Cinderella (1950) 
Mice?
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I only saw part of this thing in a class a couple weeks ago. I am not sure how long it has been since I saw this or if I have ever seen it. As I watched the opening scenes, I was struck by how absurd this film is. Maybe this says something about who we were as a country at the beginning of the Cold War Era. The country was going through its own rags to riches story as it came fully out of the Depression into one of America’s great economic booms. Blond-haired Cinderella triumphs over her dark haired step sisters.
What I don’t have an analogy for is Cinderella making clothes for the little birds and mice. These creatures in turn become her slaves, dressing her and running errands. Perhaps this is conistent with our view of military aid to Third World Countries. The countries love our cultural and economic exports so are happy to aid us in our quest against the evil empire. I was just floored by the premise of this woman making clothes for mice and birds. Snow White makes friends with forest creatures, but are there any other cinematic instances of human-animal interaction like this? For some reason, I find this part more bothersome than the pumpkin turned into a carriage.
