MovieChat Forums > Cinderella (1950) Discussion > Ball gown colour and merchandise

Ball gown colour and merchandise

posted 2 years ago by skipper (316)
12 replies | jump to latest

Why would they change the silvery white colour of the ball gown in the movie to a light blue for the merchandise? I think that the Cinderellas in the theme parks also wear blue dresses.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

It's still underwhelming ball gown.

And IMHO it's pale blue in the film, and they should have used your idea and made the dress white. Better to push the technology of the era and make a white dress glitter, than this boring schmata.

https://todaysparent.mblycdn.com/uploads/tp/2018/07/best-kids-animated-movies-cinderella.jpg

[–] skipper (316) 2 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpeNcFKo2gk

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

You can see that the dress isn't pure white in that shot, as some bits different shades of what appears to be white. And the scene is meant to take place at night, by moonlight, which gives everything a blue cast that would wash out the pale blue color. Here's a couple of gifs from the movie, where the light is less blue, and you can see the dress is light blue with white bits and not very attractive.

So can we please give this a rest? The dress isn't white, and can we NOT make this into another internet argument over the color of a dress? Look how the last one turned out!

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.cdf73a9abf7a32e5ef57248302877241?rik=OFZqKRBQV50d5A&riu=http%3a%2f%2f31.media.tumblr.com%2ftumblr_m9ztyiHMmK1rxui9eo1_500.gif&ehk=mROCUzlZ7JfBsprirrEEZXPb%2fywbtoUy9Xkw9DeCRS8%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

https://66.media.tumblr.com/1f52203d27503355cac725aff163bd1a/tumblr_mpyb8vhwyN1qd243po1_500.gif

[–] skipper (316) 2 years ago

We will just have to agree to disagree on this 🙂

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Did you even look at the gifs?

Gotta go, though. It's been a slice.

[–] skipper (316) 2 years ago

Yes I did. I suggest you watch the movie.

Cinderella and the Prince were in darkness in the one gif. When she runs into the ballroom the colour of her gown changes as does the Prince’s jacket when he follows her.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Yes, the color of the gown "changes" as the color of the ambient light changes. Which is the point I've been trying to make.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14475) 2 years ago

I think it was a creative decision. It's weird, though, changing her from a strawberry blond (a red-haired variant) to a blond with a blue gown instead of a silvery white one. It might have been what inspired the look of Cinderella in the 2015 film.

After watching the original film again, I realized the artists who work on advertising now, probably took inspiration from times when Cinderella was in darker areas of the castle with the prince, because her ballgown looks "blue" in such a light, particularly from the moonlight. The problem is, white/silver clothing takes on the same color as the light shone on it, leading to many debates on what color a costume is in a film (animated or not).

I noticed a similar issue with Sarah's dream gown from "The Labyrinth," where people kept saying it was pale blue, purple, pink, etc, until I got a look at the actual fabric the costume designer might have used, and it turned out to be a translucent, iridescent white fabric, meaning the dress took on whatever color the lights were when the actress was photographed or filmed.

What's particularly interesting is, if you look at the concept art for the animated Cinderella movie (as well as a few very old children's books published by Disney back in the day), her gown was originally going to be pink and white!

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

The color of the gown doesn't change between the moonlit makeover and the ball scene, itsthecolor of the ambient light that changes, and with it the eye's perception of the color. Haven't you ever paid any attention to how the color of ambient light affects the perception of color? Because if you haven't, FYI if you wear something the same color as the light it washes out. In blue light, a light blue dress looks off- white.

That is what the Disney animators were trying to depict, but I can't say they did a very good job of it.

[–] skipper (316) 2 years ago

I had a Little Golden Book book when I was a child where Cinderella’s gown was pink and white 🙂

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14475) 2 years ago

I had that too! :D I think that's what I remember that image from.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7728) 2 years ago

Personally I prefer the blue dress. The white one is just boring to me.