Cinderella

"It's very bad for a person to miss the ball, when he or she deserves one",- these words of Cinderella's Godmother describe the spirit of this movie. Paraphrasing: "It is very bad for a person to miss a watch of Soviet Cinderella movie, when he or she deserves one". And in order to deserve you shall be ready to open your heart and senses to kindness, gentleness, belief, performed by the best cast of Soviet actors in incredible narration of the world's famous fairy-tale bearing that unique fairy aroma which to me is something close to ecstatic. The moral of out-of-this-world reward for those quiet modest non-pretending loving and hoping laborers like Cinderella is delivered to the spectator with great feeling of kindness which can not be destroyed even by the pranks of the evil Stepmother. An all family must watch, 10 stars for fairy tale and 10 stars for Soviet Cinderella.

One of the best examples of genius of Russian movie making. The songs are enchanting, the jokes are instant soundbites, acting is wonderful, the plot is captivating, without any fluff. Great movie not only for children, but for the adults as well.

a very touching film. i watched it multiple times and after each time i had an even more positive attitude towards the movie. i advise you to watch this enchanting masterpiece. the more you watch it, the more you actually understand the whole concept and point of the movie. this movie is suitable for viewing by all ages. no adult oriented scenes. this movie promotes kindness and should be treated with respect. i never knew that Yanina Zhejmo was actually 38 in the movie. she completely looks her part in the role of a sixteen year old. the prince (Aleksei Konsovsky) is 35 in the movie. he looks not much older than twenty.

I think this is an excellent film, and far better than any of the Disney fairy-tales because, the actors are so great, and the music is so cheerful that I think kids will love it. But it's also a very funny and witty movie, and adults will enjoy it too. Here is a piece of dialog between the King and his guards as he yells to them from a tower:

King-Hellooo! Hellooo! Guards of this fairy-tale castle, do you hear me? (Guards-We hear you, your Majesty!) King-Did a girl with one shoe leave the gate of our castle? (Guards-How many shoes were on her?) King-One! One! (Guards-Was she blonde?) King-Yes! A blonde! (Guards-How old was she?) King-About 16! (Guards-Nice?) King-Very nice! (Guards-OK! We understand! No, we haven't seen her. No one has left the gate!) King-Then why have you asked me all these specific questions? (Guards-We were interested, your Majesty!)

Long ago I watched this movie as a kid and loved the story. Later on I watched it many more times when my kids were growing up, sharing their enjoyment. And I still keep watching it from time to time, but not for the story of course, rather for its very special emotional value. No matter how dragged down I am, it never fails to put me in good humor. This is a magic of genuine and simple human goodness that brightens the day. The movie is BW, very simple in a sense that it doesn't have any computer-generated effects, mind-boggling stunts so typical of today's fantasy cinema-- for those you should look elsewhere. But acting in "Zolushka" is very good. So if you want something that speaks to the heart -- you'll probably enjoy every bit of it.