Cinderella: A Twist In Time

This is an idea for a potential rewrite of Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time that could have been a replacement for the critically panned Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True. The movie would simply be titled Cinderella: A Twist In Time, without any mention of it being a sequel. The movie would have the distinction of being one of the few theatrically released sequels and would come out on June 18, 2004 in the UK and June 25, 2004 in the US. The movie would be rated PG by both the MPAA in the US and the BBFC in the UK (for mild threat and mild strong language).

Plot
It has been a year since Cinderella married Prince Kit. Both of them head to the forest to attend their wedding anniversary that the mice and Fairy Godmother have prepared for them. Meanwhile, Anastasia and Drizella, who are currently taking over Cinderella's jobs at the household, are not having a good time. Anastasia manages to follow Cinderella and the prince to where the anniversary is being held. Figuring out that it was magic that gave Cinderella her "happily ever after", she swipes the Fairy Godmother's wand when she drops it. Anastasia returns home quickly and shows it to Lady Tremaine and her sister, both thinking it's just a stick and she has lost her mind.

The Fairy Godmother shows up and attempts to get the wand back from Anastasia, who accidentally turns her into a statue. Impressed, Lady Tremaine takes the wand and reverses time to undo Cinderella's happily ever after by going back to the events at the end of the first movie, in a bid to once again make Cinderella's life a misery. She makes what was originally a tiny shoe fit Anastasia's big foot with Cinderella being locked in her tower, only to be freed to see Anastasia and Drizella leaving. While speaking with Cinderella as she's about to give her the replacement glass slipper she pulls out, Lady Tremaine snatches it with her staff and shatters it. Furious, Lady Tremaine confronts Cinderella and does not allow her to approach the Prince or the palace, but allows her to clean up this mess. When Lady Tremaine leaves, this leads Jaq and Gus to appear and for Cinderella to sing "More Than a Dream". Gus and Jaq try cheering her up, Jaq saying that "Princey knows he danced with Cinderelley last night!" and gives Cinderella the idea to go after kit and convince him that they danced together.

Skipping back to the step family, they've arrived at the castle, where Kit is speaking while sword fighting with his father. They go into discussion about how the king was immediately smitten by his Queen, Kit's mother, who had passed on years before. With Anastasia arriving, Kit is, at first, glad as he thinks it's the girl he danced with (Cinderella), but slightly disappointed when seeing Anastasia. He tells her that she and her family will get an escort home, but Lady Tremaine uses the wand to make him forget who he really danced with and marry Anastasia that night. Kit falls under the spell and, believing he danced with Anastasia, gives her the ring to marry them. Anastasia goes hyper and agrees to the marriage.

Meanwhile, Gus and Jaq had witnessed this event from a lamp high above the scene since they got inside with Cinderella, who was claiming to be the royal mouse catcher to stay inside. Gus and Jaq play along and, when viewing this scene, they rush off to tell Cinderella. Later on, Cinderella is seen confronting Kit and both are confused, the prince thinking he danced with Anastasia yet Cinderella knows the truth. She is cut short from saying what really happened and forced to go find the mice (Jaq and Gus) that have come into the castle. Cinderella is placed in the cellar where Gus and Jaq tell her what Lady Tremaine had done to Kit, Cinderella now set on getting the wand back.

Anastasia and Kit have a moment where they dance and Anastasia is repeatedly stepping on his foot by accident. When the waltz is over, the King summons her into another room, while the Duke takes the Prince out and tells her about his wife. He gave her the Queen's most treasured possession, which is a seashell. Both the King and Queen were walking one day on a beach, unknowing of one another, and reached for said seashell at the same time. Their hands met and they fell in love. He allows Anastasia to keep the shell, who is smitten with it instantly. Kit tells the Duke that he felt nothing when his hand connected with Anastasia's, and is once again confused. Jaq and Gus get into the room where the step family is staying and Lucifer's tail manages to get caught on fire, prompting the famous line "Someone put out the cat!" coming into play. Anastasia throws a pillow against him and whams him right into the wall, the stepmother demanding that someone would call for the housekeeper. Cinderella gets into the room in disguise with a castle maid bonnet covering her eyes and hair.

Lady Tremaine pulls the bonnet off to reveal Cinderella. Jaq and Gus get the wand, and the three make a run for it down the halls while being chased by guards. With Jaq and Gus using the magic from the wand, they transform Lucifer into a jack in the box first, then a mini-sized Lucifer, then back to normal when he's in the mouse hole. Cinderella makes it to a staircase where Kit appears, Cinderella trying to break the spell on him so he would remember who he really danced with. She is narrowly cut off when the guards get to her and Lady Tremaine takes back the wand. Cinderella manages to grace her hand over Kit's, which has him shocked and now baffled. Lady Tremaine orders for Cinderella to be on the next ship on exile from the kingdom. Drizella almost divulges their plan and Tremaine warns her to keep quiet, unless she wishes to join Cinderella.

Late afternoon, Kit is seen talking to his father, but motions into a small fitting room perhaps. He speaks with Jaq and Gus, who perform the song "At the Ball" explaining that he danced with Cinderella and that he was under a spell. This causes him to hurry out the room and to the stairs where he confronts his father, who forbids him from stepping down the stairs. Kit agrees, only to jump out the window and climb down the vines, then gets on his horse and demands one of the guards to tell him where Cinderella is. He rushes off to her rescue so she isn't sent away for good, the King allowing this to happen when he sees it. Kit and his trusty steed race after the boat, where they end up running through a lighthouse and the horse gets scared of heights. Kit is seen flying onto the boat and using a small blade against the sail to soften his fall. He sees Cinderella and places his hand against hers and knows it was her who he danced with.

They return to the castle, and the King orders for Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella to be brought into custody. They vanish, and Kit says that it is Cinderella who he wants to marry. When Cinderella is in front of a mirror and getting ready for the wedding, Lady Tremaine appears from a closet behind Cinderella with Anastasia now looking identical to Cinderella's appearance. Lady Tremaine then makes Cinderella vanish into a pumpkin carriage, this one being an evil version along with a human version of Lucifer as the driver. The intent is to have her killed. With the help of Jaq and Gus, the three conquer over the pumpkin carriage and Lucifer, and ride back on the horse that was used.

Cinderella makes it back to the wedding, just in time to witness, to her amazement, Anastasia (still using Cinderella's appearance) looking her dead in the eyes and saying "I...DON'T", and declaring she only wants to be loved for herself, having realized she does not truly love Kit. Lady Tremaine and Drizella then emerge from the shadows, infuriated by Anastasia's sudden conscience. The King sends his guards after them, but Lady Tremaine creates a whirling vortex of magic and fends the guards off by turning them into various animals. As Lady Tremaine prepares to strike down Anastasia for refusing to marry Kit, Cinderella steps in to protect Anastasia for trying to fix her happy ending. An unfazed Lady Tremaine decides to turn them both into toads. Kit steps in to protect them, to Lady Tremaine's delight. The King and Grand Duke step in front of them, only to find themselves in danger of being turned into toads.

Before striking down all five of her prey, Lady Tremaine vents her spleen at Anastasia, claiming everything she had ever done since she and Drizella were born was for them, and them alone. Anastasia demands to know whether Lady Tremaine had any part in the death of her father, and Lady Tremaine states that she was indeed responsible for it, claiming that he was a burden to Anastasia and Drizella, and even worse, that she not only killed Cinderella's father, but also her mother, and states her killing spree was carried out to help Anastasia achieve power. Anastasia protests that she refused to marry Kit as she has learnt the true meaning of love. Cinderella stands up for Anastasia again by telling Lady Tremaine that she and Anastasia both know that she killed their parents to quench her own thirst for power. Cinderella adds that she and Anastasia now know that nothing they have done will ever be good enough for Lady Tremaine, and Anastasia adds that power is the one thing her mother values above all else.

Visibly insulted by Cinderella and Anastasia's remarks, Tremaine calls Anastasia a liar and tells the King that she now intends to take over the Kingdom as she had magic on her side. Infuriated to realize how ruthless and unloving Lady Tremaine truly was from the very beginning, Cinderella asks Kit for his sword. Kit gives it over but tells Cinderella she may need him, to which Cinderella replies by saying she had to defend them herself. She then dares Lady Tremaine to attack them and prepares to deflect the incoming bolt of magic, wisely keeping her anger in check. Lady Tremaine then aims the wand and yells 'BIBBIDI...BOBBIDI...BOOOOOOOOOOOO!', unable to contain her hatred and lust a second longer. Cinderella manages to deflect the bolt of magic and it bounces back to Lady Tremaine and Drizella, sending them to the castle cellar and turning them both into toads. As the vortex of evil magic vanishes, Cinderella turns around to make sure Anastasia and Kit are alright. They both reply they are fine, but Anastasia begins to disapprove of the act of kindness Cinderella has performed for her, as she is convinced she does not deserve it.

Anastasia then brings Cinderella and Kit back together and asks for her permission to use the wand to transform back to her normal self, calling herself 'an insolent, spoilt, brazen hussy'. Seeing Anastasia's remorse, Cinderella tells her that it's fine if Anastasia needs to use the wand for that purpose. Anastasia then transforms back to her normal self, throws the wand over to Cinderella and attempts to give the seashell back to the King. He attempts to let her keep it, saying 'everyone deserves true love'. However, as Anastasia is now adamant she does not deserve true love as she has tried to take it away from Cinderella, she insists that the King should keep it, and he reluctantly takes it back. She then decides she has no other choice but to isolate herself from Cinderella, and prepares to leave the Palace. Cinderella tries to talk Anastasia out of doing so by stating that she forgives her and that she should try to forgive herself. Anastasia remains unconvinced and rages at Cinderella for protecting her, claiming that she did not deserve to be protected by her and does not deserve her forgiveness, and that she should have let Tremaine use magic on her. Horrified by Anastasia's tirade, Cinderella tells her she does not deserve to be punished in such a way, to which she retorts by telling her that she still deserves to be punished, despite Cinderella's protestations, and that if she wishes to banish Anastasia from the Kingdom, she is at liberty to do so. Cinderella tries one last time to reason with Anastasia, but it's too little, too late.

Anastasia then mounts Cinderella's horse and rides to the harbour, hoping to board the next ship leaving the Kingdom. Cinderella breaks down after Anastasia's outburst, but Kit comforts her and assures her that there is still some hope. Cinderella remains hopeful and she and Kit bring back Fairy Godmother from the stone state she had been turned into before Lady Tremaine turned back time. Cinderella and Kit decide to finish the ceremony and then look for Anastasia. Fairy Godmother restores Cinderella's wedding attire and offers to restore the original timeline, but they reject the offer as they cannot see much point in doing so. Cinderella and Kit finally tie the knot and then get into the King's private carriage to track down Anastasia. At the harbour, meanwhile, Anastasia considers her choice and soon starts having flashbacks to the wedding. It finally dawns on Anastasia that she does truly deserve Cinderella's forgiveness and true love. Cinderella, Kit, the King and the Grand Duke reach the harbour and Cinderella runs over to hug Anastasia and consoles her by telling her that everything is alright. Anastasia then confesses that she was wrong to punish herself in such a manner and that she accepts her forgiveness, and also apologizes for inviting Cinderella to turn back on her kindness. Anastasia admits the only reason she tried to take away Cinderella's happy ending was because she was under Lady Tremaine's influence, to which Cinderella replies that she understands completely and that she knows how truly sorry Anastasia is, and tells her that isolating herself would be the worst possible punishment.

Kit joins the conversation and tells Anastasia that he thinks she made her mind up too quickly, and that she didn't need to be so hard on herself, and Anastasia confesses that Lady Tremaine's manipulation was also the only reason she called herself 'an insolent, spoilt, brazen hussy'. Cinderella expresses her relief that Anastasia did not fulfil her threat to isolate herself, and that she is glad Anastasia now knows she truly deserves her forgiveness. Anastasia hesitantly asks Cinderella if they can truly mend their strained relationship, and Cinderella promises her that they can wipe the slate clean and become True Sisters, and the two embrace, bringing their animosity to an end. The King gives Anastasia his shell back and she takes it willingly, now knowing she deserves true love, and she joins Cinderella and Kit in a group hug. They set off back to the castle, but not before Fairy Godmother reappears in their path and tells them that she has decided to restore Tremaine and Drizella's human forms. The King decides they should be made to work as lowly servants, rather than banished, and Cinderella also decides that kind of punishment would be far more effective. They are turned into humans again, this time wearing the exact same rags they had forced Cinderella to wear. Cinderella, Kit and Anastasia arrive back at the Palace and join hands as they walk back in, receiving a warm welcome from the crowd, leading them to sing the final song "True Love At Last". Cinderella then delivers her final line to the camera; 'And we will all live happily ever after...Again!'. The ending credits show several paintings depicting the main cast before showing the King announcing to Cinderella and Anastasia (now married to the Baker from Cinderella 2) Lady Tremaine and Drizella have decided to leave the Kingdom for good. Cinderella and Anastasia both breath a sigh of relief and embrace each other, knowing that Lady Tremaine will never be a thorn in their side again.

Voice Cast

 * Jennifer Hale as Cinderella
 * Chris Daniel Barnes as Prince Kit
 * Susanne Blakeslee as Lady Tremaine
 * Tress MacNeille as Anastasia Tremaine
 * Russi Taylor as Drizella Tremaine and Fairy Godmother
 * Andre Stojka as The King
 * Holland Taylor as Prudence
 * Rob Paulsen as Jaq, Grand Duke and Bishop
 * Corey Burton as Gus
 * Frank Welker as Lucifer

Jennifer Hale also provides Cinderella's singing voice.

Home media
The movie would be released on VHS and DVD on November 19, 2004 in the UK and November 20, 2004 in the US.

Production
Production on Cinderella: A Twist In Time began in mid 2001 and ended in early 2004.

Soundtrack
The movie's soundtrack is composed by long-time Disney collaborator Alan Menken, The original songs contained in the body of the film, including "Perfectly Perfect," "More Than a Dream", "At the Ball" and "True Love At Last" are written by frequent Disney songwriters Alan Zachary, Michael Weiner and Alan Menken. Instead of using a pop song, the credits would continue to use Menken's soundtrack.