Guess what, I just re-watched Disney's animated film Cinderella because I so happened to stumble upon it when I was looking up Disney's songs on Youtube.
And for a 22-year-old girl who might or should have grown out of being fascinated by fairy tales, it's surprising that watching it again after so many years actually made me laugh so much! The rats' conversations, and how they tackled the evil cat, the king's anxiousness of getting his son married soon... They were all so funny and entertaining to me. I guess any adult would laugh too. But wait, I can't believe I actually shed tears when it came to where Cinderella's dress was torn and she cried! "I can't believe, not anymore," she said, "there's nothing left to believe in." Yeah and I can't believe to find myself in tears hearing a cartoon character say that.
One thing I changed my mind about Cinderella, is that she isn't "the weak, pretty girl who gets bullied all day until a prince saves her day" that some people might describe her to be. Whenever people would ask, "Which Disney princess would you like to be?", there would be answers that sound like "Certainly not Cinderella because she's too easily pushed around." Yes, true enough, I used to think and say that too. But as I was watching it today, I'm amazed at how the rightful heir of the house, after being harshly treated by some "outsiders", could still keep her cool and meekly do whatever she was ordered to. This is not being weak, THIS IS STRENGTH! She never turned nasty or hateful out of resentment. And now, how many people can be like that? Even though she was bullied again and again, she never indulged into self-pity, and she could still care for others even more than herself (she was more concerned about Gus than for herself when her stepsister found Gus in her cup and complained to her mother)! What's more, she never harboured grudges against her stepmother and stepsisters after all the ill treatment.
I know it is just a fairy tale, but in every story there's always something we can learn. And I believe I just picked up something new from a very old, old tale.
