Prince Cinders

Prince Cinders is a 1993, British, animated, short film. It is based on the book of the same title by Babette Cole. It is a contemporary retelling of Cinderella. Co-production was amongst Longreturn, Animation City, Channel 4 Television Corporation in association with GAGA (as Gaga Communications), Pickwick Video, Tele Munchen Fernseh Produktiongesellschaft (TMG) (as Tele-Munchen), and Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions.

Plot
A gender-swapped spin on the Cinderella tale, a young man known as Prince Cinders is stuck with having to work for his three, ugly brothers and wishes very much to go to a disco to meet, and get with Princess Lovelypenny. A young, student fairy arrives to grant him his wish to change his image before he can do that, but her magic goes wrong, instead turning him into an ape. When he goes out in his new form, chaos and hilarity ensue. A way must be found to get him back to normal in order to reach his goal.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This is a very imaginative and original rendition of Cinderella. Aside from the difference in gender of the lead character and him having three, ugly brothers, there's also the part of his trousers being left behind, and other men trying them on to see if they're the right fit, and one of the men is the match for Princess Lovelepenny, rather than using a glass slipper.
 * 2) While the art style is something that looks similar to chalk art, the animation has enough smoothness to it.
 * 3) The writing of this version has similarities but differences as well, separating it from both the original story and other adaptations.
 * 4) Aside from Prince Cinders's ugly brothers, the other characters are great and provide plenty of entertainment.
 * 5) The character designs look fine enough.
 * 6) The music is written and performed satisfactorily, including the theme, "Love Don't Work That Way", as sung by Lenny Henry.
 * 7) The voice work is well-performed to a tee.
 * 8) The info on the DVD cover was right when it mentioned that it's indeed, truly hilarious. There are many funny moments to be found and they don't disappoint at all.
 * 9) Cleverly executed lines of dialogue.
 * 10) As is traditionally the case, it gives off the message that things will work out in the end after going through a bad situation and love will be found.
 * 11) The conclusion is satisfying and makes for the last, funny moment.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Some may find Prince Cinders's cat, Zipper, annoying after he magically gains speech and he gets too chatty.