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Cartoons and Advertisements
[A cartoon retelling in the Winter 1993 sales catalogue for Acme soccer sports wear. Soccerella lives with a stepfather who makes her clean and scrub his referee boots. Her two evil stepbrothers are also referees, spending their days watching soccer videos. Soccerella has never seen a game except on her secret videos. On the day of the big game she's stuck cleaning locker rooms, but wishes to see a live game. Her Fairy Goalmother appears, puts her in uniform and on the bench in the second half. She's called upon to play, scores the tying and winning goals, and flees the field with five seconds to go, knowing that she will return to her rags as the gun sounds. She loses one of the Fairy Goalmother's soccer shoes as she flees, and the coach searches for her. Upon visiting the referee's house to use the bathroom, the coach asks Soccerella to polish the mystery shoe, which she does by putting it on. It fits and she beats both her brothers in two on one, thus proving her skills. The coaches get the championship, Soccerella gets a place on the team, and the brothers have to polish their own shoes. Her story is written up in several soccer magazines and once in a mail order catalogue.]Bergdorf Goodman. Cinderella Fashion Window for the Christmas Holiday, New York City, 1996.
[Cinderella scrubs away fashionably in a John Galliano gown. The stepsisters are bedecked in black Tierry Mugler. See David Colman's review of such events in "Holiday Windows for the Id in All of Us," New York Times, Sunday, December 1, 1996. Styles section, pp. 59, 62, which includes a picture of the Cinderella window at Bergdorf Goodman (Fifth Avenue at 58th Street), the creation of Linda Fargo, whose concept of fairytale tableaux of heroines included Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. She observes: "Window watching is still a real form of entertainment in New York. Parents are happy when their children are happy, but parents don't always have their children with them." Snow White is decked out in "virginal dress and jacket by Heidi Weisel, while the wicked queen smolders close by in a red cleavage-bearing number by Mayela. Cinderella's stepsisters look more primed for the reopening of Le Cirque than for a ball, in black Thierry Mugler; the poor girl herself at least gets to scrub away in washerwoman chic by John Gialliano. "We were going for something a bit sharp," Ms. Fargo said. "I don't want to say evil, but we did want a sort of angular darkness. There was also a Puss in Boots window without the cat but with a pair of Prada boots amid leopard-spotted accessories reassuringly made of fake fur.]Browne, Chance. Hi and Lois. Cartoon for April 4, 1994. King Features Syndicate, Inc.
[In three panels: 1. Three children sit on the couch, the girl reading Cinderella to her baby sister."And when the Prince put the slipper on her foot, it fit exactly." 2. "But then she said, `I don't need your stupid old castle, and I can't take the media pressure.' So she dumped the Prince!" To which the brother at the end of the couch replies, "That's not how it goes!" 3. "That's the '90's version," the girl replies.]Cinderella Pantomime Program for Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, January 1920:
[At the top of the page an ink drawing shows Cinderella sitting on the floor beside a coal shuttle, shading her eyes in wonder as the brilliant modern godmother appears before her with her golden wand. The text reads: Cinder-ella slept and in her dreams a fairy sprite appeared. "Wake up, Cinder-ella!" she said, "I have touched your house with my golden wand and everything is changed. Henceforth there shall be no coals to spoil your pretty hands or tire your rounded arms. Fires shall always be clean and tidy, always ready to be turned up or down at will. There is hot water everywhere in the house and beautiful restful light in every room. To cook the dinner there is a wonderful cooking Gas Stove with bright kettles and clean sausepans, each in its place; you may turn the heat up or down as you wish. Do you hear, Cinder-ella? No more coals or dirt, no more scuttles or fireirons, no more grates to clean, no fires to lay or mind. Wake up, Cinder-ella! I have touched your house with my golden wand and everything is changed." Cinder-ella rubbed her drowsy eyes: "Who are you?" she said, wonderingly. "I? I am the modern godmother, my dear, the spirit of Heat, Cleanliness and Light, and men call me--Gas!"]Cinderella Pantomime Program for the London Coliseum. Dec. 1958 [back cover].
[Drawing of Cinderella and the Prince, he with a sunlike happy-face, descending the ballroom stairway toward an awaiting carriage, while a convector gas heater radiates its warmth upon them as they pass. The text reads: "Cinderella is off to the Ball. What's more, she'll be there on the dot! For household chores were all done before noon - thanks to the Handsome Prince. No more cinders for Ella! Mr. Therm's work-saving convector gas fires are free from soot and smoke. They give radiant heat and warm air heating too. See them in the gas showrooms, from 11 6s. 7d, or on the easiest of terms. North-Thames-Gas.]Cheney, Tom. USA Weekend's "Wit & Wisdom." USA Weekend, May 15-17, 1998. P. 12.
[Cinderella sits on a stool by the fire, broom leaning against the hearth. She is in her raggety dress. A man from the court, presumably the chamberlain in particolored tights, a cape, and a plumed hat, has just fitted the radiant glass slipper on her foot; he then hands her a pair of scissors, observing, "It's just a formality, but I'll also need a lock of your hair for DNA analysis." The cartoon appeared at the end of the week that Monica Lewinsky was required by Kenneth Starr to supply a hair sample for DNA analysis as part of the investigation of President Clinton.]
Cranor, Zach. Bird Dress. Last Place Comics. <https://lastplacecomics.com/bird-dress/>.
[In Cranor’s comic, Cinderella thinks she is receiving a gown and a trip to the ball only to discover that her friends want her to help them steal supplies from a local pet store. The Disney Cinderella is clearly referenced with the use of the blue dress and the helpful birds.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
Disney Cinderella Postage Stamps. Ganada. The Disney Classic Fairy Tales. 1996.
[The issue includes nine $.30 stamps depicting rather crudely drawn scenes from Disney's 1949 movie: Young Cinderella playing with her father, Cinderella sweeping in the kitchen, Cinderella in the farmyard with Bruno and the divisive Lucifer, the stepmother reading the invitation to the ball, the mice making Cinderella's dress, Cinderella with the Fairy Godmother, Cinderella setting off for the ball in the pumpkin coach, Cinderella losing her slipper on the stair, and the fitting of the slipper to the pleasure of the Lord Chamberlain. This limited edition is advertised as being more popular than the Elvis stamps. Purchase of the stamps is accomplanied by an individually numbered ICS Certificate of Authenticity.]Famous Fairy Tales for Children. Illustrated by Frank and Alvie Dillon. Pepsin Syrup Co, Monticello, IL, ca. 1925.
[Includes brief narratives of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Aladdin and his Lamp, interspersed with information and testimonials about the virtues of "Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin the family laxative." The nicely illustrated booklet functioned as a gift for traveling salesmen to use in promoting the product.]Frank & Ernest. Cartoon for February 6, 1994. Copyright NEA.
[A single long panel, with two gnomes sitting on mushrooms, one of which says,"Wow! Did you see Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach?!" To which the other replies: "I'll Say! It's amazing what they can do with those bio-engineered vegetables!"]
From a Consortium of Artists. “Cinder.” <https://www.berkeleymews.com/>.
[This comic has four panels. The first three show different pairs of feet. The last one shows Cinderella’s prince using his phone and a site like Tinder to locate Cinderella.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
From a Consortium of Artists. Fairy Godmother. <https://www.berkeleymews.com/>.
[This comic, which has been shared across social media, contains three panels. In the first, the fairy godmother offers to turn trash into expensive clothes. The second panel has Cinderella in the iconic Disney blue dress. The third panel shows a vintage shop with the dress in the store window and Cinderella walking away in her old clothes and holding a wad of cash.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
From a Consortium of Artists. Glass Slipper. <https://www.berkeleymews.com/>.
[In this comic, the prince catches up to Cinderella and returns her slipper. She leaves the ball, they do not marry, and she returns to cleaning for her stepfamily.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
Fujishima, Kosuke. O My Goddess! The Forgotten Promise. Milwaukee: Dark Horse Comics, September 1997. Story and art by Kosuke Fujishima. Translated by Dana Lewis and Toren Smith. Lettering and touch-up by Susie Lee and PC Orz. Cast: Kelichi Morisato.
[A Nekomi Tech student who dialed a wrong number and unwittingly summed the goddess Belldandy; Belldandy, a Goddess First Class (Unlimited) who is loving and very kind; Urd, Goddess Second Class (Limited) who is Belldandy's big sister, very sexy, and very naughty; Skuld, a Goddess second class (limited), who is Belldandy's little sister and very smart and slightly bratty; and The Almighty. The group visits Morisato, an old hotel, unchanged from long before the war. The serving maid and temporary house-keeper, Chieko Honda, greets them, happy that Morisato has kept his promise. She is a Shinnentai, who has survived for many years as a physical presence that does not grow old. The sisters scorn Chieko and belabor her, but she is immune to their cruelties because of her love of Morisato. She finds him a motorcycle. He remembers his love for her. Belldandy blesses their relationship, and they ride off on the motercycle. Cinderella typology: a working girl filled with wishes; mean stepsister-like superiors; a prince of a fellow who remembers his love for the working girl and vows to restore the relationship; a fairy godmother who assists in bringing about the culmination; the motorcycle substitutes for the magical carriage.]
Gauld, Tom. “Feminist Fairy Godmother.” Shared via Twitter. 2018.
[Gault shows Cinderella speaking with her fairy godmother who offers to turn cleaning supplies into a career and bank account so that Cinderella can marry when she wishes. The classic carriage is in the background. The cartoon has also been published as part of The Snooty Bookshop.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
Graham, Alex. Fred Basset. Cartoon for February 18, 1995. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.
[In three panels: The "parents" go off to the Mayor's Ball, all dressed up, leaving Fred the basset hound home alone. He sits in his master's recliner chair thinking, "Now I know how Cinderella felt."]
Guadarrama, Maria [Guada Scribbles]. Disney Princesses Get Therapy. Instagram. c. 2020.
[In this post, Guada Scribbles shows a giraffe therapist talking with each Disney Princesses about common concerns regarding their stories. The therapist asks Cinderella to discuss why she thinks hours of dancing at a party equals love.] [Annotation by Martha Johnson-Olin]
"Inside Hollywood." Cosmopolitan, October 1999, pp. 278-79.
[Tara Reid, in a long fuscha skirt and white top, appears "as Cinderella (before the ball)"; she wears a white babushka with roses on it. Halle Berry, in a formal gown with white corset and pinkish skirt and pinkish-white decorated low-cut bodice, appears "as Cinderella (at the ball)." Beside them stands Shiva Afshar, as the "least dressed of the Mohicans." The editor says their garb looks like Halloween costumes.]Johnston, Lynn. For Better Or For Worse. Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. Sunday Comic Section, October 25, 1994.
[Elizabeth takes her three year old sister April to the pumpkin market and asks if she remembers the story of Cinderella, with the pumpkin carriage and the ball. When they pick out their pumpkin April says, "It was a punkin jus' like dis one, wasn't it?" Back home father finds April in the barn poking around and asks "Whatcha looking for, April?" She replies, "Mice!"]Lady Foot Locker advertisement in the "Must-Have Fall Fashion" issue of ELLE, Sept. 1999 #169, pp. 128-29.
[Two pages of an open "medieval" book with floral borders. Page 128 shows a sparkling glass slipper with a radiant bow and the caption: "And she placed the glass slipper on her foot, was lifted by Prince Charming onto the back of his stallion, and LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Page 129 shows a Nike running shoe with the caption: "And she placed the Nike Air Rapidup upon her foot and began jumping rope, running steps, and sprinting. Afterwards she challenged all her step-sisters to a game of pick-up basketball, outscoring them easily (its hard to be both fit and evil) and LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER." Along the right margin the athletic Cinderella runs down the stairs without losing her shoe. The caption reads: "The Nike Air Rapidup. The shoe that provides stability and flexibility necessary for everything from sprinting toward a waiting carriage to kick-boxing and circuit-training."]Levin. New Yorker.
[A yuppy businessman with briefcase pushes Cinderella in ball gown away from the pumpkin coach door and enters himself. A rat-like coachman with a plume watches the shifty maneuver.]MacNealy. Chicago Tribune. Rpt. in the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, Section A, p. 8, Monday, October 9, 1995.
[A princely elephant holding a cowboy boot labelled "RR - Ron" appears before five hopeful men (Wilson, Dole, Graham, Gingrich, etc.) holding a sign "1996 Auditions." The cartoon is titled: "Cinderelephant."]Mattel. Little Theatre Costumes for Ken, Barbie and Midge and The Prince and Cinderella. Stock no. 0872. 1963.
[The front panel of the flyer shows Cinderella in rags fitting her foot into the slipper as she holds her broom while the Prince stands in the background with a cushion on which a slipper is placed. Her ball gown lies behind her. The back panel shows the Prince with the slipper, while Cinderella in ball gown stands in the background. Inside the flyer is a short telling of the story called "Magic Moment (Cinderella and the Prince).": "Imagine changing your whole life in one magic moment! But that's exactly what happened to Cinderella. Her magic moment came one night when she least expected it. Cinderella was feeling very sad because she couldn't go to the Prince's Ball. She didn't have any pretty clothes, you see. As a matter of fact, she had on heronly dress, which was rough for mopping the floor, it would hardly do for dancing in a palace! Suddenly, her fairy godmother appeared beside her. "Why are you crying, my child?" she asked. "Oh, I wish ..., I wish..." sobbed Cinderella. "You wish to go to the ball - isn't that so?" Cinderella nodded. "Well, then, you shall go!" said her fairy godmother, and she waved her wand. IN ONE MAGIC MOMENT, a large handsome gold carriage appeared, complete with six horses to pull it, a fine coachman to drive it, and six footmen to attend it. But best of all, Cinderella's rags became the most beautiful ball gown she had ever dreamed of! It was all gold and silver and glitter. On her head she had a silver tiara, and on her feet there appeared a lovely pair of glass slippers! So Cinderella went to the Ball. There crowds whispered "Oh, how beautiful she is!" and the Prince fell head over heels in love with her. Even though Cinderella stayed at the Ball a little too late, and lost one of her glass slippers running home, everything turned out all right. The Prince searched his kingdom until he found the one girl whose foot the glass slipper would just fit - Cinderella! So they were married at once and lived happily ever after. That's how one magic moment changed Cinderella's whole life!"]Miller, W. New Yorker, December 13, 1993. Vol. 69, p. 93.
[Depicts a hearth with stone chimney and a cooking pot over a vigorous fire. Beside the fireplace is a bench, broom, pail, and scrub brush; the room has a leaded-glass window and beamed ceiling. An old-fashioned fairy godmother appears in the air to the left with her wand over Cinderella who--voilà--is transformed radiantly into a smart-looking business woman with serious hair, briefcase in her left hand and celluar phone in her right, a fitted twopiece suit, and smart shoes.]Mynott, Lawrence. "The Big Night." Cover of The New Yorker. March 24, 1997.
[A pumpkin limousine, drawn by two white mice and attended by two coachmen in black and two footmen in green, pulls up to the Hollywood Oscar palace as a young blonde woman in white, with a beehive hair-do, rushes toward the palace that looks something akin to a Mecca-like mosque. The entrance is between gigantic Oscar columns. People elegantly dressed assemble on the red carpet outside the entrance as the limos pull up. On the opposite side of the street droves of people watch, wave, and applaud from gray shadows.]New York State Department of Economic Development. Ad for I-Love-New York: The Autumn Guide. New York Times. Sunday, September 12, 1999. Travel Section, p. 19.
[The three column picture shows a sexy Cinderella surrounded by male dancers extending her foot as one reaches toward it, with carriage in the near background and the palace further back as staged by the Moscow City Ballet's Cinderella at Brookville. The caption reads: "Autumn leaves. Country antiques. Warm apple pie. And glass slippers," and the blurb allows that "all of New York is a stage."]O My Goddess. September, 1997. See Fujishima, Kosuke, above.
Parisi, Mark. A Series of Cinderella Cartoons from Off the Mark.com. 2010.
[Cartoonist Mark Parisi’s website contains several Cinderella comic strips; however, he does not allow free redistribution of his materials. To view the comic strips, please visit his website (http://www.offthemark.com/search-results/key/Cinderella/). What follows is a summary of the Cinderella comic strips he has created thus far.] [Summaries by Martha Johnson-Olin]Plumb, Charles. Ella Cinders. Comics Revue, September, 1947. Vol. 1, no. 4. Published monthly by Archer St. John, New York City.#1996-02-15 [The Prince critiques Cinderella’s feet, suggesting she needs anti-fungal medicine and a pedicure before wearing glass slippers.]
#1997-10-21 [With a caption reading, “Cinderella busts Prince Charming,” we see the heroine finding her husband’s “little black book” and his ratings for his sexual encounters with Rapunzel and Snow White.]
#1997-11-09 [The Fairy Godmother tells Cinderella that she has transformed mice into horses for her, but we see the cat that has just eaten the mice beginning to go through a painful expansion as the mice transform within his stomach.
#1999-03-23 [In an apparent parody of Y2k fears, this cartoon features the Fairy Godmother telling Cinderella that the magic will end at midnight due to programming problems.]
#1999-08-25 [An employer dubiously assesses the résumé of the pumpkin that took Cinderella to the castle.]
#2003-11-11 [Prince Charming uses a computer and Love.Finder.com to locate the owner of the glass slipper.]
#2004-07-16 [Cinderella’s dog speaks with a friend. It loves the new life but does not enjoy its broken teeth after chewing on the glass slippers.]
[A comic book based on the daily comic strip which began in 1925. Charlie Plumb's introduction to the comic book remarks: "Ella is a stepchild in a family whose burly boss is Ma Cinders. Toward Ella she turns a face that not only would stop a clock but set it back in the bargain. But upon her own daughters--pinched and acid Pressie Pill and fat and foolish Lotta Pill--Ma beams. Ella's only allies within the household are her own father, easy-going and hearty Pa Cinders; and her little brother, Blackie" (p. 2). Ella has "the face that launches a million smiles a day: the girl who laughs through her own tears and gets into the merriest messes for your amusement and suspense" (p. 2). This particular issue explores how Mr. Jurk regains his sense of humor after looking at himself in his nightgown in a mirror; how Ella and Blackie pay a visit to Joe McGinty who lives in the city dump; how the wealthy Mr. Darrby hires Blackie to dream about him; how Ella has a job working for Mr. Swassy who allegedly bottles pickles and apparently tries to hide his racket by siccing Mr. Dale, a masher, on Ella; and how Ella solves the mystery of Swassy's non-existent pickle factory (he's really smuggling gold) and Allen Dale's part in the whole thing (he's really a secret agent trying to capture the gold robbers, who is happily married and has a charming son and affectionate daughter); plus four brief episodes about Blackie, by Bill Conselman and Charlie Plumb. The cover shows Blackie with a Hypnosis Made Easy book exclaiming to Ella, "It works!" as Ma Cinders scrubs the floor.]Siers, Kevin. The Charlotte Observer, November 22, 1995.
[Princess Diana, being interviewed by the BBC, sits in rags with a pumpkin in her lap. She says, "The Coach turned into a pumpkin, the footmen into dogs, the horses into mice and the Prince into a rat!"]SkyTel Pager by Motorola. Full page adversizment. New York Times Magazine. March 8, 1998. Section 6, p. 31.
[The monitor pictured on the SkyTel pager reads: "Cinderella - Just A Reminder: Be Home By 12:00 Or Else!" The blurb beneath the enlarged photo reads: "It's a fairy tale come true. It's a guarantee you'll get your messages no matter what. It's SkyWord Plus from SkyTel. The paging service that stores your messages when your pager is off, your batteries are dead or you go out of range, and automatically delivers them to you when your return to full service. And best of all, this story has a happy ending: SkyWord Plus costs less than most ordinary paging. So get SkyTel. And get the message, guaranteed."]Toles. Universal Press Syndicate. Copyright US News and World Report, 1998. Reprinted in "Speaking Out: Drawing on the News: A collection of editorial cartoons from newspapers around the nation." Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York. Saturday, March 21, 1998. 9A.
[A woman works at her computer keyboard. The date across the bottom of the cartoon reads 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, 2000. The woman's monitor has turned into a pumpkin. In the lower right corner a tiny pixie-like figure at the drawing board looks up at the scene and observes, "Just Don't Say Nobody Warned You."]