Cinderella

Cinderella is the female protagonist in the 1950 full length animated feature film Cinderella. She is the second Official Disney Princess. She was voiced by the late Ilene Woods and is currently by Jennifer Hale.

Cinderella
Cinderella's father died when she was very young. Using this opportunity, Lady Tremaine forced her into becoming a slave of the household. Her only friends are the animals in the house. One day, the King made a royal ball for all the maidens in the kingdom so Prince Charming, his son, could marry. Cinderella was unable to go, as the dress made by her friends were torn by the stepsisters. By then, the Fairy Godmother appeared and gave her a dress and a carriage to go to the ball. However, the magic had its limits: by midnight, the miracles disappear. During the ball, Cinderella fell in love with the prince, but due to the magic's limit, she didn't know who he was. In the next day, the prince declared that whoever fit the glass slipper left by Cinderella would be his wife. Knowing that Cinderella was the one, Lady Tremaine jailed her in her own room when the Duke brought the slipper to her house. With the help of Jaq and Gus, she escaped, fit on the slipper, and lived happily with the prince.

In the Movie
Cinderella is shown as a mistreated young girl who dreams of escaping the torturous life she has had to endure at the hands of her stepfamily. Her father, believing she needed a mother's love, married Lady Tremaine, who has two daughters about her age Anastasia and Drizella. However, after her father's death, Lady Tremaine reveals herself to be a passive-aggressive tyrant who is jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty. She, her daughters and their pet cat Lucifer abuse and mistreat Cinderella, ultimately forcing her to become a scullery maid in her own home. She is notable for being silenced repeatedly by Lady Tremaine, creating the assumption that Cinderella is expected to do chores without speaking out. Her only friends around the chateau are the mice (especially Jaq and Gus), the birds, Bruno the dog, and Major the horse. One day, Cinderella receives an invitation to a royal ball at the King's castle. She immediately delivers it to her stepmother, who tells her she can go--provided she finishes all her chores and is able to find something suitable to wear. After thanking her stepmother, she goes back to her room, where she shows the mice and birds a dress that had belonged to her late mother. She is about to begin fixing her dress when she is unexpectedly called downstairs by her impatient, needy stepsisters. The mice and birds, feeling sorry for her, take it upon themselves to repair the dress for Cinderella. Jaq and Gus find a sash that Anastasia doesn't want anymore, as well as some beads thrown out by Drizella, and take them to help fix the dress. Later that night, Cinderella sees a carriage outside the chateau through a large window. She goes to inform her stepmother that a carriage has arrived to take them to the ball. When Lady Tremaine notices that Cinderella has not yet dressed for the event, Cinderella replies that she is not going, to which Lady Tremaine points out that there are other times Cinderella will be able to attend while smiling wickedly about Cinderella not going. Cinderella walks back to her room and looks out the window toward the castle, wondering what a royal ball will be like. Just then, her bird and mice friends reveal a surprise: they have fixed the dress for her. She thanks them for showing how much they care for her, changes into the dress, and rushes downstairs to join her stepfamily. However, when they see Cinderella, Lady Tremaine compliments her dress and points out Drizella's beads. The stepsisters fly into a rage and furiously tear Cinderella's dress apart, leaving her in rags. Cinderella is left with her dress reduced to rags as her stepfamily leaves for the ball, wishing her good night. Realizing that now she cannot go to the ball, she bursts into tears and runs outside to the garden, with the mice, Bruno and Major following her in sadness. She throws herself onto a bench and begins sobbing at the apparent loss of her dreams. Shortly thereafter, the magical Fairy Godmother appears to comfort Cinderella. She insists that Cinderella attend the ball and demonstrates her magical abilities as she transforms a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, Major into a coachman, and Bruno into a footman before transforming Cinderella's ragged dress into a beautiful, sparkling ball gown, complete with glass slippers. The Fairy Godmother warns Cinderella that all her magic will be undone at the stroke of midnight. Cinderella thanks her, jumps into the coach and sets off for the ball, waving goodbye to the Fairy Godmother. Cinderella arrives at the castle while the ball is still in procession. She walks upstairs to the castle's ballroom, where she attracts the attention of Prince Charming, who is enchanted by her sparkling appearance and walks over to her. He escorts her to the middle of the ballroom, and (surrounded by other maidens in attendance) the two begin to waltz. The two then have some private time together (courtesy of The Grand Duke), during which they become completely enthralled with each other and are about to kiss, but then the clock begins to strike midnight, prompting Cinderella, who has lost track of time and also does not realize at this point that she has been dancing with the Prince himself, to leave abruptly, realizing that the Fairy Godmother's magic is about to end. As she runs down the stairs, she inadvertently drops one of her two glass slippers; nevertheless, she jumps into the coach and leaves the castle. At the clock's twelfth strike, the spell breaks, reverting everything back to what it was. After running behind the bushes to hide from from the palace guards (summoned by the Grand Duke) who gallop past the pumpkin (smashing it in the process), Cinderella, once again in rags, apologizes to the mice, Major and Bruno for forgetting the time before going over her wonderful time at the ball, including her dance with the Prince. Just as she accepts that it has all ended, Jaq and Gus point out a glass slipper, the only remaining object from the Fairy Godmother's magic, on her foot. Cinderella takes off the slipper and thanks her friends and her Fairy Godmother for everything. Meanwhile, at the castle, the King has ordered the Grand Duke to search all over the kingdom for whoever can fit the slipper, the only clue of the mysterious maiden. Back at Cinderella's chateau, Cinderella has resumed her duties of a maid. As she walks upstairs, carrying breakfast for Anastasia and Drizella, she overhears Lady Tremaine telling Anastasia and Drizella about the news of the Duke's search for the girl who has lost a slipper at the ball last night and whom the prince is madly in love with, causing Cinderella, upon realizing that handsome man she danced with was Prince Charming, to become so distracted that she drops their breakfast in the process. As she cleans up the mess (ordered by Lady Tremaine), she overhears Lady Tremaine continuing to tell her daughters that the girl who can fit the slipper will be the prince's bride, making Cinderella smile dreamily, even when her stepsisters stack clothes in her arms, the sight of which makes them suspicious of her peculiar facial expression. Upon hearing that the two have to get dressed in preparation for the Duke's arrival, Cinderella decides that she too must get ready. She puts down the clothes and heads upstairs to her room, singing and humming the tune she and the Prince had sung at the ball. Unknown to her, Lady Tremaine is spying on her dance-like movements, and realizes Cinderella was the mysterious girl who dancd with the Prince. Jaq and Gus see Lady Tremaine heading upstairs to the tower and, sensing the danger, rush to Cinderella's room to warn her, but Cinderella is too busy preparing herself to meet the Duke. By the time she sees them trying to warn her, she catches sight of Lady Tremaine at the door (through a mirror), but it's too late, as the wicked stepmother slams the door shut and locks it. Having seen Lady Tremaine put the key into her pocket, Jaq and Gus decide to steal the key and take it to Cinderella's room to free her. A short time later, the Grand Duke and the Herald arrive at the chateau. While Cinderella sobs in front of the locked door, believing that her dreams of being reunited with the Prince have been lost, Jaq and Gus steal the key to her room from Lady Tremaine. Cinderella hears Jaq and Gus panting up the stairs outside her room and looks through the keyhole to see that the two mice have finally made it to the top, filling her once again with relief and hope, but is again shocked when Lucifer traps Gus inside a bowl, along with the key. She orders Lucifer to let Gus go, but the stubborn cat refuses. When the mice and the birds' attempts to make Lucifer release Gus fail, Cinderella, quickly realizing that Bruno can be the one to get rid of Lucifer, implores the birds to fetch the dog. After Bruno arrives and scares the cat into jumping out of a nearby window, Jaq and Gus wedge the key through an opening between the door and the floor, allowing Cinderella to finally exit her room and head downstairs. Just as the Duke is about to leave, Cinderella calls out to him. Lady Tremaine initially tries to dismiss Cinderella as a mere maid, but the Duke rebuffs her and helps Cinderella onto a chair so that she can try on the slipper. He calls for the Herald to deliver the slipper, but Lady Tremaine trips him with her cane, causing the slipper to fly and shatter into pieces in front of the Duke and Cinderella. As the Duke reacts in horror and terror about the King's reaction, Cinderella reveals that she has the other slipper, which she pulls out from her apron, horrifying her stepmother and stepsisters but filling the Duke once again with joy and hope. He slides the slipper onto Cinderella's foot, and it fits perfectly. Cinderella, along with the mice, Bruno and Major, are taken to the castle, where she reunites with Prince Charming and becomes his bride and a princess. The King and the Grand Duke happily celebrate their marriage as the newlyweds head downstairs to a carriage that will take them on their honeymoon. As Cinderella walks down the stairs with the Prince, she drops her slipper once again, prompting her to go back for it. The King assists her in putting it back on, and Cinderella gives him a kiss on the head as a way of thanking him amkiing him blush deeply. Cinderella and the Prince ride off in the carriage, and Cinderella waves goodbye to her mice friends, who wave back at her. As the carriage pulls away, Cinderella and the Prince share another kiss (with the final words in the book, below the illustration of the couple kissing, reading "and they lived happily ever after forever").

Cinderella II
In the second movie, Cinderella was a character in the storybook created by the mice and the Fairy Godmother as she helped both her allies and foes to reach their happy endings. One year later after the events of the original movie, Jaq and Gus set off to make a new book to narrate what happens after the ending of the previous story, by stringing three segments of astounding stories together, making three separate stories that are titled: "Aim to Please", "Tall Tail" and "An Uncommon Romance". In the first story, Cinderella and Prince Charming return home from their well-loved honeymoon, only to find that Charming and the King have to leave once again for royal affairs, leaving Princess Cinderella in charge of a royal banquet that's to be held. Not knowing the first thing about organizing parties or the royal traditions, Cinderella struggles with her new life and tasks as royalty, eventually deciding to disregard the old traditions and setting things anew, successfully throwing the party in her own, unique style. In "Tall Tail", Cinderella and the Grand Duke work together throughout the castle to prepare for a festival, whilst Jaq feels guilt for his inability to assist her, due to his size. Fairy Godmother, however, transforms Jaq into a human by the name of Sir Hugh, and in this new guise, he offers Cinderella assistance numerous times, only to fail abruptly when he does. In the third story, called "An Uncommon Romance", Anastasia falls in love with a local baker, much to the disgust of Lady Tremaine. Heartbroken by her mother's feelings towards her newfound love, Anastasia breaks down in tears, only to be comforted by Cinderella, who offers to help her stepsister change for the better and win the baker's heart. In the end, not only does Anastasia blossom a romantic relationship with the baker, but a loving relationship between her and Cinderella is also formed, finally accepting one another as sisters.

Cinderella 2
Cinderella and Prince Charming are celebrating their first anniversary when Fairy Godmother accidentally loses her wand to Anastasia. She immediately takes it to Lady Tremaine and Drizella, who learn the power of the wand and how to wield it properly. After the Fairy Godmother is accidentally transformed into a statue, Lady Tremaine then reverses time to before Cinderella tried on the slipper. By using magic, the slipper is able to fit Anastasia. Cinderella tries to convince Lady Tremaine that the slipper belongs to her by showing her that she has the other one. Instead, Lady Tremaine calls her night with Prince Charming nothing more than a dream and destroys the other slipper. Cinderella is left at the château while her stepmother and Lucifer make way to the castle to meet her prince. Devastated and confused, Cinderella begins to attend to her normal duties, but regains her confidence and decides to meet with the prince herself, knowing he should recognize her when he sees her. Cinderella, Jaq, Gus, and two bluebirds, sneak into the palace and begin their search.

When she finally bumps into him, however, he fails to recognize her. Heartbroken, Cinderella cries at the loss of her former love, until Jaq and Gus arrive to expose Lady Tremaine's villainy. Upon finding out that Lady Tremaine used the wand to wipe Charming's memory of herself and make him believe Anastasia was the one he danced with, Cinderella forgets her sorrows and jumps into action. At Lady Tremaine's room, Jaq and Gus sneak in to grab the wand. They are almost exposed by Lucifer until Cinderella enters disguised as a maid. Lady Tremaine discovers her anyway and a chase follows. While Jaq, Gus, and Cinderella evade Tremaine and the palace guards, the bluebirds rush to warm Charming of the danger, hoping to lure him to Cinderella's location for the spell to be broken. Meanwhile, Jaq and Gus hand the wand over to Cinderella just as Charming arrives onto the scene, but before she could flip the spell, the guards arrest her. Lady Tremaine regains the wand and orders the guards to send Cinderella to the next ship leaving the kingdom to have her banished, although she narrowly manages to touch the Prince's hand.

Jaq, Gus, and the bluebirds meet up with Prince Charming. They explain that his memory was altered (referring to Cinderella as Cinderelly), and he rushes off on his horse to find her before the ship sets sail. He is too late, but narrowly manages to find himself on board, reintroducing himself to Cinderella (whom he calls Cinderelly before she corrects him), and immediately takes advantage of the moment by proposing to the girl, which she gladly accepts. With their love having prevailed over Lady Tremaine's curse, the two return to the palace and explain the situation to the King and Grand Duke. Infuriated, the King orders the Grand Duke and the guards to search the castle for the step-family to have them arrested, while other members of the castle prepare for a wedding, which is set to take place that same night. Cinderella is preparing for her wedding with the help of her animal companions, Lady Tremaine and Lucifer appear out of the shadows. Not only that, Tremaine soon summons Anastasia, who is revealed to have been magically transformed into an exact copy of Cinderella. Tremaine explains her plot to have Anastasia marry the prince under her guise. Seeing her apprehension, Cinderella makes an attempt to talk down her stepsister, but fearing Cinderella could conjure a change in heart in Anastasia, Tremaine sends her off to be killed by a human Lucifer.

Still, Cinderella manages to escape her death and uses her time to make her way to the castle. Prince Charming and "Cinderella" are ready to marry, but to the real Cinderella's amazement, Anastasia refuses and reveals herself, having realized she doesn't truly love the Prince. An infuriated Lady Tremaine tries to turn Anastasia into a toad, until Cinderella steps in to defend her, having realized Anastasia only wants someone to love for herself and not as someone else. Lady Tremaine then attempts to turn them both into toads, but Prince Charming intervenes by reflecting the magic with his sword, causing it to hit Drizella and Lady Tremaine instead. They are transformed into toads and fall into the palace's basement. Anastasia brings the real Cinderella and Charming together and transforms herself back to normal. Cinderella thanks Anastasia, and the two reconcile, putting their animosity firmly behind them. Together, they restore the Fairy Godmother, who gives Cinderella a brand-new wedding attire. As they are unaware of the twist in time, Cinderella and Prince Charming decline the fairy's offer to restore the timeline, and the two finally tie the knot, and they live happily ever after...again.

House of Mouse
Cinderella makes numerous cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse always in her classic ball gown.

In the episode "The Stolen Cartoons" when Donald was left in charge, she fled away from the bad show, leaving behind her glass slipper.

In the episode "House of Scrooge", she lends Mickey the dress the mice made for her and after he thanks her she replies with "That old thing?."

In the episode "Rent Day", Cinderella was part of Mickey's borrow and exchange chain, telling him she'd give him her pumpkin so long as he can find her another mode of transportation.

In "Big Bad Wolf Daddy", her glass slippers broke as Big Bad Wolf continues blowing his trumpet during his performance on stage.

In "Where's Minnie?", when the advert named 'Scuttle's Lost & Found' mentions glass slippers, she then realizes that she lost the slippers.

In "The Mouse Who Came to Dinner", Mortimer Mouse made fun of her regarding about her missing glass slipper.

She also appears in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, in which she is trapped in the House with the other guests. At one point, she talks about how she is thankful for friendly mice who make nice evening wear (this segment was also used in the series episode "House of Turkey").

Sofia the First
In the film, Cinderella is summoned by Sofia's magical amulet after the young princess casts a spell that makes everyone at the royal ball fall asleep. Cinderella explains that when Sofia's in trouble, the amulet will summon one of the princesses to help her. Cinderella tells Sofia that the best way to solve the problem is to make amends with her stepsister Amber. Sofia is reluctant to do so, however, since Amber had treated her harshly since she first arrived at the castle. Cinderella tells Sofia that Amber was only jealous because Sofia had gained more attention recently and that showing her compassion could help her change her views. She also tells her that she went through a similar thing with her stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, of how their jealousy for her made them cold and cruel and if she had tried to make amends with them, maybe things would have been better for her now. She sings a song about her own troubles she had with her own stepsisters before departing. Her pumpkin carriage is seen at the end of the special.

Ralph Breaks the Internet
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Cinderella appears as a netizen residing in Oh My Disney as a cast member. She and the other Disney princesses greet net users that most relate to them after answering a "Which Disney Princess Are You?" quiz. While visiting the site, Vanellope von Schweetz gets into trouble with First Order Stormtroopers. She manages to find refuge in the Disney princesses' private quarters, where the ladies are on break. They immediately lunge at Vanellope, believing her to be a threat; Cinderella breaks the glass slipper and threatens to use it as a weapon. To their surprise, however, Vanellope reveals to be a princess, as well. Pocahontas questions what kind of princess Vanellope is; Cinderella asks if animals talk to Vanellope while holding her mice, though she denies. When Vanellope notes that she doesn't have a mom in response to Jasmine, Cinderella excitedly relates.

After declaring Vanellope an official princess, Cinderella becomes interested in Vanellope's casual attire. As the other princesses take interest, as well, Cinderella has the mice seam comfy clothes for each of the girls. Cinderella's outfit consists of a light blue top that reads, "G2G" with artwork of the pumpkin carriage—a nod to her midnight deadline. After changing, Cinderella lounges on a beanbag decorated with Fairy Godmother's magic sparkles and sighs, "So this is love..." She and the other princesses then get into a conversation about songs. Vanellope explains that she's never had a song of her own. The princesses encourage her to find one by thinking about what she desires most while looking into water; Cinderella references the times she would sing to bubbles while cleaning her stepmother's chateau.

During the climax of the film, Cinderella and the princesses notice Vanellope's friend, Wreck-It Ralph, plummeting to his doom. They rally together to rescue the bad-guy; Cinderella supplies Jaq, Gus and sewing material, allowing them to quickly seam a dress to hang midair (thanks to Merida's bow and arrows) which catches Ralph. After Ralph is safe, Cinderella and the princesses formally introduce themselves as friends of Vanellope's, befriending Ralph as well.

Once Upon a Time
Cinderella (played by Jessy Schram), (also referred to as Ella) was a maid who wished to attend the royal ball. Her fairy godmother appears to grant her wish, but Rumplestiltskin kills the fairy. Warning her that "all magic comes with a price," he offers her a contract: her wish in exchange for something she will have in the future. She signs it without reading it and goes to the ball. She meets Prince Thomas, and the two fall in love and marry. At the wedding reception, Rumplestiltskin reminds Ella of the contract and informs her that he asked for her first-born child. When she discovers she is pregnant, she tries to run away. But Thomas and Prince James devise a plan to capture Rumplestiltskin. The plan succeeds, but Thomas disappears. Rumplestiltskin vows that she will never see Thomas again until the contract is fulfilled.

In Storybrooke, she is 19-year old Ashley Boyd, a single, pregnant maid. The baby's father Sean Herman, who is really Thomas, is not allowed by his father to continue seeing Ashley. Sean's father arranges for Mr. Gold, who is Rumplestiltskin, to pay Ashley in exchange for the baby. She originally agrees to the exchange, but she later decides to keep her child. She tries to flee town but goes into labor at the city limits. Emma Swan finds her and brings her to the hospital. There, Emma agrees to do Mr. Gold a favor if Ashley is allowed to keep the baby. Mr. Gold agrees to the arrangement. Ashley gives birth to a daughter, Alexandra, and Sean visits the hospital to reconcile with Ashley and to give his daughter a pair of shoes that fit her feet perfectly (a reference to the original Cinderella story). A few months after, he proposes to Ashley and the pair are engaged.

She later begins teaching parenting classes in Storybrooke, as revealed in Season 4.

Cinderella's counterpart, Ashley Boyd, makes a cameo appearance in Storybrooke at the beginning of the first episode of the spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Cinderella (2015)
In Disney's 2015 live-action re-imagining of the original 1950 film, she is played by Lily James.

In this film, her real name is Ella (shortened form of Eleanor) whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella into the family home. But, when Ella's dear father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of the jealousy, ice-cold venom, abuse, and ridicule of her new unloving step-family.

Finally relegated to nothing more than a slave girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella since she used to work in the cinders, Ella could easily begins to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother's dying words and to "have courage and be kind." She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred spirit. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella's hopes of once again encountering the charming "Kit." Alas, her vile stepmother, Tremaine, forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairytales, help is at hand as her own fairy godmother steps forward, and armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella's life forever.

Trivia

 * Cinderella has her own episode in the ABC series Once Upon A Time. Instead of a fairy godmother, Rumplestitskin granted her wish in exchange for "something you don't have yet, but will." Cinderella married the prince, only to discover Rumplestitskin wanted her baby. Cinderella tricked Rumplestitskin into arresting him, but she had to use magic and "all magic comes with a price," meaning her prince, Thomas, vanished.
 * In the same series, in Storybrooke, her name is Ashley, and she was going to have her boyfriend, Sean's baby. She was going to give her baby to Rumplestitskin (Mr. Gold) but Emma kept her from doing so. Her baby's name was Alexandra, (if she was a boy, revealed in the FairyTale world, she would have been Alexander.) Sean returned to her and gave Alexandra a pair of shoes, which were perfect fits. Later Sean proposes to Ashley and she accepts.
 * She will be present in the pilot episode of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
 * Cinderella also appeared in Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess.