Pinocchio (1940)

Synopsis:

Carlo Collodi’s 19th century immortal tale about an old woodcarver who creates a wooden puppet that comes to life and dreams of becoming a human being.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“Little puppet made of pine, awake. The gift of life is thine.”

Walt Disney’s second animated movie was his first masterpiece. The animation is brilliant, the characters are well-written, and there are endless bits of ingenious business that will delight both children and adults who are young at heart.

Kudos to Disney for using the proceedings from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to create something more ambitious and satisfying. Everything clicks here: animation, music, songs, story, characters, etc. This is as good as animation will ever get.

Pinocchio does get a bit sentimental here and there. Jiminy Cricket’s, Pinocchio’s sidekick and conscience, acerbic observations help cut through some wholesomeness, so we don’t choke on sugar. As a matter of fact, the pint-sized Jiminy is really the best thing about the movie — a three-dimensional character in a two-dimensional movie.

There are some magnificent set pieces along the way. The attention to detail pays off throughout the film. The final sequence inside the whale is simply sensational –it’s a superbly staged and truly hair-rising sequence. The scenes at “Pleasure Island” are kind of frightening too — it’s the stuff nightmares are made of!

Looking back, most of Disney’s early films had genuine moments of terror. Pinocchio’s confrontation with Monstro The Whale is one of the best examples of Disney’s willingness to go to show real suffering. Ironically, Disney’s current crop of animated features are far more “childish” than the ones produced by Disney himself — he treated his audience, mostly composed of children, with respect.

The songs are fantastic. They were composed by Leigh Harline (music), Paul J. Smith (music) and Ned Washington (lyrics). The incidental music score was written by Harline and Smith (they won an Academy Award for Best Original Score).

The classic, Oscar-winning song “When You Wish Upon A Star,” sung by Jiminy (voiced by Cliff Edward), has become the theme song of the Disney company — it’s really a beautiful melody. I do have a special spot in my heart for “I’ve Got No Strings,” by Harline and Smith. All the songs are great, end of discussion!

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Pinocchio is one of those movies I never get tired of watching. Frankly, it’s much more than just a great animated film. It’s a perfect movie. Not only that, but you sense that Walt Disney is moving the art of animation forward. It’s a wonderful film that deserves its reputation as a timeless classic. Color, 85 minutes, Not Rated.