ÉRASE UNA VEZ …

In “Érase una vez…” (English: “Once upon a time…”) by José Escobar and Alexandre Cirici Pellicer, the timeless fairy tale of Cinderella is liberally reinterpreted – with a generous dash of humour. After many years of restauration work, the film from 1950 once again casts a spell on the big screen.

The widowed count and his charming daughter live in Aubanel Castle. Just before he is about to embark on a long journey, he decides to marry again to ensure that his daughter is in good hands. He has no idea that the power-hungry stepmother and her daughters will constantly devise new ways to torment the young countess. With the ingenious help of her resourceful friends, she attempts to evade the malice of her jealous step-family. Naturally, a royal ball and a prince are involved, too. Nonetheless, “Érase una vez…” is not afraid to deviate from the traditional narrative now and then. This means that even ghosts and dancing horses have their place in this nostalgic classic full of surprises.

As one of the first feature-length animated films made in Spain, “Érase una vez…” is historically relevant. As it happened, the film adaptation of the classic fairy tale, originally entitled “Cinderella”, was completed almost simultaneously with the Disney film of the same name. The Disney version was released earlier, however, and consequently the film had to be renamed and was given its Spanish title. Of the few film prints made, only one survived – and that was in black and white. After eight years of restoration work by Filmoteca de Catalunya, the film now re-emerges in lustrous, true-to-the-original colours and with a reprocessed soundtrack.