that all kinds of characters have to be brought in to make a ‘full-fledged’ film. Disney sequels are not known for being better than the original, or even remotely approaching the quality of the original. But is that really necessary? It depends on how you look at it. The animations in this second Cinderella are still quite nice, although not as detailed as they were fifty years ago and despite the fact that the stories lack depth, children will enjoy the DVD. Adults will, of course, be a bit more critical, and it’s up to their mind (“keep your hands off a real Disney classic”) whether a purchase of this DVD is worth the effort and money.