It’s hard not to notice how much the portrayal of the King (played by Erast Garin) resembles the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz." Just imagine adding a crown to his curly hair, and you've got an almost exact look-alike for this enjoyable retelling of a familiar fairytale. Cinderella (Yanina Zhemyo) is busy working in the kitchen for her unpleasant stepfamily when she suddenly gets a chance to go to a ball at the palace. The prince (Aleksey Konsovskiy) is under pressure to marry, but he hasn't found a suitable woman who appeals to him. However, our kind housekeeper has nothing appropriate to wear and no way of getting to the fancy event. Then Varvara Myasnikova appears, with some surprising abilities. With the help of a few mice and a pumpkin, "Cinders" heads off to the ball and her predictable fate. It’s a fairly conventional version of the story, but the stop-motion animation and genuinely amusing visual effects make it engaging, especially as the main characters are upstaged by the charming oddities of Garin and his wicked stepmother, Faina Ranevskaya – who truly dominate the film. There's even an emotional power ballad—or its Soviet post-war equivalent—to add a touch of sentimentality to the story, and the level of detail is quite remarkable. While it includes those typical Soviet themes of equality and togetherness, they are mostly covered by a bright, fantastical sheen that makes for easy viewing.

Source on TMDB