Mike Douglas
The King - Father
Cinderella - Wife
Unnamed Mother-in-Law
Unnamed Father-in-Law
Lady Tremaine - Stepmother-in-Law
Anastasia Tremaine - Stepsister-in-Law
Drizella Tremaine - Stepsister-in-Law
Prince Charming is the love interest of Cinderella in the 1950 film Cinderella and its two sequels. He was voiced by William Phipps (speaking) and Mike Douglas (singing) in the first film, by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the sequels.
Characteristics[]
Prince Charming was actually, finally given a true personality in the franchise's final installment. He showed himself to be humorous, vital, and enjoys ballroom dances. He was also revealed to be a romantic, once expressing that all he wants is a love as true as the one his parents had shared. His love for Cinderella was so powerful that, little by little, it was able to free him from Lady Tremaine's mind-manipulation spell, and even compel him to jump right out of the castle window to rescue and propose to Cinderella.
Though elegant enough both mentally and appearance wise, he appears to be quite a swashbuckler, as shown when he challenges his father in friendly sword fights, and when he is seen racing on a horse to save Cinderella in a Twist in Time.
Development[]
In earlier drafts of the screenplay, the Prince originally played a larger role and had more character development than what he ultimately received in the final version of the film (the third film would rectify this, however). In one abandoned opening, the Prince was shown hunting a deer, but at the end of the sequence, it was to be revealed that the Prince and the deer were actually friends playing a game. In an abandoned alternate ending, after the Duke discovered Cinderella's identity, she was shown being brought to the castle to be re-introduced to the Prince, who is surprised to learn that Cinderella was actually a modest servant girl instead of the Princess he thought she was, but the Prince's feelings for her were too strong to be bothered by this and he embraced her.
Appearances[]
Cinderella[]
In the first film, Prince Charming is returning to his home kingdom after a long absence. Meanwhile, his father, the King, is frustrated with his son as he has yet to find a wife. The King misses the sounds of children running around the castle and wishes to see his grandchildren (offsprings of the Prince and his wife, if he ever finds himself one) before he passes away. He then comes up with the idea to throw a welcome ball. The King orders the Grand Duke to invite every eligible maiden in the kingdom, hoping that his son will fall in love with one.
The ball takes place in the King's castle that very night, where Prince Charming makes his first appearance. One by one, the maidens in attendance present themselves to the Prince, who is unimpressed by both the maidens and his father's attempts to match him up. Eventually, he spots a young girl, Cinderella, wandering about the ballroom and is enticed by her sparkling appearance. He walks over to her, courts her to the center of the ballroom, and the two begin to waltz. He and the girl then share a private time together, courtesy of the Grand Duke, during which they fall in love and are about to kiss, but when the clock begins to strike midnight, she suddenly runs off. The Prince tries to stop her, wanting to know her name and where to find her, but becomes surrounded by other maidens attending the ball.
However, the Prince learns that the girl whom he has spent the night with has disappeared has left behind a glass slipper, so he decides to marry the girl who can wear the slipper, and the Grand Duke delivers the news to the King. The King is excited with the idea of his son being in love and, after a brief struggle with the Duke, orders him to go on a non-stop search. After hours, the Duke finally finds the girl, Cinderella, and quickly takes her to the castle, where she and the Prince are reunited.
Prince Charming is last seen at the film's finale, walking down the stairs with Cinderella as his bride. The King and the Grand Duke happily celebrate their marriage as the newlyweds ride off in a carriage to go out on their honeymoon. As the carriage pulls away, Cinderella and the Prince share another kiss, with the final words in the book, below the illustration of the couple kissing, reading "and they lived happily ever after."
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True[]
Prince Charming reappeared in the film's sequel. In the first story "Aim to Please" he and Cinderella have just returned from their honeymoon only to find out that he and his father must leave on a trip. While they are gone, Cinderella must learn how to be a princess and set up a ball in honor of their return. When they do, Charming and his father love the new way Cinderella planned the party. She invited guest from the village instead of just aristocrats as well as brightening up the castle.
In the next segment, Charming and Cinderella attend a carnival festival. He is shown at the ball with cinderella after she helps anastasia fall in love with the baker in uncommon romance. At the end, Charming is briefly seen reading when Jaq and Gus rush by him with a scrapbook that they plan to show Cinderella.
Cinderell III: A Twist in Time[]
In A Twist in Time, the Prince had a larger role and was the deuteragonist for the first time. In this film, Charming and Cinderella are celebrating a year's worth of magic with their love stronger than ever. However, in the mix of the festivities, Fairy Godmother misplaces her wand, and it falls into the hands of Anastasia. The stepsister takes the wand to her mother Lady Tremaine, and her sister Drizella. The two quickly disregards the power of the wand until Anastasia accidentally turns Lucifer into a goose-cat hybrid. In a scuffle with Fairy Godmother, Anastasia accidentally turns her into stone, and now the wand lies in the hands of Lady Tremaine, who turns back time to when Cinderella fitted the slipper.
Using the magic of the wand, Lady Tremaine altered the size of the glass slipper to fit Anastasia. The Grand Duke escorts the Tremaines to the palace to meet Prince Charming, with Cinderella secretly tagging along to show the Prince that she's the one he waltzed with. When the Tremaines arrive at the palace, Charming notices Anastasia not being the right girl. He apologizes to the Tremaines and orders the Duke to send them home. As he makes way for the door, Lady Tremaine casts a spell on Charming, having him believe it was Anastasia at the ball, and erases all memories of Cinderella. The Prince, now under the spell, welcomes the Tremaines in with open arms. Cinderella's mice friends, Jaq and Gus, were able to witness the event, and rushes to Cinderella.
Meanwhile, Charming and Anastasia begin preparations for the wedding and in during which, Charming begins to feel uncertain about the "love" between Anastasia and himself. According to his father, you feel a spark in you heart when you touch the hand of your true love, but when Charming and Anastasia's hands touched, he felt nothing. Over at Lady Tremaine's quarters, Jaq and Gus managed to steal the wand back and hand it over to Cinderella. She tries to break the spell but Tremaine orders the guards to arrest her and banish her from the kingdom. Before she was taken away, Cinderella managed to touch Charming's hand, and the prince felt a connection. Jaq and Gus are able to persuade the Prince that Cinderella is the real girl from the ball, and Charming rushes off to save her from banishment.
The two reunite and return to the palace, where they begin the wedding preparations. However, Lady Tremaine kidnaps Cinderella and morphs Anastasia into a clone of her. At the wedding, Cinderella manages to return, and Anastasia confesses the scheme to Charming. Tremaine attempts to get even by transforming Cinderella and Anastasia into toads but Charming repels the magic beam with his sword, transforming Lady Tremaine and Drizella into toads instead. After the Fairy Godmother is restored to normal, she offers to restore their original timeline, but Charming and Cinderella decline, as they are happy and content for what they have accomplished in this new timeline. In the end, Charming and Cinderella finally marry and live happily ever after, again, and Anastasia is welcomed into the royal family.