You are now entering Ad Space, a realm of commercials, brought before us so we might examine how they work, and discuss why we both love and hate them so. So it is written …

 

Long before the Walt Disney Studio brought its iconic version of Cinderella to the big screen – and even before Snow White, the inaugural Disney Princess, made their debut – someone else brought the Cinderella story to epic, animated life … and it wasn’t who you might expect.

The Jam Handy Organization wasn’t really in the business of entertainment. They were makers of training films and promotional materials, commissioned by various corporations. Creating beautiful comic fantasies to delight children with a world of whimsy – not part of their mission statement.

But, apparently, the Great Depression notwithstanding, Chevrolet had quite a bit of money to throw around in the late 30’s. Thus they commissioned Jam Handy to make no simple ad spot, but some full length animated shorts, as sumptuously drawn and full of vibrant gags and characters as anything major film studios had to offer … just so long as there was some Chevy product placement worked in there.

Thus we got “A Coach for Cinderella” and “A Ride for Cinderella”, a pair of cartoons that, together, tell the Cinderella tale, with a few alterations and embellishments for flavor: Cindy’s supernatural helper in this case is a group of gnomes and helpful woodland creatures, and the wicked stepsisters eventually resort to hiring an even wickeder witch to spoil Cinderella’s happiness.

You can get a long way into these cartoons without realizing they’re commercials at all – their story and art style seems like something straight out of Disney’s Silly Symphony series. It’s only when Cinderella’s pumpkin coach gets “modernized” (that’s the exact word used in the film), taking the form of a Chevrolet automobile, that the promotional angle clicks into place.

For anyone who’s a fan of the Golden Age of Animation, these classic shorts from a most unexpected studio are definitely a must-see.