When I first heard that Disney was making a third Cinderella, I was a bit leary. I'd already purchased and watched the second one and was very disappointed. HOwever, once I heard the premise of the third Cinderella, I was intrigued and interested. So, once it came out, I purchased it.
I will say, it is better than the second Cinderella only in that it tells an actual story and isn't a collection of short episods. Of course, it isn't as good as the orginial. I liked the story idea and the animation is actually quite good for a Disney straight to video but sadly, as the sequels tend to do, the characters where kind of ruined. For some reason, the sequels feel the need to take serious characters and turn them into goofballs! I highly doubt Prince Charming would leap out the palace window just because his father told him he could not go down the stairs! And I really don't think Cinderella would blatently disobey the rules. She would not confront the Prince alone and practically force him to remember who she is! For starters, even without the spell cast on him, it is quite understandable for the Prince not to remember Cinderella. She was dressed up in a very fancy gown and it was rather dark at the ball and now she's dressed in her rags and looks quite different from when she was at the ball. Of course, I know this is Disney, but still! Cinderella should not be so confused as to why he doesn't remember her! They'd only met that one time! Sadly, this sequel also gives Cinderella an attitude that she doesn't have in the original and that kind of took away from her whole sweet innocence. The mice,step-sisters and step-mother were still in character for the most part so that was nice.
I'm also rather curious as to why Anastasia is the step-sister who has the side stories? She found a love in the second Cinderella (and where did that baker go in this third one? After all, the second Cinderella took place right after Cinderella and the Prince married while the third one takes place about a year later). The Baker shows up in a picture during the credits so he's obviously still a romantic interest, but still, why does Anastasia get to be the one to "marry" the prince when she should already be in love with the baker?
Now after reading this review, you're probably thinking if there was anything good about it. Well, as mentioned before the story line itself is cute, though a little too close to the scene in the Little Mermaid (and on a side note, Prince Charming is voiced by the same guy who voiced Prince Eric from Little Mermaid). I will say, my favorite scene was when the mice are trying to convince Prince Charming that he's in love with Cinderella and he thinks he's going nuts because birds and mice are talking attacking him. My favorite line has to do with Prince Charming telling his father that "the mice told him he was in love with someone else" and that he had to go get her but not to worry he'll be back in time for the wedding. The king then tells him that it's not the wedding he's worried about, it's the talking mice! I laughed quite at that, and I'm even giggling right now! I have to say, there were several silly bits and it was kind of refreshing to see Cinderella looking like she'd been rung through the ringer near the end. Not that I have anything against her, it's just nice to see her not looking so fresh all the time. I think she probably even looked her age when she was about to go on the ship near the end because her hair was down (not tied back) and since she's probably between 18-20, she looked that old during that scene.
So, for children, this is a very good movie because of the silliness, but it's just not the same as the original so don't expect it to be.