Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, a restored Cinderella for you! To celebrate World Princess Week, Disney will present a new, restored version of its 1950 animated classic Cinderella on Disney+. You can officially stream it on the platform starting August 25.
The new restoration will mark the first time the film has ever been available to stream in 4K. This comes after a multi-year effort from the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation. According to Disney, the new version “looks and sounds better than ever” and was “restored to its original grandeur, authentic to the artistic ambitions of the Studio’s creative team.”
You can see an example still comparing a frame from the original 1950 Cinderella and the new 4K restoration below.
“We began the process by pulling the original nitrate negative from the Library of Congress, and scanning the successive exposure color records in 4K,” explained Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios. “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.”
Working with Dorothy McKim (special projects and 2D animation producer for Walt Disney Animation Studios), and Bob Bagley (digital imaging manager for Disney Animation), the team was able to restore and preserve the rich colors, contrast, and accuracy of the original cels and artwork.
Goldberg described the restoration process as “a labor of love.”
“Viewers watching this restoration will see more clarity, but they will also see more subtlety,” Goldberg said. “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.”
The restored film made its festival premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, where it had won a Golden Bear Award 52 years earlier in its international debut. The original film also earned three Oscar nominations.
The original version of Cinderella is streaming on Disney+ now. You can watch the 4K restoration on the platform starting August 25.