Cinderella

Ancient versions

European

The oldest known oral version of the damsel-in-distress story is the ancient Greek story of Rhodopis, a Greek courtesan living in the colony of Naucratis in Egypt, whose name means "Rosy-Cheeks". The story is first recorded by the Greek geographer Strabo in his Geographica: "[The Greeks living in Egypt] tell the fabulous story that, when [Rhodopis] was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, and became the wife of the king."

The same story is also later reported by the Roman orator Aelian (c. 175 – c. 235) in his Miscellaneous History, which was written entirely in Greek. Aelian's story closely resembles the story told by Strabo, but adds that the name of the pharaoh in question was Psammetichus. Aelian's account indicates that the story of Rhodopis remained popular throughout antiquity.

Herodotus, some five centuries before Strabo, records a popular legend about a possibly related courtesan named Rhodopis in his Histories, claiming that she came from Thrace, was the slave of Iadmon of Samos and a fellow-slave of the story-teller Aesop, was taken to Egypt in the time of Pharaoh Amasis, and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of Mytilene, brother of Sappho the lyric poet.

The resemblance of the shoe-testing of Rhodopis with Cinderella's slipper has already been noted in the 19th century, by Edgar Taylor and Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.

A second predecessor for the Cinderella character, hailing from late Antiquity, may be Aspasia of Phocaea. Her story is told in Aelian's Varia Storia: lost her mother in early childhood and raised by her father, Aspasia, despite living in poverty, has dreamt of meeting a noble man. As she dozes off, the girl has a vision of a dove transforming into a woman, who instructs her on how to remove a physical imperfection and restore her own beauty. In another episode, she and other courtesans are made to attend a feast hosted by Persian regent Cyrus the Younger. During the banquet, the Persian King sets his sights on Aspasia herself and ignores the other women.

Outside Europe

The tale of Ye Xian first appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang written by Duan Chengshi around 860. In this version, Ye Xian is the daughter of the local tribal leader whose mother died when she was young. Because her mother died early, she is now under the care of her father's second wife, who abused her. She befriends a fish, which is the reincarnation of her deceased mother. Her stepmother and half-sister kill the fish, but Ye Xian finds the bones, which are magical, and they help her dress appropriately for a local Festival, including a very light golden shoe. Her stepfamily recognizes her at the festival, causing her to flee and accidentally lose the shoe. Afterwards, the king of another island obtains the shoe and is curious about it as no one has feet that can fit the shoe. The King searches everywhere and finally reaches Ye's house, where she tries on the shoe. The king realises she is the one and takes her back to his kingdom. Her cruel stepmother and half-sister are killed by flying rocks. Variants of the story are also found in many ethnic groups in China.

The Story of Tấm and Cám, from Vietnam, is similar to the Chinese version. The heroine Tấm also had a fish that was killed by the stepmother and the half-sister Cám, and its bones also give her clothes. Later after marrying the king, Tấm was killed by her stepmother and sister, and reincarnated several times in form of a bird, a loom and a gold apple. She finally reunited with the king and lived happily ever after. Cám asked her about her beauty secret, and Tấm led her to a hole and told her to jump inside. As she jumped inside, she then commanded the royal guards to pour boiling water on Cám. Her corpse was used to make a fermented sauce, to which she sent to the stepmother, so she ate it with every single meal. After she reached the bottom of the jar, she looked down only to see her daughter's skull. After seeing the skull, she died of shock.

There are many variations for the ending of this story, with the family-friendly version one usually ending with the stepmother and Cám being exiled, and then struck by lightning, killing them both. Other versions either have a different ending for the story or simply omit the revenge part entirely.

Originating from Korea, Kongjwi and Patjwi is a tale similar to Disney's Cinderella, with two distinguishing characteristics: the degree of violence and the plot's continuance past the marriage to the prince charming. The protagonist, Kongjwi, loses her mother when she was a child and her father remarries a widow. The widow also has a daughter, named Patjwi. After her father passes, the stepmother and Patjwi abuse Kongjwi by starving, beating, and working her brutally. Kongjwi is aided by animals and supernatural helpers, like a cow, a toad, a flock of birds, and a fairy. These helpers aid Kongjwi in attending a dance in honor of a magistrate. On her way back from the dance, Kongjwi loses one of her shoes, and the magistrate searches the towns to find the one who can fit the shoe. When he finds Kongjwi, he marries her.

Literary versions

The first European version written in prose was published in Naples, Italy, by Giambattista Basile, in his Pentamerone (1634). The story itself was set in the Kingdom of Naples, at that time the most important political and cultural center of Southern Italy and among the most influential capitals in Europe, and written in the Neapolitan dialect. It was later retold, along with other Basile tales, by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé (1697), and by the Brothers Grimm in their folk tale collection Grimms' Fairy Tales (1812).

The name "Cenerentola" derives from the Italian word cenere "ash, cinder," an allusion to the fact that servants and scullions of the time were usually soiled with ash, partly as a result of their cleaning duties and partly because they lived in cold basements and so tended to huddle close to fireplaces for warmth.

La gatta Cenerentola, by Basile

Giambattista Basile, a writer, soldier and government official, assembled a set of oral folk tales into a written collection titled Lo cunto de li cunti (The Tale of Tales), or Pentamerone. It included the tale of Cenerentola, which features a wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters, magical transformations, a missing slipper, and a hunt by a monarch for the owner of the slipper. It was published posthumously in 1634.

Plot:

A prince has a daughter, Zezolla (the Cinderella figure), who is tended by a beloved governess. The governess, with Zezolla's help, persuades the prince to marry her. The governess then brings forward six daughters of her own, who abuse Zezolla and send her into the kitchen to work as a servant. The prince goes to the island of Sardinia, meets a fairy who gives presents to his daughter, and brings back for her: a golden spade, a golden bucket, a silken napkin, and a date seedling. The girl cultivates the tree, and when the king hosts a ball, Zezolla appears dressed richly by a fairy living in the date tree. The king falls in love with her, but Zezolla runs away before he can find out who she is. Twice Zezolla escapes the king and his servants. The third time, the king's servant captures one of her pattens. The king invites all of the maidens in the land to a ball with a patten-test, identifies Zezolla after the patten jumps from his hand to her foot, and eventually marries her.

Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Perrault

One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written in French by Charles Perrault in 1697, under the name Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story, including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of "glass" slippers.

Plot:

A wealthy widower marries a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She has two daughters, who are equally vain and selfish. But the man also has a beautiful young daughter from his first wife, a girl of unparalleled kindness and sweet temper. The stepmother, jealous of the young girl because her good graces show up her own two daughters' faults, forces her into servitude, where the girl is made to work day and night doing menial chores. After her chores are done for the day, she curls up near the fireplace in an effort to stay warm. She often arises covered in ashes, giving rise to the mocking nickname "Cendrillon" (Cinderella) by her stepsisters. Cinderella bears the abuse patiently and does not tell her father, who would have scolded her.

One day, the prince invites all the people in the land to a royal ball. The two stepsisters gleefully plan their wardrobes for the ball, and taunt Cinderella by telling her that maids are not invited to the ball.

As the two stepsisters and the stepmother depart to the ball, Cinderella cries in despair. Her fairy godmother magically appears and immediately begins to transform Cinderella from house servant to the young lady she was by birth, all in the effort to get Cinderella to the ball. She turns a pumpkin into a golden carriage, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful jeweled gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Fairy Godmother tells her to enjoy the ball, but warns her that she must return before midnight, when the spell will be broken.

At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Cinderella, especially the Prince. At this first ball, Cinderella remembers to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanks her Fairy Godmother. She then innocently greets the two stepsisters, who had not recognized her earlier, and talk of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.

Aschenputtel, by the Brothers Grimm

Another well-known version was recorded by the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The tale is called "Aschenputtel" or "Ashputtle" or "Ashputtel" or "Cinderella" in English translations. This version is much more violent than that of Charles Perrault and Disney, in that Cinderella's father has not died and the two stepsisters mutilate their own feet to fit in the golden slipper. There is no fairy godmother in this version of the Brothers Grimm, but rather help comes from an enchanted tree, which the heroine had planted on her deceased mother's grave. In the second edition of their collection (1819), the Brothers Grimm supplemented the original 1812 version with a coda in which the two stepsisters suffer a terrible punishment by the princess Cinderella for their cruelty. In the Grimms' adaptation the fairy tale starts with the mother of "Aschenputtel" in deathbed. The Brothers Grimm do not tell a rags to riches story, the "Cinderella" fairy tale is a riches to rags to riches story of social mobility, reflecting the Brothers Grimm own experience. Following their father's death, the two had worked their way back.

A fairy tale very similar to the Grimm one, Aschenbrödel, was published by Ludwig Bechstein in 1845 in Deutsches Märchenbuch.

A wealthy gentleman's wife falls gravely ill, and as she lies on her deathbed, she calls for her only daughter, and tells her to remain good and kind, as God would protect her. She then dies and is buried. The child visits her mother's grave every day to grieve and a year goes by. The gentleman marries another woman with two older daughters from a previous marriage. They have beautiful faces and fair skin, but their hearts are cruel and wicked. The stepsisters steal the girl's fine clothes and jewels and force her to wear rags. They banish her into the kitchen, and give her the nickname "Aschenputtel" ("Ashfool"). She is forced to do all kinds of hard work from dawn to dusk for the sisters. The cruel sisters do nothing but mock her and make her chores harder by creating messes. However, despite all of it, the girl remains good and kind, and regularly visits her mother's grave to cry and pray to God that she will see her circumstances improve.

One day the gentleman visits a fair, promising his stepdaughters gifts of luxury. The elder one asks for beautiful dresses, while the younger for pearls and diamonds. His own daughter merely begs for the first twig to knock his hat off on the way. The gentleman goes on his way, and acquires presents for his stepdaughters. While passing a forest he gets a hazel twig, and gives it to his daughter. She plants the twig over her mother's grave, waters it with her tears and over the years, it grows into a glowing hazel tree. The girl prays under it three times a day, and a white bird always comes to her as she prays. She tells her wishes to the bird, and every time the bird throws down to her what she has wished for.

Catskinella, by Hamilton

The anthology “Catskinella,” an African American variant of the Cinderella story by Virginia Hamilton, provides evidence of diverse Cinderella-like narratives within North American folk traditions. In the story, a young girl named Catskinella is mistreated and forced into hardship after her father becomes obsessed with marrying someone as beautiful as her deceased mother. To escape him, she disguises herself in ragged catskins and flees. She later works in a royal household, hiding her true identity. At special gatherings, she appears in magical, dazzling dresses, capturing the attention of a prince. Eventually, she reveals herself through a hidden token—often a ring baked into food rather than Cinderella’s glass slipper—and the prince recognizes and marries her.

Hamilton’s version reshapes the European fairy tale through African American folklore traditions and imagery, emphasizing resilience, transformation, and female independence. Critics often describe Catskinella as a strong-minded heroine who outwits danger and claims her own future.

Plot variations and alternative tellings

Folklorists have long studied variants on this tale across cultures. In 1893, Marian Roalfe Cox, commissioned by the Folklore Society of Britain, produced Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-Five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin and, Cap o'Rushes, Abstracted and Tabulated with a Discussion of Medieval Analogues and Notes. Further morphology studies have continued on this work.

Joseph Jacobs has attempted to reconstruct the original tale as The Cinder Maid by comparing the common features among hundreds of variants collected across Europe. The Aarne–Thompson–Uther system classifies Cinderella as type 510A, "Persecuted Heroine". Others of this type include The Sharp Grey Sheep; The Golden Slipper; The Story of Tam and Cam; Rushen Coatie; The Wonderful Birch; Fair, Brown and Trembling; and Katie Woodencloak.

The magical help

International versions lack the fairy godmother present in Perrault's famous tale. Instead, the donor is her mother, incarnated into an animal (if she is dead) or transformed into a cow (if alive). In other versions, the helper is an animal, such as a cow, a bull, a pike, or a saint or angel. The bovine helper appears in some Greek and Armenian versions, in "the Balkan-Slavonic tradition of the tale", and in some Central Asian variants. The mother-as-cow is killed by the heroine's sisters, her bones gathered and from her grave the heroine gets the wonderful dresses.

Africanist Sigrid Schmidt stated that "a typical scene" in Kapmalaien (Cape Malays) tales is the mother becoming a fish, being eaten in fish form, the daughter burying her bones and a tree sprouting from her grave.

Professor Gražina Skabeikytė-Kazlauskienė recognizes that the fish, the cow, even a female dog (in other variants), these animals represent "the [heroine's] mother's legacy". Jack Zipes, commenting on a Sicilian variant, concluded much the same: Cinderella is helped by her mother "in the guise of doves, fairies, and godmothers". In his notes to his own reconstruction, Joseph Jacobs acknowledged that the heroine's animal helper (e.g., cow or sheep) was "clearly identified with her mother", as well as the tree on Cinderella's mother's grave was connected to her.

Villains

Although many variants of Cinderella feature the wicked stepmother, the defining trait of type 510A is a female persecutor: in Fair, Brown and Trembling and Finette Cendron, the stepmother does not appear at all, and it is the older sisters who confine her to the kitchen. In other fairy tales featuring the ball, she was driven from home by the persecutions of her father, usually because he wished to marry her. Of this type (510B) are Cap O' Rushes, Catskin, and Allerleirauh (or All-Kinds-of-Fur), and she slaves in the kitchen because she found a job as a scullery maid there. In Katie Woodencloak, the stepmother drives her from home, and she likewise finds such a job.

In La Cenerentola, Gioachino Rossini inverted the sex roles: Cenerentola is mistreated by her stepfather. (This makes the opera Aarne-Thompson type 510B.) He also made the economic basis for such hostility unusually clear, in that Don Magnifico wishes to make his own daughters' dowries larger, to attract a grander match, which is impossible if he must provide a third dowry. Folklorists often interpret the hostility between the stepmother and stepdaughter as just such a competition for resources, but seldom does the tale make it clear.

In some retellings, at least one stepsister is somewhat kind to Cinderella and second guesses the Stepmother's treatment. This is seen in Ever After, the two direct-to-video sequels to Walt Disney's 1950 film, and the 2013 Broadway musical.

Ball, ballgown, and curfew

The number of balls varies, sometimes one, sometimes two, and sometimes three, and neither does the event have to be a ball, with some heroines going to church instead. The fairy godmother is Perrault's own addition to the tale. The person who aided Cinderella (Aschenputtel) in the Grimms's version is her dead mother. Aschenputtel requests her aid by praying at her grave, on which a tree is growing. Helpful doves roosting in the tree shake down the clothing she needs for the ball. This motif is found in other variants of the tale as well, such as in the Finnish The Wonderful Birch. Playwright James Lapine incorporated this motif into the Cinderella plotline of the musical Into the Woods. Giambattista Basile's La gatta Cenerentola combined them; the Cinderella figure, Zezolla, asks her father to commend her to the Dove of Fairies and ask her to send her something, and she receives a tree that will provide her clothing. Other variants have her helped by talking animals, as in Katie Woodencloak, Rushen Coatie, Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, The Story of Tam and Cam, or The Sharp Grey Sheep—these animals often having some connection with her dead mother; in The Golden Slipper, a fish aids her after she puts it in water. In "The Anklet", it's a magical alabaster pot the girl purchased with her own money that brings her the gowns and the anklets she wears to the ball. Gioachino Rossini, having agreed to do an opera based on Cinderella if he could omit all magical elements, wrote La Cenerentola, in which she was aided by Alidoro, a philosopher and formerly the Prince's tutor.

The midnight curfew is also absent in many versions; Cinderella leaves the ball to get home before her stepmother and stepsisters, or she is simply tired. In the Grimms' version, Aschenputtel slips away when she is tired, hiding on her father's estate in a tree, and then the pigeon coop, to elude her pursuers; her father tries to catch her by chopping them down, but she escapes.

Identifying item

The glass slipper is unique to Charles Perrault's version and its derivatives; in other versions of the tale it may be made of other materials (in the version recorded by the Brothers Grimm, German: Aschenbroedel and Aschenputtel, for instance, it is gold) and in still other tellings, it is not a slipper but an anklet, a ring, or a bracelet that gives the prince the key to Cinderella's identity. What matters to the story is that the identifying item will fit only one woman.

In Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola" ("Cinderella"), the slipper is replaced by twin bracelets to prove her identity. In the Finnish variant The Wonderful Birch, the prince uses tar to gain something every ball, and so has a ring, a circlet, and a pair of slippers. Some interpreters, perhaps troubled by sartorial impracticalities, have suggested that Perrault's "glass slipper" (pantoufle de verre) had been a "squirrel fur slipper" (pantoufle de vair) in some unidentified earlier version of the tale, and that Perrault or one of his sources confused the words. However, most scholars believe the glass slipper was a deliberate piece of poetic invention on Perrault's part.{{efn|Glass Slippers, —An article hitherto only used to adorn the foot of Cinderella in a fairy tale, may now be seen in that extensive repository of discoveries and improvements, the Polytechnic Institution, Regent-street. We allude to a very curious pair of ladies' dress-shoes, fabricated from glass, not less flexible than leather or satin, equally light, and far more durable, to judge from the solidity of their texture. Nabokov has Professor Timofey Pnin assert as fact that "Cendrillon's shoes were not made of glass but of Russian squirrel fur – vair, in French". Honoré de Balzac wrote in his 1841 philosophical study titled ′Catherine de' Medici′ that Perreault's Cinderella slipper was no doubt of vair, a type of rare fur reserved for nobility, but that because the noun had been disused for a long time, the similarly-pronounced word verre (meaning glass) was used,

The 1950 Disney adaptation takes advantage of the slipper being made of glass to add a twist whereby the slipper is shattered by the spiteful stepmother just before Cinderella has the chance to try it on. Earlier in the film the Duke warns that the slipper could fit any number of women, but Cinderella then produces the beautiful matching slipper, proving beyond all doubt that she is the one from the ball.

Revelation

In many variants of the tale, the prince is told that Cinderella can not possibly be the one, as she is too dirty and ragged. Often, this is said by the stepmother or stepsisters. In the Grimms' version, both the stepmother and the father urge it. The prince nevertheless insists on her trying. Cinderella arrives and proves her identity by fitting into the slipper or other item (in some cases she has kept the other).

Conclusion

According to Korean scholarship, East Asian versions of Cinderella "typically" continue as the heroine's stepmother replaces the Cinderella-like character for her own daughter, while the heroine goes through a cycle of transformations. Such tales continue the fairy tale into what is in effect a second episode.

Such a substitution also occurs in the Finnish and Russian tale The Wonderful Birch, where the stepmother, a witch, manages to substitute her daughter for the true bride after she has given birth and turn the true bride into reindeer, and the Irish Fair, Brown and Trembling, where the oldest sister pushes the true bride into the sea to be swallowed by a whale and takes her place. However, in Western tales, substituting the stepdaughter for the transformed bride is commonly found in other tales, such as The White Bride and the Black One, The White Duck, Brother and Sister, and The Three Little Men in the Wood. Neither is the motif limited to stepmothers, as in The Love for Three Oranges, where a new character appears to transform the bride and substitute for her.

In The Thousand Nights and A Night, in a tale called "The Anklet", the stepsisters make a comeback by using twelve magical hairpins to turn the bride into a dove on her wedding night.

Works based on the Cinderella story

Works based on the story of Cinderella include:

Opera and ballet

Cendrillon (1759) by Jean-Louis Laruette

Cendrillon (1810) by Nicolas Isouard, libretto by Charles-Guillaume Étienne

Agatina, o la virtù premiata (1814) by Stefano Pavesi

La Cenerentola (1817) by Gioachino Rossini

Cinderella (1893) by Baron Boris Vietinghoff-Scheel

Cendrillon (1894–95) by Jules Massenet, libretto by Henri Caïn

Aschenbrödel (1901) by Johann Strauss II, adapted and completed by Josef Bayer

Cinderella (1901–02) by Gustav Holst

La Cenerentola (1902) by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

Cendrillon (1904) by Pauline García-Viardot

Aschenbrödel (1905) by Leo Blech, libretto by Richard Batka

Das Märchen vom Aschenbrödel (1941) by Frank Martin

Zolushka or Cinderella (1945) by Sergei Prokofiev

La Cenicienta (1966) by Jorge Peña Hen

Cinderella, a "pantomime opera" (1979) by Peter Maxwell Davies

Cinderella (1980) by Paul Reade

Cinderella (1997) by Matthew Bourne taking place in 1940 London using the music of Sergei Prokofiev

Theatre

In 1804, Cinderella was presented at Drury Lane Theatre, London, described as "A new Grand Allegorical Pantomimic Spectacle", though it was very far in style and content from the modern pantomime. However, it included notable clown Joseph Grimaldi playing the part of a servant called Pedro, the antecedent of today's character Buttons. In 1820 Harlequin and Cinderella at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden had much of the modern story (taken from the opera La Cenerentola) by Rossini, but was a Harlequinade, again featuring Grimaldi. In 1830, Rophino Lacy used Rossini's music, but with spoken dialogue in a comic opera with many of the main characters: the Baron, the two stepsisters and Pedro the servant all as comic characters, plus a Fairy Queen instead of a magician. However, it was the conversion of this via burlesque and rhyming couplets by Henry Byron that led to what was effectively the modern pantomime in both story and style at the Royal Strand Theatre in 1860: Cinderella! Or the Lover, the Lackey, and the Little Glass Slipper.

In the traditional pantomime version, the opening scene takes place in a forest with a hunt in progress; here, Cinderella first meets Prince Charming and his "right-hand man" Dandini, whose name and character come from Gioachino Rossini's opera (La Cenerentola). Cinderella mistakes Dandini for the Prince, and the Prince for Dandini. Her father, Baron Hardup, is under the thumb of his two stepdaughters, the Ugly sisters, and has a servant, Cinderella's friend Buttons. Throughout the pantomime, the Baron is continually harassed by the Broker's Men (often named after current politicians) for outstanding rent. The Fairy Godmother must magically create a coach (from a pumpkin), footmen (from mice), a coach driver (from a frog), and a beautiful dress (from rags) for Cinderella to go to the ball. However, she must return by midnight, as it is then that the spell ceases.

Musicals

Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein was produced for television three times and staged live in various productions. A version ran in 1958 at the London Coliseum with a cast including Tommy Steele, Yana, Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Williams and Betty Marsden. This version was augmented with several other Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs, plus one written by Steele, "You and Me". In 2013, a Broadway production opened, with a new book by Douglas Carter Beane, and ran for 770 performances. In the acclaimed 2022 VTT production of Cinderella, Naomi Infeld will be playing Anastasia.

Cinders, a musical by Rudolf Friml and Edward Clark which was staged on Broadway at the Dresden Theatre in 1923 with Nancy Welford in the title role.

Mr. Cinders, a musical, opened at the Adelphi Theatre, London in 1929 and was adapted as a film version in 1934.

Cindy, a 1964 Off-Broadway musical, was composed by Johnny Brandon and has had many revivals.

La Gatta Cenerentola, a 1976 Italian musical in Neapolitan language with music and lyrics by Roberto De Simone, based on Giambattista Basile's version of the story.

Into the Woods, a musical with music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Cinderella, in this adaptation is partly based on the Grimm Brothers' version of Cinderella, including the enchanted birds, mother's grave, three balls, and mutilation and blinding of the stepsisters. It opened on Broadway in 1987, and has won many awards, such as Best Score and Book of a Musical in the 1988 Tony Awards. Throughout the show, Cinderella interacts with many other fairytale characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Cinderella is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber that premiered in the West End on August 18, 2021, and closed on June 12, 2022. It later opened on Broadway with the new title Bad Cinderella. The show closed after 85 performances, marking the end of a continuous 44-year period in which one or more of Lloyd Webber's shows played on Broadway.

Films and television

Over the decades, hundreds of films have been made that are either direct adaptations from Cinderella or have plots loosely based on the story.

Cinderella (1922), an animated Laugh-O-Gram produced by Walt Disney, first released on 6 December 1922. This film was about seven and half minutes long.

Cinderella (1925), an animated short film directed by Walter Lantz, produced by Bray Studios Inc.

A Kick for Cinderella (1925), an animated short film directed by Bud Fisher, in the Mutt and Jeff series of comic strip adaptations.

Cinderella Blues (1931), a Van Beuren animated short film featuring a feline version of the Cinderella character.

Poor Cinderella (1934), Fleischer Studios' first color cartoon and only appearance of Betty Boop in color during the Fleischer era.

A Coach for Cinderella (1937) – Jam Handy, Chevrolet advert

A Ride for Cinderella (1937) – Jam Handy, Chevrolet advert

Cinderella Meets Fella (1938), a Merrie Melodies animated short film featuring an early version of Elmer Fudd, as Prince Charming.

Cinderella (1950), a Walt Disney animated feature released on 15 February 1950, now considered one of Disney's Classics, as well as the most well-known film adaptation, including incorporating the titular character as a Disney Princess and its franchise.

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002), a direct-to-video sequel to the 1950 film.

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007), another direct-to-video sequel to the previous film.

Books

La gatta Cenerentola (1634) in Pentamerone, Giambattista Basile

Cinderella (1697), Charles Perrault

Cinderella (1919), Charles S. Evans and illustrated by Arthur Rackham

O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha (1986), by Pedro Bandeira. A fairytale crossover where Cinderella and her prince are among the main characters. In 2009 it was adapted into the film Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha.

Witches Abroad (1991) by Terry Pratchett heavily features a subverted version of the Cinderella story

Ella Enchanted (1997), by Gail Carson Levine

Raisel's Riddle (1999), Erica Silverman and illustrated by Susan Gaber

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999), by Gregory Maguire

Just Ella (1999), by Margaret Peterson Haddix

An Offer From A Gentleman (2001), by Julia Quinn

Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story (2004), Tomie dePaola

Princess of Glass (2010) by Jessica Day George is loosely based on the fairytale.

The Orphan, A Cinderella Story from Greece (2011), by Anthony L .Manna

Cinder (2012) by Marissa Meyer, a sci-fi retelling of the classic story

The Stepsister's Tale (2014) by Tracy Barrett

Video games

Yakuza 0, referenced in Goro Majima's song "24-Hour Cinderella"

Kasumi in Persona 5 Royal has a Persona based on Cinderella, named Cendrillon.

Disney's Cinderella: Magical Dreams (2005) adapts the 1950 Disney version of the story into a platform game for the Game Boy Advance.

There are several Otome games featuring elements of the story, including 12 Ji no Kane to Cinderella ~Halloween Wedding~ (2012) and Cinderella Phenomenon (2017).

Cinders is an adaptation of the story into a visual novel format.