Folktales have come to us by being passed down hundreds of years through oral tradition. These stories reflect the social norms and expectations of the culture, provide moral guidance and acquaint children with the important aspects of the social system. Over the years, these tales have changed to suit the cultures of the intended audiences. Since these stories started of orally, they were so much easier to change and the story teller may add or remove material to his liking.
Over time the folktales spread all around the world. In Fairy Tales: A Closer Look at “Cinderella, they state that Cinderella appears to be the most well-known fairy-tale in the world Behrens 521. Now there is a Chinese, French, German, African, and Native American version of Cinderella, with over 700 other versions. Behrens 527 Many books and movies have been made on the basis of the rags to riches fantasy. A short movie by the name of “Cinderelmo” was released in 2000 intending to entertain young children.
Cinderelmo is a successful adaptation of Perrault”s French version of the Cinderella story because it contains most of the elements needed to make it an accurate interpretation of his “Cinderella Story,” and the adaptation was successful at making the necessary changes to get the most positive response out of the intended preteen audience. Cinderelmo is such a successful film adaptation for children because it utilizes the entertaining and educational qualities of the well-known Sesame Street Puppets.
Children are already familiar with the roles and characters of the puppets so they should be able to easily interpret this new telling of the classic tale. Starring the lovable Elmo, the film retells the story of the Cinderella in a manner which is both enjoyable and educational for young viewers. This film depicts the classic Cinderella tale using all of the well-known Sesame Street characters. The film not only tells a good story, but has great educational songs too.
The songs occupy the children”s attention and provide supplemental entertainment, introducing news, morals, and lessons into the opinions already forming inside of the minds of young children. A few changes have been made to Cinderelmo from the Perrault stories to better suit younger audiences. Instead of having wicked stepsisters, the main character has stepbrothers which are not portrayed to be quite as mean as the usual “wicked stepsisters” of the typical Cinderella story.
In addition, the coachman is formed from a dog instead of a rat, and the carriage morphs from a dog bowl instead of a pumpkin. It is these cute little changes that make the film so much more attractive to children. Cinderelmo remains faithful to the older, more traditional versions of Cinderella in many ways. The missing slipper of glass or gold is usually the first thing that pops into one”s mind when thinking of the Cinderella stories. Cinderelmo does in fact follow through with the “slipper” element as the little red monster loses one of his shoes while scrambling to leave the ball by midnight.
The “royal shoe fitter” was ordered to find the one whose foot matched the shoe as in the Perrault version. Additionally, Cinderelmo”s attitude very much resembles that of Perrault”s classic Cinderella character. They both submit to their stepmother”s wishes. They are also submissive in other aspects of their role including being agreeable to others regardless of how they felt about a situation. Cinderelmo teaches very basic lessons to children in a successful manner because this rendering is entertaining to them.
In this retelling of Cinderella, the main character is motivated by his “Fairy Godperson” who happens to be a man instead of a woman to get out and be proactive about going to the ball, repeating the chorus line: “Do the thing that makes the dream come true” qtd. in Cinderelmo. This instills in children the value of wanting something and going out and working to obtain it. This lesson could also be applicable to many adults as well. Cinderelmo also comes to the realization that it is what is on the inside that makes him so special.
The idea that what is on the inside is what counts is a simple lesson that children should internalize on easily and need to be taught from a young age to insure the internalization and maximum benefits of the moral. The key moral in all Cinderella stories is that one learns that despite being unappreciated and condemned to serving others, as long as you are kind natured and a truly good person, your dreams will come true — indeed Cinderelmo learned that lesson as well Cinderelmo”s ending is well suited for its intended audience.
Although it deviates some from Perrault”s classic in some ways, it is a happy and child-appropriate ending. Cinderelmo does not marry the Princess because he is only three and hasn”t even made it to kindergarten yet. Instead, the Princess invites everyone to play with her in the palace, which is what Elmo wanted from the beginning. The dog magically transforms back into French Stewart, the prince of the story, who is still able to flirt romantically with the Princess. In the end, everybody truly does, in fact, live happily ever after.
