My Movie Review on Cinderella III: A Twist in Time · 10:10pm May 27th, 2021

Salutations, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, for my 223rd film analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time".

Here's the rundown of this direct-to-video sequel:

One year after Cinderella and Prince Charming were married, the royal couple have happily settled down into their love life. But, everything has not been so happily ever after for Lady Tremaine and her daughters (Drizella and Anastasia), the latter whom have both been forced to take up doing the chores since Cinderella got married and moved in with the prince.

However, when Tremaine and her daughters somehow get a hold of the Fairy Godmother's wand, Tremaine decides to use its magic to go back in time and undo Cinderella's destiny to find true love and marry the prince. The biggest goal Tremaine has behind it all is to get revenge on Cinderella, as well as for her, Anastasia, and Drizella to be living the high life instead.

Will this wicked plan Lady Tremaine has fall through? Or can Cinderella and friends somehow stop her?

I know that it's been years since I reviewed both the 1950 animated film and the live-action remake Disney released in 2015, but I've been interested in making an analysis of this movie for quite a while. The whole film wasn't one I had seen before, but I did watch clips of it here and there on YouTube. Seeing those clips pretty much got me interested in seeing the whole thing for myself at some point. I was also fascinated by the fact that it got a largely positive reception over the years, so I became all-the-more curious of the film.

And yes, I'm aware that there was another Cinderella sequel called "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True". But, based on the research I made on this movie here, the former became non-canon thanks to being retconned by this sequel. I didn't think it'd be necessary to review the second movie because of this, although I wouldn't mind taking a gander at it since that movie was something I watched here and there as a child.

So, what do I think of "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" after finally seeing the whole thing myself?

Well, I will admit that I couldn't help but wonder where the rest of the mice outside of Jaq and Gus were due to them not being present in the past events of the movie. The same with Bruno the Dog because of him being a driving force in the climax of the first film, and Major since he likely wouldn't be staying under the care of Tremaine and her daughters in the present time. All in all, the absence of these characters was something I found myself openly questioning.

Outside of that, though...I found this movie to be absolutely delightful.

In more ways than I expected too!

For instance, the animation was amazing!

For a direct-to-video feature, the movie showcased an animation quality that felt incredibly cinematic. The animators made the visualization faithful to its 1950 predecessor, of course. But, what really astounded me was that they apparently made sure no element was out of place or cheap looking, and the results of their hardwork doing just that were so beautiful that I couldn't help but think the film was worthy of being released in theaters. Even the magic emanating from Fairy Godmother's wand was a breathtaking sight to behold.

The direction by Frank Nissen, and the story by Dan Berendsen, Margaret Heidenry, Colleen Ventimilia, and Eddie Guzelian, were fantastic as well.

The one thing I'd like to point out is that the beginning did seem kinda rushed and brought everything straight to the point, but I didn't think that was necessarily a bad thing. The story as a whole was one of the most creatively-inspired I've ever watched, even as a sequel to an animated classic. The filmmakers provided a great picture of what transpires after Cinderella and the Prince get married, and the amount of "what ifs" they built the story on, like what would happen if Tremaine and her daughters somehow got Fairy Godmother's wand, were great foundations for them to build on.

In addition to the story not feeling like something a person made to merely make a profit out of, the filmmakers incorporated wonderful themes and morals about love. The movie itself also contained heart and emotion that was deeply soul-tugging, and the comedy aspect was hilariously well-done and provided a rollicking good time.

The music by Joel McNeely, and the songs by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, were terrific as well.

With how many films McNeely composed for the now defunct DisneyToon Studios, I'm honestly surprised that Disney didn't ask him to create a score for a movie by their feature animation division. McNeely's music score carried an emotionalism that was strong enough to tug at one's heart, and it was a contributing factor as to why this movie felt bigger than a mere direct-to-video release. Plus, the songs by Zachary and Weiner were not only enjoyable to listen to, but they all helped move the plot forward with ease. It was like the film couldn't survive without them, really.

Finally, the vocal performances, characters, and character development were outstanding.

Personally, I didn't have any issues at all with the characters in the first movie. But, I loved how the filmmakers expanded the personalities of the characters in this film and gave them a greater sense of depth. A prime example comes from Prince Charming, because he didn't exactly have much time to shine as a character in the first film. The characters themselves likewise had phenomenal development, and the vocal performers played their parts beautifully.

Out of all the performances, the ones that I believed to be the best were Jennifer Hale as Cinderella, Susan Blakeslee as Lady Tremaine, Tress MacNeille as Anastasia, and Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Charming. Their characters in particular were also the ones that stood out to me the most throughout the film, because all four had the greatest of developments.

In conclusion, "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" isn't perfect. But, it's one of the most awesome sequels Disney ever made thanks to the ambitious creativity behind it. It has fantastic animation, a terrific story, dynamic character development, everything!

So, I rate "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" 4½ out of 5 stars.