Originally intended to be a t.v show series, Cindy didn't quite make it to television like the Little Mermaid before her. Instead, like Atlantis 2, the work they had finished was wrapped up into an episodic direct-to-video release.
Happily settled in the castle, the Fairy Godmother and the mice decide one day to make a book for Cinderella that highlights three stories about themselves. This is the general wraparound of each segment as we see them remember things to introduce and close each short.
Starting things off is a visit of the first few days in the castle. Back from the honeymoon, the King and Prince (who still has no name, poor guy) rush off to attend state affairs and leave Cinderella with the task of preparing a royal banquet for their return. "Helping" her with this is Prudence, a female version of the Duke, and Cinderella's two new ladies in waiting.
Cinderella soon finds that Prudence is quite the stickler for old fashioned rules. Between this and constantly having trouble getting things right, she soon learns that you have to do things your own way. The morale of the story, which is pushed at us a fair bit in the usual less than subtle fashion.
Moving along to the next segment. In this one we find that Jaq is quite tired of being a mouse and unable to help Cinderella better from his small size. After making a wish to be human, the Fairy Godmother appears and grants the wish, making him human. He quickly joins Cinderella under the disguise as "Sir Hugh" and does his best to help out from this new size. He soon finds though that things were better as a mouse, and learns that even though he is small she still enjoys his help and that he is still able to give her a hand.
Our final segment shows Anastasia in a different light. One day in the market she meets the Baker (who seems to be a regular) who suffers from the same disease as the Prince. "Nonameitis". However, this doesn't worry Anastasia as she falls in love with him despite Lady Tremaine's disapproval. Cinderella jumps in to lend a hand in helping the two become a couple, and teaches Anastasia that it's what is on the inside that counts and that she needs to stand up to their mother.
Given that this was meant for television means that the animation isn't nearly as amazing as other releases. If anything this movie weakens the majority of the characters, except in the case of Anastasia where I rather enjoyed seeing her get some growth. If anything, stick to the original classic. The final segment is my favorite though out of all of them, and I'd sooner watch that part than the others.
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