The Massive Cinderella Plot Hole That's Bothered Me For Decades
Following on from my hotly contested Shawshank Redemption plot hole story yesterday, which I was WIDELY lambasted for, (despite the fact that I was right, of course) here's another one in an attempt to both extend an olive branch to you all and also to mend my severely bruised ego.
Maybe attacking a film as beloved as the Shawshank Redemption was a naive move on my part (for the record I adore it too by the way!) but maybe Disney is a safer move? [Tongue inserted firmly in cheek]
So what could I possibly have to jeer Disney about? Why, Cinderella of course. Because Cinderella has the biggest plot hole in any Disney film, ever. Didn't agree with my Andy's poster in Shawshank theory? Well, get ready for me to drop this bombshell on your favourite "rags to riches" story, bippity boppity BOOM!
Right, well we all know the story of Cinderella. She's treated terribly by her Wicked Stepmother, who favours her ugly step sisters (not very PC) and Cinderella is forced to just basically be a maid for them and dress in rags and her only friends are the animals that also inhabit the house.
They all get invited to a ball thrown by the handsome (and single) Prince but the Wicked Stepmother forbids Cinders from going. Queue Fairy Godmother magically appearing to tell Ella that she "WILL go to the ball" and then proceeds to turn all her scruffy, shitty things into shiny, amazing things so that she doesn't look like an absolute scruff at the Prince's ball. Sort of like an Instagram filter.
But, as we all know there's one big, massive important rule for the night. To quote Fairy Godmother herself:
Oh, now, just a minute. You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before.
Now here's the problem. When the clock strikes midnight everything is NOT like it was before, is it? Sure the carriage turns back into a pumpkin, the horses turn back into mice and Cinderella's ball gown turns back into her torn up dilapidated duds. But there's one big, howling thing that doesn't go from riches to rags: the famous Glass Slipper.
Why doesn't the Glass Slipper she leaves behind turn into a regular old house slipper at midnight? It's a plot hole, arguably bigger than my ire causing Andy Dufresne's poster one that I pointed out yesterday.
Now don't give me the whole "Oh, the Fairy Godmother did that so the Prince could find her again." He didn't need to find her again, he found her, they were together, dancing, falling in love at the ball, then the Fairy Godmother made her leave. It's completely counterproductive to her plan, so it's not a reason or an excuse.
We can't of course blame Disney for this - the film was originally released in 1950 - but the originally story was written hundreds of years ago and made popular by the Brothers Grimm and it was a much, much darker tale than the wholesome Walt Disney one. But that's another post for another day.