Disney+ has announced that they will debut a new 4K restoration of the 1950 animated classic, Cinderella, on August 25th. Check out a preview clip of the new restoration below.
The re-release of Cinderella will coincide with World Princess Week, and arrives as part of the ongoing Disney100 celebrations, which mark the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company. The new restoration will update the look and sound of the 1950 release, but will do so while honoring the artistic vision of the original animators. According to a press release, restoring the animation has been a “labor of love” that’s spanned multiple years.
“Working with our restoration team along with internal technical experts, outside vendors, and advisors from Walt Disney Animation Studios, we were able to make this 1950 classic look and sound better than ever,” Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios, said in a press statement. “We began the process by pulling the original nitrate negative from the Library of Congress, and scanning the successive exposure color records in 4K. We then did a cleaning pass to remove dirt and as many artifacts as possible. The current available restoration tools allowed us to produce a sharper and higher quality image than previous efforts.”
Going further, Schaeffer explained that the restoration team didn’t want to lose any details or artistic choices made by the original filmmakers. To ensure this was avoided, they brought in “Disney Animation legends and authorities,” Michael Giaimo and Eric Goldberg.
Goldberg, who co-directed the 1995 Disney hit Pocahontas, explained that his passion for the original made the restoration a rewarding endeavor. “Working with Mike to restore this film was really a labor of love,” he said in a press statement. “We both really love the film, and felt strongly that we had to preserve it. Viewers watching this restoration will see more clarity, but they will also see more subtlety. They’ll see differences in color from shot to shot, and discover how one color works with another. Mike and I knew what the film was supposed to look like, and it took a lot just getting back to Cinderella having dusty blonde hair and a silver dress. I’m proud that the Studio felt it was important to get this restoration right, and trusted a handful of us to do that.”
This past May, Consequence made a definitive ranking of every Disney song ever, and the 1950 Cinderella performed well. One of the film’s songs, “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” even cracked the top 10, coming in at eighth. Check out the full list to see how the film’s other songs ranked.
A dream come true. ✨
A stunning new restoration of the animated classic, Cinderella, is coming to #DisneyPlus on August 25 during #WorldPrincessWeek! #Disney100 pic.twitter.com/LJZYF6SmB7
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) July 12, 2023
