The Walt Disney company has been re-releasing some of their most endearing classics on DVD in special 2-disc collections. These serve an excellent purpose on two levels. First, they contain meticulously restored versions of the film, for both picture and sound. Second, they include hours of bonus material and behind-the-scenes information.

The next film up in the Disney line-up for these 2-disc special editions is “Cinderella.” And on the first level, anyone who wants a copy of this film before it goes back into the Disney vault should jump at this opportunity. I know that with the waning popularity of VHS tapes, you can usually pick up these old films on tape for $5 or less. However, for such a classic (and one that your kids will no-doubt play until it breaks), DVD is the only way to go.

What makes these collections a good buy beyond the initial DVD release that you can most likely pick up at a garage sale or second-hand video store is that they are restored. And for a film like “Cinderella” that has been collecting dust for more than 50 years, that’s significant. In fact, “Cinderella” has the distinction of being the Disney classic with the noisiest soundtrack so far.

The film itself is the classic that set the standard for fairy tale design for years to come. It’s a relatively simple film, clocking in at only 76 minutes. And it’s actually pretty short on story. The mice alone take up a good third of the movie, and they’re just there for comic relief.

But as I was pointing out to a friend of mine, the mice are the reason to see this movie. After all, mention “Cinderella” to anyone, and you’ll most likely hear an impromptu rendition of “Cinderelly, Cinderelly!” or have them say, “Gus! Gus!” before they ever mention Prince Charming.

Indeed, the prince of the Disney films were never fully realized until “Sleeping Beauty” anyway. Sure, this one has more personality than that windbag from “Snow White,” but he’s still pretty two-dimensional (no pun intended).

The fun of this film is the mice and the cat Lucifer. And the songs - the fast ones, at least. (I always tuned out for the “Sing Sweet Nightingale” and other slow Disney songs from this era.) You can still find “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” as one of the Disney archives most popular songs.

This new DVD release includes some rather interesting features, even if they’re not the best ones offered in these 2-disc sets. Sports fans will appreciate “Cinderella Stories Presented by ESPN Classic,” a 33-minute feature about sports legends and teams that overcame incredible odds. Along with this and the original feature, there are a couple music videos (although they’re nothing more than the standard cavalcade of Disney Channel stars from the current shows.)

The second disc contains three hours of special features, documentaries, retrospectives and audio content. The bulk of the DVD includes featurettes about the making of the movie, including a rather interesting piece about the many different directions that Walt Disney tried to take the Cinderella story.

Other featurettes includes a spotlight on artist Mary Blair who helped define the Cinderella look, an excerpt from the old Mickey Mouse Club with the live-action reference actress for Cinderella and a tribute to Walt Disney’s go-to animators dubbed the “Nine Old Men.”

The standard deleted scenes with storyboard reference, trailers and TV spots, still galleries, discarded songs and promotions for the Disney princess themes are also included. Some of the more interesting pieces are old radio shows hyping the release of the movie back in the 1950s as well as an appearance on Perry Como’s show by the voices behind the movie.



Specifications: Film digitally restored and remastered. 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. Original theatrical fullscreen (1.33:1). French and Spanish language tracks. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.