History Headscratchers / Cinderella

*** He also baits the dog and, when he traps one of the mice under the cup towards the end, it seems pretty obvious he's doing it not to catch a mouse but to foil the attempt to rescue Cinderella.

** Her dreams were of a life of freedeom and romance; his were about doing not-so-nice things to Lucifer.

** He also tracks mud over the floor (making multiple paths) right after Cinderella wiped it (see [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F5qgEBHAVM here]]).

!!''ACinderellaStory''

* Regarding the Hilary Duff vehicle ''A Cinderella Story''... Cinderella, in this case, has her own spacious fully decorated bedroom, her own computer, her own car, a cell phone, lives in a house in an upper class neighborhood, and goes to a school filled with similarly upper class kids and, therefore, gets a lot of funding for clubs and stuff. Her main source of misery is that she has a steady job in her "wicked" stepmother's cyber cafe. Plus, she's a senior in high school and has excellent grades. She would only have to put up with her horrible relatives for a few more months before she undoubtedly goes off to college with a couple of scholarships under her belt! Most other versions of Cinderella would ''kill'' for a life like this!
** Her mother specifically lied to [[spoiler: keep the diner away from her]] and keep her out of college, so dependent on her. As bad as the other Cinderella's? No. Bad, as compared to the lives of the target audience? Yep.
*** Plus, this troper is pretty certain that the end of the movie said that the stepmother was breaking child labor laws through the terms of her employment to her stepdaughter.

* Regarding the Hilary Duff vehicle ''A Cinderella Story''... Cinderella, in this case, has her own spacious fully decorated bedroom, her own computer, her own car, a cell phone, lives in a house in an upper class neighborhood, and goes to a school filled with similarly upper class kids and, therefore, gets a lot of funding for clubs and stuff. Her main source of misery is that she has a steady job in her "wicked" stepmother's cyber cafe. Plus, she's a senior in high school and has excellent grades. She would only have to put up with her horrible relatives for a few more months before she undoubtedly goes off to college with a couple of scholarships under her belt! Most other versions of Cinderella would ''kill'' for a life like this!
** Her mother specifically lied to [[spoiler: keep the diner away from her]] and keep her out of college, so dependent on her. As bad as the other Cinderella's? No. Bad, as compared to the lives of the target audience? Yep.
*** Plus, this troper is pretty certain that the end of the movie said that the stepmother was breaking child labor laws through the terms of her employment to her stepdaughter.

* About the Disney version: Right after the mice sing their song and Jaq and Gus go after the stuff for Cinderella's gown, they see the stepsisters complaining about always having to go wearing the same old sash and beads, to the point of calling them "trash". If that's what they thought, then why did they have to tear Cindy's gown later on because of them?
** Because they're just that [[SpoiledBrat spoiled]]. The fact that they rip up her dress over accessories they ''don't even like'' makes their KickTheDog all the more epic and the scene that much more heartbreaking.
** Because it was just an excuse. They needed a reason to keep Cinderella from going to the ball. Lady Tremaine recognizes the beads and the sash as belonging to Anastasia and Drizella. The two step-sisters then tear her dress, making it impossible for her to go to the ball. They couldn't have cared less about the beads and the sash.

* Why do people keep trying to compare the Disney version to the Brothers Grimm tale even though the opening credits say they used a ''different'' version as their source?
** Nobody reads the credits?
* Am I the only one who noticed how Cinderella sang a whole flipping song about how precious dreams are and how nobody can tell her to stop dreaming, and then not even a minute later she ''tells her dog to stop his dreaming?'' I know it can be argued that she was just trying to protect him, but still, hypocritical much?
** Her dreams were of a life of freedeom and romance; his were about doing not-so-nice things to Lucifer.
* When Lady Tremaine locks Cinderella in her room in the Disney version, why doesn't the fairy godmother show up and unlock the door? She was willing to make ''an entire dress and carriage'' for her earlier, so surely unlocking a door would be no trouble.
** She's not there to fix Cindy's every problem with a wave of her wand (if she were, she'd probably have shown up a ''lot'' sooner). Cinderella's friends were helping her escape, and they succeeded. She didn't need magic that time. Had they failed, maybe then the Godmother would have intervened. Just like before, when she showed up only after the attempt by the animals to help Cinderella attend the ball was unfairly ruined.

* Why is the cat considered a villain? I know he's Lady Tremaine's pet, but for most of the movie, all he's really trying to do is eat the mice. Isn't that what cats do in real life?

** In effect you're right, the third movie was more a retelling of the first story; the second one was the true sequel.

* What happened to the sister's baker boyfriend from the second film? Is the third movie before that one?

* If the shoes are made to fit Cinderella's feet perfectly, why does she lose one of them?

** She's not there to fix Cindy's every problem with a wave of her wand (if she were, she'd probably have shown up a ''lot'' sooner). Cinderella's friends were helping her escape, and they succeeded. She didn't need magic that time. Had they failed, maybe then the Godmother would have intervened. Just like before, when she showed up only after the attempt by the animals to help Cinderella attend the ball was unfairly ruined.

** She's not there to fix Cindy's every problem with a wave of her wand (if she were, she'd probably have shown up a ''lot'' sooner). Cinderella's friends were helping her escape, and they succeeded. She didn't need magic that time. Had they failed, maybe then she would have intervened. Just like before, when she showed up only after the attempt by the animals to help her attend the ball was unfairly ruined.

* When Lady Tremaine locks Cinderella in her room in the Disney version, why doesn't the fairy godmother show up and unlock the door? She was willing to make ''an entire dress and carriage'' for her earlier, so surely unlocking a door would be no trouble.

** Her dreams were of a life of freedeom and romance; his were about doing not-so-nice things to Lucifer.

* Am I the only one who noticed how Cinderella sang a whole flipping song about how precious dreams are and how nobody can tell her to stop dreaming, and then not even a minute later she ''tells her dog to stop his dreaming?'' I know it can be argued that she was just trying to protect him, but still, hypocritical much?

** Nobody reads the credits?

* Why do people keep trying to compare the Disney version to the Brothers Grimm tale even though the opening credits say they used a ''different'' version as their source?

** Depending on the version (if it even says anything about him at all, most don't) Cinderella's father is usually less of a nobleman and more of a wealthy scholar or businessman who "married up" by hooking up with the Wicked Stepmother. Chances are if he had friends, they were probably not of a social class to be checking up on a Lady who had lost her husband -- and even if they were, it's unlikely the stepmother would have allowed them to visit if she thought they would object to how she was treating said late husband's daughter.

** Magic. Duh!
*** AWizardDidIt.

**** Cinderella is the story of a fairy godmother's successful [[strike: XanatosGambit]] BatmanGambit for helping a deserving young woman.
* Wouldn't glass slippers be pretty uncomfortable (as well as dangerous, if they break) to wear?
** And since when fashion is about comfort? Have you ever heard of corsets, for starters?
** The Fairy Godmother added a magic cushioning charm.
*** And custom orthotics!
** I've heard that "glass" is a mistranslation, and in the original story they were fur.
*** Not according to [[http://www.snopes.com/language/misxlate/slippers.asp Snopes]].
** Having them made of glass also demonstrates how incredibly graceful Cinderella must have been as a person if she could wear such things.
*** Not to mention light. How much could she have possible weighed if she walked on glass and didn't break it?
** That is why some versions use normal fancy shoes covered with glass beads.
** I asked my mother about this when I first saw the movie as a little girl! She said that the glass slippers were just cute sculptures she already owned, but the Fairy Godmother summoned them and used magic to enchant them to be made into ''toughened'' glass slippers (like the glass used for car windshields and such). This is why the shoes don't disappear, why Cinderella can walk in them, ''and'' why the shoe that gets dropped breaks into sharp chunks instead of shattering into little bits.

*** Dude, you just gave away a major spoiler for ''{{Saw}} VII''!!

*** In the Chinese version the heroine had feet naturally small, gain without pain, and that is why her sisters where so jealous of her. Must have been uncomfortable though...

*** Like I said, orthotics.

--->'''Duke''': But, Sire, this slipper may fit any number of girls.\\
'''King''': That's his problem. He's given his word, we'll hold him to it.
*** And then ''Cinderella III: Twist in Time'' took it further: [[spoiler:the stepmother uses magic to make the shoe fit Anastasia's foot first and so they go to the palace instead of Cinderella. When the prince sees Anastasia, he knows that she isn't the woman he danced with and realizes the possibility that the shoe could have fit multiple girls.]]

* What is the point in using the slippers in the first place? Wouldn't the prince remember oh, say, ''HER FACE''?
** Many versions, like ''Ella Enchanted'' and the Cinderella thread of ''Witches Abroad'' have the ball as a masque to dodge this problem.
*** ''Witches Abroad'' could have also avoided this problem by lampshading - it would be completely in the character of Granny Weatherwax to notice things like this.
**** Actually, due to the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality, a lampshading would have been entirely insufficient.
** It could just have been a method to narrow down the prospective brides. Only after trying on the shoe would the women be able to meet the prince. A woman could lie about being the mysterious woman, but she couldn't easily fake her foot size. Presumably, the prince would be able to pick out a woman he had only seen at most for several hours from several dozen women instead of hundreds.
*** That appeared to have been what the Prince had in mind in ''Cinderella III: Twist in Time''. He tells his dad that the slipper idea was just something to go off of and realizes off of the bat that Anastasia wasn't who he danced with even though the slipper fit her (long story).
** Presumably she was made up for the ball. There are plenty of women who look very different with fancy make up and hairstyles.
** You would think that it would have been kind of easy. Send another invitation to the same list of invitees from the original ball, but say that the prince wishes to speak to every woman he danced with that evening. How many could that have been?

** One troper's WMG: fairy godmothers have a non-interference PrimeDirective that prevents them from meddling too much in the lives of their charges. Cinderella's FG took pity on her when Cinderella couldn't go to the ball and decided to break the rules for her sake.

** Her mother specifically lied to [[spoiler:keep the diner away from her]] and keep her out of college, so dependent on her. As bad as the other Cinderella's? No. Bad, as compared to the lives of the target audience? Yep.

* Isn't anyone bothered that this is essentially a story about an abused girl whose best option is to marry a complete stranger, even if he is the prince?
** If you want a Cinderella-esque story where the girl refuses the guy who wants to be her PrinceCharming, check out ''MansfieldPark''.
*** Or ''Just Ella.''
** It's a fairy tale, it probably utilizes the whole "love at first sight" thing. Plus, Cinderella essentially doesn't have any other option. If she were to run away, where would she go? The streets?
** Put it into perspective of when the tale came around, that must have been a dream. Take a look at Cinderella's situation; she's a woman, and doesn't have any money of her own. Her gender alone would make it pretty hard to become independant. Then add the fact that her step-family make her pose as a servant...ugly or not, two girls from a well-off family certainly sound better choices than a raggedy servant. She can't leave her step-mother because A) she's being mentally abused to believe she's worthless, and B) if she leaves, she can never go back. The step-mother would never take her back in knowing Cinderella had it in her to be independant. The prince coming along, sweeping her off her feet to a life where she'd never have to work again or answer to anyone, that is fairytale in itself.
** The musical ''Into The Woods'' takes this into account. Cinderella is freaked out by the prince chasing her, and doesn't know what to do: "Wanting a ball's not wanting a prince!" She leaves the shoe behind partly to keep from having to make the decision herself, and to see what he would do. Also, Happily Ever After is at the end of Act 1 - and then they have Act 2.
* About the [[Disney/{{Cinderella}} Disney version]]: Right after the mice sing their song and Jaq and Gus go after the stuff for Cinderella's gown, they see the stepsisters complaining about always having to go wearing the same old sash and beads, to the point of calling them "trash". If that's what they thought, then why did they have to tear Cindy's gown later on because of them?
** Because they're just that [[SpoiledBrat spoiled]]. The fact that they rip up her dress over accessories they ''don't even like'' makes their [[KickTheDog Kicking Of The Dog]] all the more epic and the scene that much more heartbreaking.
** Because it was just an excuse. They needed a reason to keep Cinderella from going to the ball. Lady Tremaine recognizes the beads and the sash as belonging to Anastasia and Drusilla. The two step-sisters then tear her dress, making it impossible for her to go to the ball. They couldn't have cared less about the beads and the sash.
* Why do we consider Lucifer the Cat a villain? Yes, he was Lady Tremaine's pet and was constantly trying to eat the mice, but isn't that what cats do in real life? Are we just considering him evil because [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute he's trying to eat animals that, unlike him, look cute and can talk]]? 'Cause by that logic, then us humans oughta be considered evil for having a taste for things like hamburgers and pizza.
** He doesn't just chase the mice, he also purposely messes with Cinderella a few times, like when she's cleaning the floor and he purposely puts dirty paw marks all over the place. And pizza doesn't always have meat (so eating it isn't automatically "evil" unless you're vegan).
*** Oh c'mon, MY cat messes up the floor all the time (albeit not deliberately like Lucifer did).
**** Well, there's the fact that Lucifer deliberately traps one of the mice under a cup, because he doesn't want Cinderella to get lose from her bedroom and try on the slipper. But then, there's always the lovely scene in the third movie, when [[spoiler:the stepmother traps Cinderella in a magic pumpkin carriage and turns Lucifer into a human coachman. He proceeds to cheerfully go ahead and try to drive Cinderella off of a cliff.]]
***** OK, on that first one, I clearly believe that was because he wanted to eat the mouse, because, you know, '''''it's his job?!''''' In the case of the later one, though, yeah, that's definitely an evil thing to do, but maybe he's just doing it 'cause he has an evil master. (After all, [[{{Pokemon}} Ekans and Koffing]] said they only do bad things 'cause their trainers order them to.)
* So, Cinderella is the only person in the entire kingdom that the glass slippers fit, and they fit her absolutely perfectly, right? If that's the case, then why does one of them just ''fall off''? Doesn't that mean they're too big for her? If that's the case, then why are the feet of the other women in the kingdom too big to fit the slipper? Did [[{{A Wizard Did It}} a fairy godmother do it?]]
** They may fit, but they're still high heels. [[{{Understatement}} Those things are a pain to run in]] under the best circumstances.
** In Jim Henson's ''Hey, Cinderella!'' it's implied that Cinderella just has a habit of one of her feet slipping out of the shoe (she does this with her set of ordinary shoes).
** In ''Into The Woods," the ball is a three-day affair, and the GenreSavvy prince spreads tar on the steps of the palace so that Cinderella won't be able to escape on the third night like she did the first two. She ends up leaving the shoe there on purpose, though.

** Depending on the version (if it even says anything about him at all, most don't) Cinderella's father is usually less of a nobleman and more of a wealthy scholar or businessman who "married up" by hooking up with the Wicked Stepmother. Chances are if he had friends, they were probably not of a social class to be checking up on a Lady who had lost her husband-- and even if they were, it's unlikely the stepmother would have allowed them to visit if she thought they would object to how she was treating said late husband's daughter.

* One thing that bothers me is this: Cinderella, in most versions, is nobility. From what I understand, nobility hobknobbed as that was how they kept their influence in court and amongst other nobles. This means that while Cinderella, being young, may not have gone visiting, she surely would have been seen by her father's friends when they came to visit him. Did no one notice that their friend's daughter who is now a marriagable age and might make a fine wife for their sons is nowhere to be seen after her father passes? Did they not think to check in with her, or to invite her to visit along with her stepmother/sisters to see if one of them would be a good match?

** In ''Into The Woods," the ball is a three-day affair, and the GenreSavvy prince spreads tar on the steps of the palace so that Cinderella won't be able to escape on the third night like she did the first two. She ends up leaving the shoe there on purpose, though.

** In Jim Henson's ''Hey, Cinderella!'' it's implied that Cinderella just has a habit of one of her feet slipping out of the shoe (she does this with her set of ordinary shoes).

** They may fit, but they're still high heels. [[{{Understatement}} Those things are a pain to run in]] under the best circumstances.