This movie is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best of the Disney sequels. First of all, Cinderella is able to really assert her independence, and become much more proactive and bold; she is even able to fight her way out of a twisted pumpkin carriage when Lady Tremaine tries to have her killed off by Lucifer, and then rides the horse back to her wedding, with Jaq and Gus in tow, determined to save her happy ending.

Another important reason is the quality of the hand-drawn animation, which looks spectacular for a direct-to-DVD sequel, and is a vast improvement over its critically panned predecessor;...