Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4

Perhaps no fairy tale is as satisfying as a Cinderella story, one that lets you believe that anyone can transcend the lowest lows to the most triumphant highs if you keep the faith and keep your integrity intact. It's no surprise that Walt Disney's Cinderella tugs at the heartstrings as effectively as ever, and thank our fairy godmother it is finally here in a Platinum Edition DVD.

Restored by John Lowry and his crew, the 1.33:1 image offers vibrant colors and a spectacularly pure presentation. All that's up on the screen is ink and paint-and the talent that brought it to life, frame by frame. The movie looks like it was made yesterday, except that modern animation lacks this handmade artistry, down to the subtle difference in the shades of mice Jacques and Gus and the deliberate use of shadows throughout. Accompanying the better-than-ever visuals are a new Disney enhanced home theater mix—Dolby Digital 5.1, to be precise—and a restored original theatrical soundtrack for the purists, in mono. The remix shares musical instruments and the chorus with the surrounds. This being a fairly tame movie, the differences between the two tracks are not day-and-night disparate. But, since music carries most of the movie and the remix is so faithful to the original spirit, the multichannel option is definitely recommended.

The many extras are conveniently indexed on screen, and there's a handy printed guide, as well. Two deleted scenes are presented as unused songs played over production art, with demo versions of additional dropped tunes—audio only—elsewhere. The pertinent radio programs, clips from a Perry Como TV special and The Mickey Mouse Club, as well as a 1922 Cinderella cartoon all impart a happy kitchen-sink feel to this generous second platter. The multipart making-of tells of a complete live-action version of the movie filmed to help guide the animators, but this footage is nowhere to be found, which is a pity. Or am I just being a wicked (and nitpicking) stepfather?