Review of Pinocchio (1940) by Jacob M — 23 May 2013

After the puppetmaker Gepetto (Christian Rub) creates a wooden puppet named Pinocchio, a kind blue fairy (Evelyn Venable) brings it to life. The fairy explains to Pinocchio (Dick Jones) that in order to become a real boy, he must be brave, truthful, and unselfish. With the help of conscience Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards), Pinocchio sets out to be a real boy, but soon learns the hard way that it's difficult to be good in a selfish world. He is tricked to skip school to join a puppet show, and is even sent to Pleasure Island, an island where boys become men, and also turn into donkeys.

But when Gepetto is swallowed by a whale, Pinocchio sets out to rescue him.

Pinocchio is a classic Disney film. Like Snow White before it, the animation is superb, the characters are strong, especially Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, and the score is fantastic, which was probably a reason why it won an Oscar.

Pinocchio also has a dark side which would be considered inappropriate in Disney movies today. In the Pleasure Island scene, the boys, including Pinocchio, drink, smoke, gamble, play pool, vandalize, and even rough house each other. But what Walt was trying to point across in this scene is that kids need to be taught how to go the good way. Pinocchio got it when he learned his lesson. The other boys didn't, which is why they're still donkeys today, in 2013.

Pinocchio tells a moving story in it as well. You feel for Pinocchio when he wants to be a good boy and feel even more moved when he wants to save his father from the whale.

Jiminy Cricket steals the show in this movie. His humor and smart lines make him my favorite character in the movie.

There are not as many songs in Pinocchio as Snow White, but the few songs in the film are outstanding, especially the film's theme song, "When You Wish Upon a Star", which is used today as Disney's theme song for their current logo.

Today, Pinocchio is one of Disney's greatest achievements and still holds up as one of Walt's best animated films.