I, like many of those avid Disney fans out there, was outraged by the release of several sequels - such as Hunchback II, Cinderella II, Mulan II, etc. However, I think that Disney has realized that nobody really likes those crappy sequels - even the kids - and so has been upping it's game when it comes to straight-to-DVD-sequels; lately, the attempts at thirds has been actually quite good. After the success of the hilarious Lion King 1 1/2, the third Little Mermaid (Ariel's Beginning) definitely made par - Cinderella III: A Twist in Time also lives up to the standard set by both it's predecessor and what we've come to expect from Disney sequels.<br /><br />Cinderella is married to Prince Charming and living in the castle - her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, are stuck doing all the chores she used to to. Jealous of Cinderella's happiness and craving her own happy ending, Anastasia manages to steal the Fairy Godmother's magic wand. Lady Tremaine, determined to get revenge on her stepdaughter, uses the wand to take them back in time and alter the past, so that Anastasia's foot ends up fitting the glass slipper. Also with the help of magic, Tremaine enchants the Prince so that he thinks Anastasia is the girl he danced with at the ball. Cinderella, with the help of her mice friends Jaq and Gus, must now fight for her happily ever after.<br /><br />I never liked Cinderella - I accept it as a timeless classic; I know it was groundbreaking for both animation and for film-making at the time it was made, and respect it for that. However, I never liked the story of a helpless heroine getting all she wants just because she has a good heart and befriends rodents. At least in the Grimm version, she had to really try to get her man (and there was some gore besides), but the Disney film really watered down the original grit.<br /><br />Thankfully, the grit was brought back in this second sequel - Cindy has to do so much in this film to get the Prince to remember her (such as overcome exile, kidnapping, and defeat a human version of the diabolical cat Lucifer) that we really see her turn from a worthy girl benefiting from Karma into a determined heroine. And, since the Fairy Godmother is frozen at the beginning of the movie, she must battle Tremaine's magic with nothing but her own wits.<br /><br />Cinderella III: A Twist in Time recaptures not only the drama of the Grimm fairytale, but also the magic of Disney hand-drawn animation, an art form that has been lost in the flashiness of CGI. I love computer-animated films, don't get me wrong, but I find they lack the intimate and personalized style of 2D animation. Somehow the beauty of hand-drawn animation manages to capture a humanity in characters and landscapes that you simply can't get with a computer - it turns the film into a work of art instead of just a movie. While this film's animation hasn't the beauty of other Disney flicks, it still retains enough of the magic to keep you riveted.<br /><br />All in all, despite obvious issues with Disney sequels, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time brings an interesting plot, more three-dimensional characters, and a little Grimm touch to an undeniable classic - all the while retaining the intimate feeling of hand-drawn cartoons.