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Pinocchio (1971)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
June 3rd, 2008
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'Pinocchio' has long been my favorite Disney movie, primarily because it was the first one I ever watched, and the one I remember most vividly. This is the darkest and scariest of all Disney films, yet it also contains some of the most uplifting and endearing themes, imparting important values and lessons to children, most famously, instructing them not to lie, or else their nose may grow, and then everyone will know that they lied. Plus, they will just look silly. 'Pinocchio' is based on a character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi in the 1880s. He is a wooden puppet made by the humble and kind Gepetto, who wishes he had a son. The Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, and Gepetto is overjoyed, but Pinocchio must behave properly before he can become a real boy. He is tricked by the sly fox Honest John into skipping school and joining up with the cruel Stromboli, a traveling puppeteer. He exploits Pinocchio for profit, mistreats him, locks him in a cage, where he sits until he is rescued by the Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket, who serves as his conscience, telling him what he should and should not do, even though it is ultimately up to Pinocchio to differentiate right from wrong. Honest John appears again, and this time persuades the gullible Pinocchio to head for Pleasure Island, where he and other mischievous boys smoke, drink, and gamble, until they turn (literally) into donkeys, and are forced to work in salt mines. Pinocchio escapes before his transformation is complete (he has the ears and the tail, but nothing else), and returns with Jiminy to Gepetto's house, only to find it empty. Gepetto has left to find Pinocchio, and has been swallowed up by the gigantic whale Monstro. Monstro is a fearsome sight; Gepetto is trapped inside his cavernous belly. As Gepetto and Pinocchio swim to shore, fleeing from Monstro, their survival does not seem to be assured; it is a remarkably intense and troubling moment. However, the most disturbing scenes in 'Pinocchio' are those on Pleasure Island; the process of changing into a donkey looks like it would be excruciatingly painful and horrifying.
The quality of the animation itself is an improvement over Disney's groundbreaking debut Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; it is more purely artistic, with lots of refined details (notice the effects displayed within Gepetto's house, with all the different clocks ticking and chiming simultaneously). The film has emotional resonance, too, even for adult viewers (I would imagine many parents could share Gepetto's sadness when he thinks Pinocchio is dead and his joy when Pinocchio finally becomes human). And the songs are wonderful, especially "When You Wish Upon a Star", but also Pinocchio's cheerful solo performance of "I've Got No Strings". The film won two Oscars for its music, and was entered into the National Film Registry in 1994. This is a classic.
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