“Cinderella III: A Twist in Time” begins just shortly after “Cinderella II” leaves off. The Prince and Cinderella are still in the newlywed phase, where everything is sunshine and roses. The wicked stepmother and step-sisters are hating life, having to do all their own chores. Stepmother is furious with Cinderella and vows to get her revenge.
Purely by chance, Anastasia manages to get a hold of the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand, and Stepmother executes an evil plan. She uses the wand to take them all back in time to the morning after the ball, when the Grand Duke comes with the glass slipper. With a “bibbity, bobbity, boo,” Anastasia is the girl who fits the slipper, and they are carried off to the palace. The prince doesn’t remember Anastasia until another twitch of the wand plants her face in his memory, and the wedding is set for that night.
Meanwhile, Cinderella is heartbroken. She has no memory of having been married to the prince, but she plainly remembers dancing with him at the ball and how great their attraction was. Determined not to give up without a fight, she goes to the castle. Claiming to be the royal mouse catcher, she gains entrance.
The remainder of the movie is spent with the prince trying to fall in love with Anastasia, Cinderella trying to prove that it’s all a mistake, and the mice figuring out what happened and trying to set it right. My favorite scene in the movie is when the mice are telling the prince that he’s under a spell. Yeah, that one’s a keeper.
In the end, the prince and Cinderella are married, but in their minds, it’s for the first time. That’s what I found to be the biggest shame about this movie. They had already been married for a couple of months, but as they were taken back in time, they lost all those shared experiences.
Some of the timeline elements were confusing as well, as they often are in a time travel movie. At the end of “Cinderella II,” Anastasia has fallen in love with a baker. But in the beginning of “Cinderella III,” there is no mention of the baker and Anastasia is lamenting the fact that she has no one to love her. I think I missed something somewhere.
One thing I enjoyed about this film is the fact that we finally get to know the prince. In my review of “Cinderella II” I commented that I wished the prince had more lines – well, the fairy godmother heard me. The prince becomes real to us in this movie, and you know what, he’s a really nice guy. He’s considerate of others’ feelings and was very kind to Anastasia, even when he wasn’t sure he could fall in love with her.
Now, I was fine leaving the Cinderella story at the original. But if they’re going to make sequels, I think this one was pretty good. It’s not scary, it has just the right amount of suspense, and we all live happily ever after.
Side note: The prince is voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes, who also did the voice of Prince Eric in “The Little Mermaid.”
This film is rated G.
Related Blogs: