Cinderella II: Dreams Come True

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is the first direct-to-video sequel to the 1950 Disney film Cinderella. It was made in 2001 and released on February 26, 2002. It was followed by Cinderella III: A Twist in Time in 2007. It consists of three segments featuring Cinderella planning a party, Jaq the mouse being turned into a human and living as Cinderella's page boy, and one of Cinderella's brutal stepsisters (Anastasia, the redheaded one in a pink dress) reaching her redemption through falling in love with a young baker, a low-class man of whom Lady Tremaine and Drizella do not approve. Estimated to cost $5,000,000 to produce, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True was Walt Disney Pictures' top selling animated sequel that year, grossing approximately $120,000,000 in direct-to-video sales, but the film itself was met with a mainly mixed to negative response from fans and critics alike.

Plot
In a castle, Cinderella's mice friends Gus and Jaq race to a chamber where the Fairy Godmother is reading the story of Cinderella to the other mice. Much to their disappointment, Gus and Jaq arrive just as the Fairy Godmother has finished the story. With the Fairy Godmother's help, the mice set off to make a new book to narrate what happens after the Happily Ever After, by stringing three segments of stories together into one narrative.

Aim to Please
Cinderella is put in charge of the palace banquets and parties while the King and Prince Charming are away. However, the princess realizes she is dissatisfied with the way they are usually run, led by a sharp and snobbish woman named Prudence. With the help of his friends, Cinderella persuades everyone in the palace that everyone in the kingdom, including the commoners, should be allowed to participate in the next royal banquet and not everything has to agree with traditional ways. The mice add that story to the book as Jaq gets some magical help from the Fairy Godmother opening a bottle of ink. Proclaiming that he does not like "that magic stuff," Gus reminds him of his last encounter with it. Looking to impress Mary, a mouse who Jaq loves, Jaq allows the Fairy Godmother to tell his story.

Tall Tail
One of Cinderella mouse friends, Jaq, thinks he is too small to help Cinderella in the palace like he did in the first movie. The Fairy Godmother shows up to help him out, and turns him into a human so he can help out like everyone else. However, this does not stop Pom Pom, the palace's snobby cat, who became the mice's new nemesis as soon as they moved to the palace along with Cinderella, from chasing Jaq around. He is named "Sir Hugh", after coughing while trying to tell Cinderella that he is now human. After an incident with an elephant at a fair, he learns to be happy for who he is. It is also made evident that Jaq is in love with another mouse named Mary and that Pom Pom belongs to the same woman who was terrified of Jaq.

One of the mice inadvertently spills magic dust onto the art supplies, causing them to become animated. The supplies begin to almost destroy the nearly completed book until the Fairy Godmother puts a stop to it. As the mice survey the mess, they reminisce how they have seen worse and Jaq tells them of the time Anastasia fell in love.

An Uncommon Romance
Anastasia, Cinderella's stepsister, falls in love with a kind but common baker, which her mother Lady Tremaine and older sister Drizella are not too happy with. They still want her to marry a rich man, and convince her to forget about the baker and say that everything in the baker's shop is inferior; Anastasia ignores Tremaine's warning. Meanwhile, Lucifer starts chasing Cinderella's mice and Anastasia is kicked by a horse when she and the baker meet, and is mortified when she crashes into the baker's shop. However, Cinderella finds out about Anastasia's feelings and tries to push her and the baker together. During the process, Lucifer enters the palace and continues to chase Cinderella's mice, but during the chase, he falls in love with Pom Pom despite her disliking him. The mice help their old nemesis fall in love with Pom Pom, that is, if Lucifer promises to stop chasing mice. When Lucifer and Pom Pom get together, Pom Pom goads Lucifer into breaking his promise and helping her catch the mice. In the ensuing chase, the mice push a bucket of water on Pom Pom, and she leaves Lucifer out of spite. The baker, meanwhile, asks Anastasia to the upcoming ball, which her mother and Drizella disapprove of. Anastasia stays with the baker and falls in love.

The mice finish their book. They sing a reprise of "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" as they chase after Cinderella in an attempt to give her the book. When they catch up with her she asks them what it is, Gus telling her is a book about them all. Cinderella thinks it is wonderful and asks if the mice would like to read it together, to which the mice give a resounding "Yes!". They gather in front of the fire and Cinderella begins to read.

Soundtrack
The songs for the film were performed by Brooke Allison, and while a true soundtrack was never released, all the songs were included on the compilation album Disney's Princess Favorites, which was released shortly before the film.

Reception
While the movie did sell extremely well (surpassing the $120 million mark), critical reception was mainly mixed to negative. Many critics agreed that it looked like pieced together remains of a rejected television series (akin to Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World and Atlantis: Milo's Return). It currently holds a rare 0% approval rating from Top Critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while the User section has a more mixed 36% rating.

Cast

 * Jennifer Hale as Cinderella
 * Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Charming
 * Rob Paulsen as Jaq/Grand Duke/The Baker/Sir Hugh/Bert/Flower Vendor
 * Corey Burton as Gus
 * Holland Taylor as Prudence
 * Frank Welker as Lucifer/Pom-Pom/Bruno
 * Tress MacNeille as Anastasia Tremaine
 * Russi Taylor as Fairy Godmother, Drizella Tremaine, Mary Mouse, Beatrice, and Daphne
 * Susanne Blakeslee as Lady Tremaine

Release
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True was released on February 23, 2002. It was then re-released on December 18, 2007 as a special edition DVD. The film is currently in the Disney vault, being admitted on January 31, 2008.

Features

 * Race to the Royal Banquet Game
 * Musical Magic Featurette
 * Cinderella Storybook
 * Cinderella's Enchanted Castle Activity
 * "Put It Together" Music Video By: Brooke Allison
 * Deleted Scenes