Voices of Robyn Moore, Keith Scott, Ross Higgins, and Julie Anthony
Directed by Yoram Gross
Music by Guy Gross; Lyrics by John Palmer
We head down under this weekend for an unusual animated fantasy. By 1991, the success of Disney's animated fairy tales began to trickle overseas. Yoram Gross is best-known today in the US for the series of hybrid animation/live-action films revolving around a little girl named Dot and her Australian animal friends he made from 1977 to 1994. Most of his projects tended to revolve around original stories or classic Aussie or British characters. This seems to be his only shot at a fairy tale story. How well does this hybrid of five famous folk stories and one beloved fantasy novel work today? Let's begin with Grandmother (Moore) telling us how much she loves fairy tales, even if she gets them "a little mixed up," and find out...
The Story: Cindy (Moore) lives with her wicked stepmother the Widow and stepsisters Bertha and Ertha (all Moore) on a run-down farm. She encounters a handsome young man named Phillipe (Higgins) who helps her after an accident on the road. He's in love with her, but the Widow would rather shove him towards the grotesque Bertha and the awkward Ertha. Cindy's grandfather left everything to her in his will, but no one can find it. The Widow keeps Cindy busy so she won't be able to find the will.
The poor servant girl has more help on her side than she thinks. Her grandmother (Moore) first helps her with her chores, then invites her to her house. The Widow lures Grandmother to the Castle of a Thousand Doors, then dresses as a wolf to frighten Cindy off. Cindy figures out the deception and eventually goes out in search of her, with the help of seven wooden dwarfs and one little wooden boy named Pinocchio (all Scott). The Widow tries to lure her to a ball, but Cindy has even more help in mind, strange creatures who can help her avoid her stepmother and find her destiny.
The Animation: It's really only so-so. The characters move strangely and stiffly, even the ones that aren't made of wood. Cindy does manage to have a nice range of expressions, and the Widow and her daughters have rather bizarre designs, especially Ertha. While colorful, the backdrops barely move behind them and are nothing to write home about. Continuity errors abound, with characters and items disappearing and reappearing at will.
The Song and Dance: Unusual hybrid of five fairy tales and Pinocchio is one of the stranger fairy tale adaptations I've seen. At the least, the voice cast is having fun, with Moore in particular showing off some nice range, going from the sweet Cindy to the shrill Widow to snorting Bertha and whiny Ertha. Some of the animals' antics are occasionally funny too, especially during the "Pig Song" that retells "The Three Little Pigs."
Favorite Number: Cindy explains how things were better "When I Was Just a Little Girl" in the opening. The Widow sings about how she's "Mean Mean Mean" because she can't find and destroy the will. Bertha and Ertha are introduced as "My Darling Daughters," but they're anything but adorable as "Sisters Sisters" abuse Cindy and each other. "The Pig Song" is Cindy using the barn animals to retell "The Three Little Pigs" after she finds the Widow's wolf costume. Cindy bemoans her orphan status as the Ugly Duckling finds his family in "Oh Silver Bright Reflection." Phillipe is so charmed by Cindy at the ball, he sings about "The Girl In the Snow White Dress" who has won his heart. Stage star Anthony sings the sweet ballad "Ordinary Miracles" over the end credits.
What I Don't Like: The story is too much of a hodge podge to be much fun. The plot is twisted together with no rhyme or reason, and there are holes everywhere. Despite being in the title, the "magic riddle" doesn't turn up until the last five minutes, and it's barely of consequence. Pinocchio, the duckling, the pigs, and the dwarfs barely do anything besides a few gags (although Pinocchio is a big part of that riddle finale). Phillipe doesn't do much besides be the love interest and kiss Cindy awake, either. The Widow and her daughters are annoying and way too silly to be menacing.
And when is this supposed to be set? The farm setting and the carriages would indicate 18th or 19th century, but the outfits on most of the human characters are strictly early 90's, especially Cindy's jeans and bare mid-rift. There's all the accents, too, ranging all over the place from gentle British to heavy Aussie. The (many) writers can't even decide if Cindy's cat is talking or not - he's mostly mute, but he does sing at one point.
The Big Finale: Though this supposedly picked up something of a cult following in the US and Australia over the years, I still recommend it only for the most ardent fans of fairy tales or Aussie animation.
Home Media: This rarity can currently only be found on YouTube on this side of the Pacific.
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