Review of Pinocchio (1940) by Andrew B — 17 Sep 2012

After the lackluster film that is "Snow White", Disney outdid himself with one of his greatest masterpieces, "Pinocchio".

The story is familiar: Pinocchio (Dickie Jones) is a puppet brought to life by a wish from his father (Christian Rub). His greatest wish is to become a real boy, but the Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) tells him that he must prove himself first. To help him on his quest, she assigns Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) as his sidekicks, er, I mean his conscience. (As far as Disney sidekicks go, Jiminy is among the most useless, and yet simultaneously the most endearing).

There are many obstacles along the way, each their own epic adventure: Two con-men (Walter Catlett and technically Mel Blanc) who seem to like leading Pinocchio to danger; the greedy puppeteer Stromboli (Charles Judels); the troublemaker Lampwick (Frankie Darro); the sinister Coachman (Judels again); and finally, the epic whale, Stromboli.

Pinocchio succeeds in having an episodic plot that doesn't seem episodic. The movie teaches children that all the evil in the world isn't concentrated into one source; many evils can be found in many places.

Pinocchio is one of the scariest and most meaningful of all Disney films. Pinocchio is an essential for all children to see. I can't recommend it enough.