This short animation is a zany version of the classic fairy tale, with the leading role played by a mistreated, romantic penguin, with hilarious results. Cinderella Penguin loses her magic flipper as she runs to meet her midnight deadline, but all ends well when Prince Charming finds the right webbed foot and the nasty step-family is brought to heel.
Ages 9 to 12
Study Guides - Guide 1 | Guide 2
English Language Arts - Children's Stories/Fables
Family Studies/Home Economics - Feminism
Health/Personal Development - Bullying & Discrimination
History and Citizenship Education - Culture and Currents of Thought (1500-present)
Before viewing, have elementary students research well-known fairy tales. After viewing, they choose a tale to rework through change of gender, animal/species, age, environment, or culture, and then tell it through animation, writing, acting, or drawn/photographed visuals. Have students pose media literacy questions: what qualities do we associate with animals in popular culture? How does the form of a story change our understanding of it? What societal values do fairy tales reveal?