Cinderella Signature Collection Blu-ray review

Jun 22, 2019- Permalink

Cinderella, Disney’s 1950 animated classic, is now the ninth film to be given the Signature Collection treatment. I had a chance to look at the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo. As with most other Signature Collection releases, the video and audio presentation is the same as the previously released Diamond Edition. The difference lies in the extras, which includes some new content and removes some others.

The AVC-encoded 1080p transfer is in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, just slightly different from the theatrical release’s 1.37:1 ratio. Film purists might notice the pretty complete removal of film grain, but this is probably necessitated by a modern audience used to digital-to-digital transfers. It’s a beautiful transfer. The colour palette is attractive, whether presenting the pop of primary colours or the subtlety of pastel hues. Contrast and sharpness are on point. The edges of the animated line art are crisp and the beautifully painted backgrounds this era of Disney is known for couldn’t look more gorgeous. There really aren’t issues with digital banding or artifacting either. To put it simply, it’s a presentation worthy of Disney’s talented cel animators.

On the audio side of things, we get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, an English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available in English SDH, French and Spanish. Film purists will be happy that this release comes with DTS-HD Master Audio version of the movie’s original mono audio mix. Dialogue, music and effects all are clean and crisp despite being in the same mix. Those who want their surround sound to get a bit of a workout will be happy that the team at Disney also gives them a 7.1 surround track and manage to put a 1950 soundtrack into an ambient soundscape.

So, on to the extras, which is where this set differs from the previous Diamond Edition. First off, a DVD version of the disc is included as well as a Movies Anywhere digital code. There are two new extras: an audio commentary comprised of archival discussions by Walt that also features picture-in-picture storyboards and artwork and a short trivia presentation hosted by Ruth Righi and Ava Koelker from Disney’s Sydney to the Max. Removed from the previous edition are extras like a personalized digital storybook called Bibbidi-Bobbidi-You, Tangled Ever After, deleted scenes, a look at songs that didn’t make the cut, a tutorial on digital copies and a look at 3D Blu-ray’s with Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King. Losing these is probably not a big deal. Legacy extras that did make it to the disc include an intro from Diane Disney Miller, a 38 minute making of doc, an alternate opening sequence, a series of featurettes on the animators, storyboards, theatrical trailers, a look at Fantasyland and clips from the Mickey Mouse Club. A handful of other extras are available online.

If you own the Diamond edition, you may want this one in order to get the “commentary” extra with Walt and the storyboards. If you don’t own the previous Diamond Edition, then you will want this version as to call Cinderella an animated classic is an understatement and the film is a must have for lovers of the genre and Disney.