The Cinderella tale retold, this time with as much emphasis on the prince as on the would-be princess. Setting this magical romance among the snow-covered mountains of Austria--in ancient castles with expansive, echoing rooms--and placing its older actors in white wigs and cumbersome costumes, the familiar fairy tale isn't so much transformed as it is embalmed. The chilly milieu is too realistic for a magical romance; Tony Imi's cinematography is coldly bright (with intrusive interior shadows). Working with director Bryan Forbes on the screenplay, songwriters and Disney mainstays Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman probably didn't expect such an impersonal treatment (the project certainly misses the mark of their previous studio); Forbes keeps the camera at such a distance from the merrily crooning actors that all we see are the half-empty rooms they're standing in. Juxtaposing the prince's romance-starved existence with Cinderella's troubles in dealing with her step-family was obviously meant to give Richard Chamberlain the same amount of screen time and substance as his romantic counterpart, but the wealthy royals are an ungodly bore (especially when they're 'dancing'). The picture simply does not look magical, with colors that are muddy or mildewy, and Forbes' stiffly-directed action exudes no personality. None of the Shermans' songs can give the narrative a lift and, instead of happily awaiting for this tale to unfold, one instead becomes anesthetized by the misjudged conception. *1/2 from ****