Prince Cinders  (1993)
  
   producers: Longreturn Ltd / Animation City
                     for Channel 4 Television
   animation: 2D animation
      run time: 26mins

 
    "Biff-Bang-Bong!
     Bo-Bo-Bo!
     To the disco you shall go!"
 

    The Cinderella story gets turned on its head in this mixed-up tale of
    lowly Prince Cinders, a lad who wants nothing more than to go to Princess
    Lovelypenny's disco. But he won't be going anywhere if his Ugly Brothers
    get their way. You see, these three spoilt mustachioed princes see their
    younger brother as nothing more than a hired servant. They make him iron all
    their shirts, slavishly, whilst they preen and pump themselves up for the party.
    And worse still, they soil and ruin his trousers so that even if he makes it out
    the house, he'll have nothing to wear.

    Lucky for Cinders, a fairy-godmother-in-training tumbles down his chimmney
    to grant him a series of magic wishes. Only, this would-be witch gets her
    magic muddled. So Cinders ends up with a miniature car for a carriage.
    Instead of a designer outfit, he gets a ridiculous red and white striped bathing
    suit, and worse still, the spell to turn him into a big hairy man transforms
    into nothing less than a lumbering, ooh-oohing gorilla. But our Prince is
    unaware of the transformation, and he's soon causing havoc around town
    as he skates off on his little car, down to the royal disco for one heck
    of a party...

    The tale of Prince Cinders was adapted from the popular picturebook by
    Babette Cole and her illustrations appear to have rollerskated straight off
    the page. From the busy layouts, to the bubbling, bumbling sidekicks and
    secondary characters, there's no mistaking her unique stylings here.
    The enduring appeal of the story is the way in which every facet of the
    famous fairytale is modernised and twisted around. And in the end, it's
    those trousers ruined by the the three Ugly Brothers at the start of our
    tale, which are used to reunite our hero with Princess Lovelypenny - *sigh*

    The film version was produced via Animation City, the company instigated
    by director Derek Hayes. He's since directed the likes of Miracle Maker,
    and welsh-language film Y Mabinogi - both of which are an animated
    world away from the pantomime exploits of Prince Cinders. But this
    kind of adaptation is something of a forte for the film's producer, Iain
    Harvey. He and his production outfit, Illuminated Films, have produced
    films and series starring classic characters from the likes of Raymond
    Briggs, Michael Foreman and most recently, Tony Ross.

    
 

   

     Further reading

     Since it's first publication in 1987, Babette Cole's spritely pantomime
     tale has had numerous reprints. We've had hardback and softback
     editions, and the obligatory movie tie-in, but here's a link to the
     most recent edition:

    » Prince Cinders

 
    
     Awards for the film

     1998 - Grand Prix, L'Enfant Lune, Geneva
     1994 - TV Quick Award

 

     Prince Cinders on DVD


     Prince Cinders
                Region 2 / VDI Entertainment / March 2007

      based on the book by Babette Cole

        Animation City - AC Live

        produced by Longreturn Limited at the studios of Animation City
        for Channel 4 Television Corporation, in association with
        Gaga Communications,  Pickwick Video, Tele-Munchen,
        Boo Bros Film-TV Productions        

        dedicated to Phil Austen (1951-1990)