The ugly stepsisters are characters in the fairy tale and pantomime, Cinderella. They are the daughters of Cinderella's wicked stepmother, who treat her poorly. The "ugly stepsisters" have been in variations of the story from as early as researchers have been able to determine. [1]
In the ancient Chinese story of Ye Xian , the "ugly sister" character is the titular character's half-sister and is named Jun-li. In contrast to the beautiful and talented Ye Xian, Jun-li is unattractive and too lazy to learn any particular skills. Jun-li and her mother, Jin, maltreat Ye Xian, forcing her to clean the cave in which they reside. Jun-li and her mother also put an end to Ye Xian's newfound happiness after they discover that Ye Xian's late mother has reincarnated in the form of a ten foot long golden carp, which grants her wishes. Jun-li and her mother slay and eat the fish, not knowing that Ye Xian has salvaged the creature's bones and buried them beneath her bed, and once again her wishes are granted. After Ye Xian loses a golden slipper at the local festival, the warlord who discovers it visits the family cave, declaring he will marry the woman whose foot fits the slipper. Jun-li and her mother fail to get their feet into the slipper, but Ye Xian succeeds and dons the finery she wore at the festival. Outraged at their cruelty toward her, the warlord exiles forever Jun-li and her mother to the wilderness, where they are killed by a rain of flying stones.
In Charles Perrault's original fairytale, the sisters were Cinderella's stepsisters, [2] and are described as "proud and haughty" rather than ugly, though Cinderella is described as being "far lovelier than her sisters, though they were always dressed fashionably." The unnamed younger stepsister is described as being not as rude or spiteful as the elder, who is named Charlotte (Javotte in French). [3] The stepsisters are forgiven for their cruelty and Cinderella invites them to the palace to live with her, and she marries each of them to a wealthy lord.
In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's considerably much darker version of the tale, entitled Aschenputtel in German, the unnamed stepsisters are described as having "beautiful faces and fair skin, but hearts that were foul and black", and are portrayed in a much more malicious light than Perrault's version. [4] Indeed, the stepsisters are also traitors since, under the stepmother's advice, they attempt to trick the prince by cutting off their heels and toes to make the golden slipper fit their foot, not having more need to go on foot when one of them will be queen, but the prince spots the blood on their stockings thanks to Aschenputtel's magic doves, her loyal friends and minions, and realises they are imposters. Once Aschenputtel is recognised by the prince, the stepmother and the two limping sisters were thunderstruck, and grew pale with anger. Nonetheless, the false stepsisters try to profit by getting rich and invite themselves to Aschenputtel's royal wedding, with the hope to worm their way into her favour as the future queen. But Aschenputtel's doves tear the stepsisters' eyes out, sentencing them to a lifetime of horrible blindness as truly awful comeuppance for their diabolical behaviour.
In the opera La Cenerentola (1817) by Gioachino Rossini and Jacopo Ferretti, the sisters are named Clorinda and Tisbe.
Traditionally, the two stepsisters are played by men (although in some adaptions, they are played by women, whereas in others they are played by a man and a woman) and their attire is outrageous and garish, parodying the latest fashions. A favorite gag is to have one sister tall and thin, the other short and fat, only for them to state that they are "identical twins." They are portrayed as unruly man-eaters who provide much of the story's comic relief, flirting with men in the audience and repeatedly insulting each other yet teaming up to torment Cinderella. The sisters are extremely jealous of Cinderella, as she is very beautiful and they are very ugly. In order to ensure no man will want to marry her, they reduce her to their maidservant and force her into waiting on them non-stop and doing all the dirtiest kitchen jobs. Sometimes Cinderella has an alternate name, such as "Isabella", "Ella", or "Arabella". and the jealous stepsisters rename her "Cinderella" due to the fact she mostly sweeps and cleans the firesides and is constantly covered in ashes and cinders. When Buttons, the Baron's footman delivers the news of the Royal Ball, the stepsisters plot to claim the prince as their own. When they realise Cinderella has also been invited, they force her, or trick her, into tearing up her ticket. They then strut off to the Ball and are amazed and horrified when Cinderella appears with the help of her fairy godmother. The Ball is often used as a comical scene in which the sisters humiliate themselves in an attempt to charm the prince, who is too enchanted with Cinderella to notice them. Then Cinderella flees at midnight, leaving one of her glass or crystal or silver slippers behind.
The next day, the Prince arrives with the news he will marry whomsoever the slipper fits. The two sisters fight and quarrel over who the shoe will fit. It is traditional to have one sister concealing a false leg beneath her skirt in an attempt to fool the prince. Another tradition is that one sister has yards and yards of multicoloured stockings beneath her skirt, which must be comically removed before trying the shoe on. When the shoe does not fit, the Prince allows Cinderella (who has either been tricked into leaving the house or locked in the cellar) to try it on. When the shoe fits, the stepsisters are horrified. Their fates are dependent upon which version is being told. Sometimes they are forgiven for their cruelty, other times they are demoted to servants in the prince's castle, or sometimes the Baron Hardup at last puts his foot down and stands up to them.
In more recent adaptations, the role of the wicked stepmother has been reduced in prominence and the sisters assume her role to a degree.[ citation needed ] Sometimes she has died or other times she has absconded with the family fortune and left Cinderella to cope with her two ugly daughters.
Unlike many characters in the pantomime, the stepsisters' names are not set. After Rossini's opera, for many years they were named Clorinda and Thisbe, now these names have fallen out of use and their names have changed to suit the fashions of the times. Often they are named after flowers, illnesses or celebrities. Notable ugly sisters have been played by Terry Scott and Julian Orchard (Theresa and Julia), Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce (Georgina and Mildred after their sitcom characters George and Mildred ), real life sisters Elsie and Doris Waters (Gert and Daisy after their radio sitcom characters), Brian Murphy and Roy Hudd (Amnesia and Magnesia), and Paul Merton and Ronnie Corbett (Lucretia and Griselda).
Unlike the Grimms' version of the fairy tale "where the sisters were themselves 'beautiful and fair in appearance,'" Disney's 1950 film based on the story names the sisters Drizella (voiced by Rhoda Williams) and Anastasia (voiced by Lucille Bliss) and presents them as ugly and foolish. [5] Southwest Texas State University's Department of English identifies various distinguishing characteristics of Drizella and Anastasia, such as exaggerated and naked feet emphasizing physical nature and a big bustle emphasizing clumsiness, which contrast with their more positively presented counterpart, Cinderella. [6] Disney describes them as simply "spoiled, awkward, and ungainly." [7] In the two direct-to-video sequels, Cinderella II and Cinderella III , it is revealed Anastasia is less cruel-intentioned than her older sister, stuck under her mother's thumb and acting out of frustration at not having love of her own. By the end of the third film, she has broken free of Lady Tremaine's evil influence, while her older sister remains unrepentantly on their mother's side.
In the 2015 live-action iteration of the story, the stepsisters are played by Sophie McShera (Drizella) and Holliday Grainger (Anastasia). They are portrayed as beautiful in appearance with very over-the-top clothes. However, as their own mother admits, they are both incredibly stupid. They make fun of Cinderella, but do occasionally talk civilly to her. They mostly squabble among themselves, leaving the serious cruelty to their mother and even apologizing to their stepsister before they leave the kingdom at the end of the film. One reviewer described them as "The female equivalents of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum". [8]
Doris and Mabel are ugly sisters in the films Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third . Both are voiced by men (Larry King voiced Doris and Regis Philbin voiced Mabel) and covered in lavish and poor applications of makeup, not unlike their usual portrayals in pantomime. Mabel is a villain who sides with the evil Prince Charming's conquest of the kingdom of Far Far Away. Doris, in contrast, seems to be on friendly terms with the protagonists (including her stepsister Cinderella). Doris and Mabel reconcile in the end upon Artie convincing the villains to not be villains after they were defeated by their respective opponents.
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In ABC's Once Upon a Time , there a total of five known versions of the stepsisters.
In the first Storybook, the stepsisters are named Clorinda and Tisbe, portrayed by Mekenna Melvin and Goldie Hoffman. They are based on the stepsisters from the Charles Perrault version of the fairytale, the operatic version, and the Disney version. However, another version of the stepsister from the Disney film, Anastasia, is not related to Cinderella and instead has a separate stepsister with a storyline that parallels Cinderella's. This version of the character is a primary antagonist of the spin-off series, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland , and is portrayed by Emma Rigby.
In the second Storybook, the stepsisters retain their Disney names of Anastasia and Drizella, portrayed by Yael Yurman and Adelaide Kane. Drizella is the main antagonist of the first half of the seventh season, while Anastasia dies prior to the start of the season, only to be revived. Both were members, though at different times, of the Coven of the Eight, a group of witches. They both eventually leave the Coven and reconcile, returning to the alternate Enchanted Forest.
Jasper Fforde in the novel The Big Over Easy presents a (notional) claim for damages from publishers over what is termed the persistent defamation of Ella's step-sisters. "A spokesman for the sisters explained: 'My clients are fed up with being constantly portrayed as physically repellent obnoxious harpies, and have decided to take action against the 984 publishers that have repeated the allegations without bothering to check their veracity'". [9]
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world. The protagonist is a young girl living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between 7 BC and 23 AD, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.
A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse.
Cinderella Op. 87, is a ballet composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception. The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it Prokofiev broke off to write his opera War and Peace. The premiere of Cinderella was conducted by Yuri Fayer on 21 November, 1945, at the Bolshoi Theatre, with choreography by Rostislav Zakharov and Galina Ulanova in the title role. Cinderella is notable for its jubilant music, lush scenery, and for the comic double-roles of the stepmother and the two stepsisters, more mad than bad in this treatment.
Cinderella is a 1950 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale, it features supervision by Ben Sharpsteen. The film was directed by Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi. The film features the voices of Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, and Luis van Rooten.
Lady Tremaine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated film Cinderella (1950) and its direct-to-video sequels Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007). In the original film, Lady Tremaine is voiced by American actress Eleanor Audley, who would later voice Maleficent, the evil fairy, in Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion. For the sequels and subsequent film and television appearances, Audley was succeeded by American actress Susanne Blakeslee who also currently voiced Maleficent, Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians, and the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She is given the title of Lady in the original film.
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is a 2002 American direct-to-video fantasy comedy anthology film directed by John Kafka from a screenplay written by Jill E. Blotevogel, Tom Rogers and Julie Selbo. It is the sequel to Cinderella, and the first in the series to use digital ink and paint. It stars the voices of Jennifer Hale, Russi Taylor, Corey Burton, and Rob Paulsen.
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time is a 2007 American animated musical fantasy film produced by DisneyToon Studios and distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Directed by Frank Nissen from a screenplay written by Dan Berendsen, Margaret Heidenry, Colleen Ventimilia, and Eddie Guerlain, it is the third installment in Disney's Cinderella trilogy, and a sequel to Cinderella (1950) and Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002). Set one year after the first film, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time follows Lady Tremaine who steals the Fairy Godmother's magic wand, using it to reverse time and prevent Cinderella from marrying the Prince. The film's voice cast consists of Jennifer Hale, C. D. Barnes, Susanne Blakeslee, Tress MacNeille, Russi Taylor, and Andre Stojka, most of whom continue to replace the 1950 film's cast by reprising their roles from Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.
Poor Cinderella is a 1934 Fleischer Studios-animated short film featuring Betty Boop. Poor Cinderella was Fleischer Studios' first color film, and the only appearance of Betty Boop in color during the Fleischer era. It was the first Paramount Pictures animated short in color.
The Story of Tấm and Cám commonly known as Tấm Cám is an ancient Vietnamese fairy tale. The first part of the tale's plot is very similar to the European folk tale Cinderella.
"Ye Xian" is a Chinese fairy tale that is similar to the European Cinderella story, the Malay-Indonesian Bawang Putih Bawang Merah tale, the Vietnamese Tấm Cám story, and stories from other ethnic groups including the Tibetans and the Zhuang. It is one of the oldest known variants of Cinderella, first published in the Tang dynasty compilation Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang written around 850 by Duan Chengshi. Chinese compilations attest several versions from oral sources.
Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper is a book adapted and illustrated by Marcia Brown. Released by Charles Scribner's Sons, the book is a retelling of the story of Cinderella as written by Charles Perrault, and was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1955. The book takes place in France, in a palace similar to other Cinderella stories.
Cinderella is a 1914 silent film starring Mary Pickford, directed by James Kirkwood Sr., produced by Daniel Frohman, and released by Famous Players Film Company. The film is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella. The film was released on Blu-ray & DVD as a bonus feature from the DVD of Through the Back Door (1921). It was previously released on DVD by Alpha Video.
Cinderella is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated film Cinderella (1950). In the original film, Cinderella is voiced by American singer and actress Ilene Woods. For the sequels and subsequent film and television appearances, Woods was replaced by American actresses Jennifer Hale and Tami Tappan, who provide the character's speaking and singing voices.
Cinderella is a 1979 animated Soviet film created by the studio Soyuzmultfilm. It is based on Charles Perrault's story, Cinderella.
Cinderella is a 2015 romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Chris Weitz. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Kinberg Genre, Allison Shearmur Productions, and Beagle Pug Films, the film is based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale "Cinderella" and also serves as a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney's 1950 animated film. Starring Lily James and Cate Blanchett as the title character and the evil stepmother Lady Tremaine respectively, with Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles.
"Grimm Job" is the tenth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 220th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States and Canada on January 12, 2014, and was directed by Joe Vaux and written by Alec Sulkin.
Cinderella is a Disney franchise that commenced in 1950 with the theatrical release of the 1950 film Cinderella. The series' protagonist is Cinderella, who was based on the character of the same name from the Cinderella fairy tale.
Cinderella is a 1955 West German family film directed by Fritz Genschow and starring Rita-Maria Nowotny, Renée Stobrawa and Werner Stock. It is based on the namesake fairytale by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.
"The Other Shoe" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on October 9, 2016.
