Review of Pinocchio (1940) by Sherry L — 27 Jun 2013

This is by far the most beautifully hand drawn feature by Disney! It really hits me all through the movie.

Pinoccio is the old story about the woodcarver Gepetto who is particuarly proud of his newly made marionette puppet of wood, which he calls Pinocchio. Before going to sleep the same night, he notices a wishing star on the sky and wishes that Pinocchio will become a real boy. But the blue fairy only sets the wooden puppet alive and tells him that the day he will be able to differ right and wrong, he will become a real boy. To his help he has Jiminy Cricket who will act as his "conscience". There is a very bumpy road till Pinocchio learns what's right and what's wrong. On his way to school he gets tricked into joyning a marionette theatre and becomes the star of the show for the not so sympatic Stromboli.

And later he follows some other boys to Pleasure Island, only to discover that the whole thing is a trap...Times like that it's good to have Jiminy Cricket!

The ever so famous When You Wish Upon A Star, which Jiminy Cricket sings in the opening scene, is alone the most prestigious Dinsey-song. On later years it's been used as a christmas classic, which is a bit odd since there isn't christmas or let alone snow in the movie!

I remember how scary I thought it was when Pinocchio's friend Lampwick turns into a donkey, on Pleasure Island! And with that music! Just like from a true horror movie. I actually found that scene more terrifying that the sequence with Monstro the Great Whale in the end.

What people didn't notice as much as today is the racist charicature Stromboli, "the gypsy", which today would raise more eyebrows.

Pinocchio is my personal favorite disney-film second to Dumbo. Though Dumbo is not as stunningly drawn as Pinocchio...I'm so fond of the touching story in Dumbo.