R+H's Cinderella starring Brandy and Whitney Houston coming to Disney+ in Europe; US soon?

https://whatsondisneyplus.com/rodgers-hammersteins-cinderella-coming-soon-to-disney-in-some-european-countries/

Disney has announced that the film will be coming to Disney+ in the Netherlands, Spain and Italy on Friday 12th February.

The film was originally released on the Disney Channel in 1997 and has become a cult classic.  It starred Brandy, Whitney Houston, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg and Bernadette Peters.

seaweedjstubbs said: "Exciting! Hoping it’s been given a bit of love, as the DVD version is pretty bad, picture quality wise. Also, it premiered on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney, not Disney Channel. "

Agreed. The costumes and sets were absolutely gorgeous and it would be great to see them in HD. It's still my favorite version of Cinderella ever. 

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DVD? I think our copy is VHS!

I loved "The Sweetest Sounds" and Bernadette's "Falling in Love with Love" from this version!

carousel94fan said: "I loved "The Sweetest Sounds" and Bernadette's "Falling in Love with Love" from this version!"

THIS. This songs are brilliantly weaved in to this, that I had a hard time accepting that they weren't originally in it. Bernadette is just brilliant with that song in this, she's just genius all around, who am I kidding. 

Just in time for Valentine's Day. I hope this means whatever legal issues there were have been sorted out and we may finally get an official soundtrack too.

Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, and more Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella cast reunites with EW

Owen22 said: "And yay for diversity! What a backwards step the recent Laura Osnes production was in that capacity!"

While the show was very white, I’m glad that production was able to switch casting up in their replacement casts (NeNe Leakes as the stepmother, Keke Palmer as the final Cinderella).

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I think it’s bizarre when things like this get this much attention. Before Netflix killed the video store, this was available 24/7 to anyone who wanted to see it. It’s just a fun example of how, while streaming has made a lot of things more accessible, it’s made a hell of a lot more titles obscure and impossible to find anymore.

I think there's a lot of 90s nostalgia happening at the moment, partly because Millennials are pining for their childhood or starting to introduce their own children to stuff they grew up with, but also a lot of people remember that decade as comparatively carefree, positive, and simpler, especially in contrast to the post-9/11 world and certainly the Trump/COVID-19 period. That said, this special was of unusually high quality, and I think it has held up beautifully over the years. I don't think we'll ever see a cast of that caliber assembled for a made-for-TV, family musical again. Certainly, we'll never have Whitney again, and that's playing into the adoration for this special. And the script, costume, and set design were all excellent updates that remain faithful to the spirit of the fairy tale. The only thing I can imagine people quibbling with is the 90s RnB arrangements for the songs, but even that has nostalgic value.

Pretty disappointed in the transfer on Disney Plus. Was hoping to have it in a higher quality than the DVD, but the version on D+ is about the same quality, and in some moments, the quality is actually worse. Interestingly/frustratingly, the version on D+ includes the fade outs to commercials, while the DVD version does not.

qolbinau said: "Well I personally can't wait because I've never seen it despite Bernadette's involvement - and I can't wait to hear how Whitney sings in it. However, part of me wonders whether the excitement is somewhat artificially created, somewhat as a consequence of many people (including myself) having nothing better to do than watch things on TV due to C19 pandemic."

Well, the DVD version has been on YouTube for years so it’s always been available to anyone interested in watching it.  The DVD has always been available and easily obtainable on Amazon.  

 

CORRECTION:

This original post by me was incorrect. A little more research shows that the program *was* shot on film, so it could've been transferred to HD. It is possible that the production was "finished" on videotape and that the special effects were produced on videotape. If this is the case, the original film elements could be transferred to HD, but the special effects would have to be recreated for High Definition.

However, it was one of the most expensive television movies produced up until that time and Whitney Houston had expectations that it would be released theatrically. If, at some point, a theatrical release was anticipated, then all of the work would've been completed for film and not videotape. I guess only Disney really knows at this point...

Updated On: 2/13/21 at 11:00 PM