Cinderella Getting 4k “Ultimate Restoration” on Disney+

Disney+ has announced a new 4k ultra high definition restoration of the animated 1950 film Cinderella will debut on the streaming service on August 25th, bringing the Disney Princess back to the streaming service in time for World Princess Week. The Cinderella restoration is part of Disney’s ongoing centennial celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios, encapsulated in its Disney100 programming plans. The Cinderella restoration will mark the first time that Cinderella has been available to stream in 4K, which has been, according to Disney, a multi-year effort by the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, working with key members of Walt Disney Animation Studios on the project.

In a press release, Disney touts the restoration of Cinderella as a version that restored the film “to its original grandeur, authentic to the artistic ambitions of the Studio’s creative team, and which looks and sounds better than ever.” The 4k Cinderella restoration will have a festival premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won a Golden Bear Award 52 years ago in its international debut.

“Working with our restoration team along with internal technical experts, outside vendors (like Mike Underwood at Picture Shop Hollywood), 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 release. “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.  To make sure we didn’t lose any of the detail or artistic choices of the filmmakers, we turned to Disney Animation legends and authorities, including Michael Giaimo and Eric Goldberg.”

Dorothy McKim (special projects and 2D animation producer for Walt Disney Animation Studios) worked with Bob Bagley (digital imaging manager for Disney Animation), taking input from Giaimo and Goldberg, to restore and preserve the film’s colors, contrast, and accuracy found in the original cels and artwork. Giaimo, who worked as a production designer on the upcoming Disney animated feature , the two Frozen movies, and Pocahontas, said, “It was an honor to work on this restoration with Eric, and to really celebrate the original intent and classic Disney aesthetic of those great artists who worked with Walt, notably the great Mary Blair, and to get that right level of depth and saturation.” 

Addressing one of the major complaints about Disney’s previous restoration of Cinderella for high definition, which turned her silver dress blue, obscuring much of its detail in the process, Goldberg added, “Working with Mike to restore this film was really a labor of love. 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.”

Cinderella debuted in 1950 and proved a hit. The Disney movie earned three Oscar nominations. Here’s Disney’s synopsis for the movie:

“With a wicked stepmother (Wilfred Jackson) and two jealous stepsisters (Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves) who keep her enslaved and in rags, Cinderella (Clyde Geronimi) stands no chance of attending the royal ball. When her fairy godmother (Hamilton Luske) appears and magically transforms her reality into a dream come true, Cinderella enchants the handsome Prince Charming at the ball, but must face the wrath of her enraged stepmother and sisters when the spell wears off at midnight.”

Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi directed Cinderella. Its voice cast includes Ilene Woods as Cinderella, Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine, Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother, Rhoda Williams as Drizella Tremaine, Lucille Bliss as Anastasia Tremaine, James MacDonala as Jaq, Gus, and Bruno, Luis van Rooten as the King and the Grand Duke, Don Barclay as the Doorman, and William Edward Phipps as Prince Charming (with Mike Douglas providing Prince Charming’s singing voice). Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman wrote the songs for the Disney movie. The 4k restoration of Cinderella will be streaming on Disney+ on August 25th.