It was on this day in 1950 that Walt Disney Studios saw its greatest hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when Cinderella appeared in theaters for the first time. Before it, the studio was over $4 million in debt. To help reduce costs, Cinderella was the first feature to use extensive live action reference. About 90% of the film was actually filmed with a live model before the animation process began. Ilene Woods won the speaking role of Cinderella (Karen Overby was the singing voice) beating out 309 other women without actually auditioning. Woods made some recordings of Disney songs for her friends who then sent them to Walt Disney who thought she had the right “fairy tale tone” to her voice. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Music and Original Song (“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”). Two straight to video sequels were produced many years later and in 2015, a live action version of the story was filmed that starred Lily James. (Image: Disney)