Cinderella Monogatari (The Story of Cinderella) (1995)

To those of you who may have seen my review of The Legend of Snow White animated series, you will know that I had a deep respect for the creators of that show. They managed to give their own unique version of the story of Snow White, adding new characters and story lines that only served to enrich it and make it even more engaging. Cinderella Monogatari is yet another co-production between Italian studio Mondo TV and Japanese animation studio Tatsunoko Productions that pays special respect to the original tale by adding elements that help to complement and strengthen the central themes it wishes to pass on to the viewers. In addition, it also succeeds in being a well-written show which makes the effort of being entertaining as well as heartfelt.

In the first episode the story begins as it usually does, introducing us to Cinderella and her father, who are both very happy together, until her father is sent away on business (admittedly different from the typical scenario of having him pass away) leaving her in the company of her stepmother and her two spoiled and selfish stepsisters. Cinderella's position in the house is reduced to little more than a common housemaid, but she remains kind and gentle, going about her duties while receiving help from her dog Patch, two cheeky little mice, and a little bird, who become her close friends. This may reminds some of you of the Disney adaptation, and while it is reminiscent of that, I would still say these characters are charming and humorous additions that need not be heavily criticized because they may have been inspired by a previous telling.

There is far more about this series that sets it apart, particularly in how relationships between characters are handled. Much like in The Legend of Snow White, Cinderella meets the Prince, (here named Charles) early on in the series, and they spend a lot of time getting to know one another, (although the Prince does not reveal his identity to Cinderella until towards the end of the series.) I find this aspect to be very important in any prolonged episodic narrative, where the viewer ultimately feels a deeper connection to the character's personalities than if they were reading a fairy tale, which are usually not intended to have serious character development. In a series, we get the opportunity to see more facets of the characters, and having them is more necessary to keep the viewer engaged. By getting to know Prince Charles and Cinderella, and seeing them interact throughout the course of the series, we feel that their relationship is far more meaningful as a result, and I feel, especially for a television series, this aspect is really important so the conclusion of the series feels satisfying to the viewer. Not only this, a common complaint lobbied at the Cinderella story is the lack of any real connection between Cinderella and the Prince; that the relationship is centered mostly on physical, rather than emotional attraction, and therefore, it hardly seems realistic. This series pulls off the relationship between them in such a way that it seems legitimate. Even towards the end when Cinderella is at the ball with the Prince, he makes it clear that it is not just her beauty which draws him to her, but the sense that he knows her from somewhere. It gives us the feeling that even in disguise, Cinderella's true identity is reaching him, although he does not know it; not just the fact that she is beautifully dressed.

Despite its many positive qualities, one of the weaker aspects about the show is some of the sub-plots. There is a somewhat cliché one about an evil Duke trying to take over the kingdom, for example, which although taking place over several episodes. I got the feeling it was added mainly to stretch out the run time of the series after a while, unfortunately. However, the one advantage this sub-plot did add was that it provided a conflict that the Prince and Cinderella could work together to resolve, thus strengthening their relationship. I'm sure this was the main intent of it; I just wish a more creative set-up could have been used to reach that end. The series has many episodes where unique plots are used to fill out an episode. For example, there is one episode where Cinderella meets a fortune-teller whom her stepmother bribes to get him to say that one of her daughters will marry the Prince. She gives him Cinderella's doll, which is precious to her, and then he leaves. Cinderella then goes after him and discovers he is in fact a young man she had once met before who can only see glimpses of the future occasionally. He gives back her doll, while informing her that he does see a bright future in store for her. There is another where Cinderella ventures into a haunted forest to retrieve some herbs for her sick stepmother. She is made to undergo a trial in this forest which tests the purity of her heart by reminding her that her stepmother is wicked and treats her badly. However, this does not deter Cinderella, who wants to prevent the same thing from happening to her stepmother as what happened to her own mother, who had died long ago. In the end, Cinderella retrieves the herbs, and gets to see the spirit of her deceased mother once more, who tells her that she will always be watching over her.

These episodes are where the true charm of this series lies. Even though it is clear this series was intended for younger audiences, they make the effort of making the writing solid and enjoyable. The characters are fun and most of the episodes are quite creative. I thought this series did a great job at telling the story of Cinderella in an entertaining way, while also staying true to the main theme of the story; if you are kind and pure of heart, eventually good things will come to you.