[7.3/10] I tend to think of movies in terms of their stories. I think about characters and plots and dialogue first and foremost because they’re the things that grab me. But the beauty of cinema is that it is malleable. It can be a medium where storytelling is put at the forefront, or it can be a visual showcase, or it can be a freeform dose of bold expressionism. There’s no one right way to do it, which is what makes film such an exciting, but also difficult, medium to wrap your arms around, no matter how long you’ve been steeped in it.

Pinocchio, the Walt Disney Animation Studios release from 1940, is pretty weak in the story department. Based on an Italian children’s novel, the Disney adaptation is a simple morality tale. The title character is a marionette come to life, tasked with earning his way to becoming, ever so famously, “a real boy.” Along the way, he gives into any number of simple temptations and suffers the consequences, only to see the error of his ways and earn the transformation of his wood and paint into flesh and blood.

There’s meat to that story, but there’s just not much to it in execution. Each temptation goes wrong very quickly and Pinocchio recants just as fast. He skips going to school and takes “the easy road” by becoming an actor, only to end up the prisoner of a broad ethnic stereotype. He famously tells a series of lies only to watch his nose grow to comical lengths, replete with a birds nest. He succumbs to the allure of Pleasure Island only to nearly turn into a donkey before he realizes the problem and escapes.

Those errors and escapes just don’t have moral force because Pinocchio is essentially too innocent and oblivious to really deserve any blame for what happens. During most of these events, he was literally born yesterday, and his naivete makes those consequences feel pretty undeserved. Pinocchio seems genuinely excited to go to school and return to his father, only to be swindled by “Honest Joe” taking advantage of his rube-like “gee whiz” qualities. Hell, it’s not even clear why he lies to the Blue Fairy in the famous nose-growing scene. This stuff just sort of happens.

At best, you can read it as a warning to be on your guard. The plain didactic message of Pinnochio is that young boys should go to school, tell the truth, and avoid vices like drinking, smoking, fighting, and destructiveness. But the broader message is that there’s any number of hucksters out there who will try to take advantage of your innocence and point you in the wrong direction for their own ill-gotten gains. There’s a literalism to the movie’s aesops (lies that are “as plain as the nose on your face” and literal jackassery), but also a broader lesson that the world is full of perils and tricks, which makes it all the more necessary to listen to that vaunted conscience and learn right from wrong.

But at worst, it’s just a blunt and societally-mandated lesson to the young men and women expected to watch this movie that they should be good and behave and do right. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, but it makes for a pretty dull narrative when most of what happens to the hero is either outside of their control or not really their fault.

But the truth is that Pinocchio isn’t really about its story. It’s about the animation: the expressive movements of puppets and crickets and other fumbling, dancing, characters; the lush and colorful backgrounds that bridge the gap between something real and something magical; the looks and gestures of rotoscoped fairies and Warner Bros.-esque anthropomorphic foxes alike that populate the film and give it life.

On those terms, Pinocchio soars. Much of the film feels like throat-clearing, with long stretches of characters repeating obvious information or laying out the point of a given vignette. And yet, reading those scenes as an excuse for Disney’s team of animators to depict Jiminy Cricket bumbling through an array of imaginative cuckoo clocks and other knick-knacks, or to have a regrettable Romani caricature bounce around like his midsection is filled with superballs, or to have an impossibly adorable kitty cat smile and tussle and exalt at each bit of attention or interruption, the movie is a triumph.

It’s also a classic in terms of its music. There’s a reason that almost every song in the film has become an indelible part of the Disney songbook. “I Got No Strings” is infectious as hell and backed with some of Pinocchio’s best animated moves. “Give a Little Whistle” is an ear-worm (ear-cricket?) that gives Jiminy the chance for more visually fun hijinks. “Hi Diddly-Dee” is the song so nice, Disney reused in Peter Pan. And the seven note-sting of “When You Wish Upon a Star” has become the studio’s signature melody. It’s hard to separate the merit of these tunes from a lifetime of internalizing them through cultural ephemera, but they stand out nonetheless.

The movie’s best stretch, though, comes when it marries its aesthetic brilliance with the most compelling part of its story. Pinocchio choosing to go find and rescue his father from the belly of a whale is one of the few times in the movie he takes deliberate, meaningful action in the picture. It’s an important moment of character growth and intelligence (which is good since “Pin-oke” is a literal and figurative dummy for most of the movie) that arguably earns him his humanity. And it provides an excuse for the animators to deliver some brilliant water-drenched action that still dazzles eighty years later.

The encounter with Monstro the Whale is easily the high point of the film. The joyousness of Pinocchio’s reunion with Gepetto, the fearsomeness of the aquatic mammal in action, and the suspense and cleverness of Pinnochio and company’s escape through his gaping maw prove to be both the movie’s narrative and aesthetic peak. The design team pulls out all the stops for the raging climax, and there’s genuine stakes and choices for the hero of the story that makes it more engaging than his other nigh-random misfortunes and maladies.

But even if that’s the only point where Pinocchio offers a story worth telling, it’s still worth watching for its visuals alone. Narrative need not be the point of a trip to the theater. It can also transport us, amuse us, tickle us, or amaze us with personalities, performances, and presentations that don’t have much in the way of plot, but which find other methods to earn our interest and joy. The cinematic tale of a wooden boy, and all the expressive friends and colorful locales he runs into along the way, certainly qualifies.

Made just before the start of WWII, this feature finds us in the capable hands of "Jiminy Cricket" as he narrates us through this tale of "Geppetto" - an old carpenter who lives his life vicariously through his creations. The "Blue Fairy" visits the old man one night and gives life to one of his creations "Pinocchio" - with "Jiminy" being given his conscience... All is going well until he has to go to school; en route to where he is waylaid by a foxy character who entices him with tales of success on the stage. Needless to say, nothing goes to plan and he embarks on a series of adventures that put him, "Jiminy" and his father in considerable peril. This is a much more complex storyline than you might expect; there is plenty of joy and fun, but also a darkness that provides food for thought for children and parents alike. The wonderful, Oscar winning, score is the best in the Disney repertoire and the characterisations are engaging. If it has any flaws: the dialogue - there is too much of it; it is possibly just a little too long and finally - I just didn't really like "Pinocchio" much as a little boy - a bit too thoughtless and selfish. That said, of course, he is only a few months old!!! Great stuff!

Disney Classics Marathon :pound_symbol:2

Talk about childhood trauma...

I haven’t watched this movie in about 15+ years. As a child it terrified me, and even as a teenager it made me uncomfortable and I didn’t enjoy a minute of it.

It has always been weird to me how this movie ended up on the top on so many Disney Classic rankings, especially since I personally never met anyone who truly enjoyed this film let alone put it even in their Top 10.

That being said, I do acknowledge what a masterpiece it is when it comes to animation from a technical standpoint or how aesthetically pleasing it is, even if terrifying at times.

In a way, "Pinocchio" should have been the first indicator towards Disney’s later trend of choosing, well, "offbeat" sources to turn into movies primarily aimed at kids. Even though "Pinocchio" is based on an actual children’s novel, one that is in aspects even darker and more disturbing than the film (can you believe it?)

Like I said, animation-wise it certainly deserves its title as a masterpiece. The movie looks absolutely gorgeous. The character design, backgrounds and flow in animation are gorgeous. "Snow White" was already a beautiful movie and it’s stunning what Disney achieved just a couple of years later. Even for today’s standards this movie is beautiful.

It is also way more dynamic than its predecessor. Character have more personality (also reflected in the animation) and relationships are more developed and have more depth. It not only teaches some valuable lessons to kids, it also ranges from small little funny moments to genuine emotional beats.

Perhaps, I always judged this too harshly. I mostly reduced it to Pleasure Island, which was and still is a nightmare to watch. I doubt Disney would get away with the terrifying imagery today (let alone the underaged drinking and smoking). The donkey transformation is horrific (even though the donkeys themselves have a rather cutesy design), but what really gets me today is how the transformed boys cry in agony for their mothers and just want to go home, only to be enslaved and send away to do hard labor. And no one saves them. Pinocchio and Jiminy might get away, but for them it’s only one segment of their adventurous journey, but for the other children, there is no resolve or happy ending. The Coachman is also terrifying and even if he just makes a short appearance, he is definitely one of Disney’s creepiest and perhaps most underrated villains.

On some random thoughts and loose ends: I forgot how amazing the animation on Monstro is. Pinocchio is less annoying than I remembered. Honest John and Gideon still crack me up for some reason. I love the design of the Blue Fairy. "When You Wish Upon A Star" is a beautiful song, but it’s still slightly overrated.

"Pinocchio" is far from my favorite Disney movie and will never be one of those I can rewatch all the time, though I gained slightly more appreciation towards it and can definitely recognize its beauty. Pleasure Island is still nightmare-inducing though.

Favorite Scene: The Blue Fairy giving life to Pinocchio

Favorite Character: Jiminy Cricket

Favorite Song: Still "When You Wish Upon A Star"

6.5 out of 10 Magical Stars.

Disney's second big-time animated feature looks markedly better than _Snow White_, no small feat, but otherwise falls a little bit short of meeting that first film's high standard. _When You Wish Upon a Star_ notwithstanding, the songs aren't as memorable, the foil isn't as well-defined and the plot is less focused. Which isn't to trash the whole effort - it's still an incredibly charming, timeless creative success - just maybe a slight letdown in some crucial areas.

Pinocchio himself is as inherently innocent as they come, it's an essential part of his character, but that leads him into a lot of easily-avoided trouble. Somewhat frustrating to watch, as he fails to learn from countless mistakes and warnings, but it could be argued that's childhood in a nutshell. The mythical "get out of jail free" card he carries, an extremely forgiving (and slightly unnerving) fairy, bails him out of nearly every jam, anyway, so the greater dangers ultimately feel rather toothless.

The story skips around a lot, bouncing from a jolly family home to a rowdy stage show, a risqué island of naughty indulgence (and puzzling transformation) to the cramped confines of a whale's belly. That gives the visual crew ample opportunity to flex, but also feels excessive and disjointed. More like a series of one-off episodes than a single, cohesive story, at least until the third act. There's also a team of anthropomorphic cats carousing about, causing trouble, which is odd given the otherwise all-human population, and undercuts the fundamental strangeness of a wooden puppet come to life.

Disney's wand still has plenty of magic - _Pinocchio_ is a constant visual delight - but in this case, it would benefit from a longer attention span.

Pinocchio is a movie that manages to make me uncomfortable for most of it, way too much to be able to enjoy it.
The whole thing is pretty dark, specially the second third, that deals with child trafficking, and child consumption of alcohol and smoking. Those topics are covered with no tact and don't really contribute to the story as a whole, I really doubt anything other than Stranger Danger would be learnt by kids.
The characters seem pretty boring, and most of them one dimensional, the character with the most depth is Jiminy Cricket and I still don’t understand why he got a medal for being a great conscious, when he seemed like a pretty irresponsible one. The worst is the villain of the first third which is basically just a racist stereotype.
The animation was pretty good for the time, and there were times I was genuinely enjoying the visuals.
The soundtrack isn’t very memorable, though the performances of the main characters were pretty good.
Other then that, the movie was pretty forgettable. Also kinda disappointed about the fact that Pinocchio's nose only grows in a single scene, considering it is the most iconic part of that fairy tale.