If Walt Disney believed that there were quite a few flaws in his first film, he decided to "plus it" and plan out the most technically perfect film he would ever produce. The question was, what would the film be? Since Bambi was already struggling to get off the ground, and Fantasia was still only a creative idea, Disney Animators needed a story they could actually create. Along came Carlo Collodi's Italian fable of a wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy. With the best animators in the business, combined with some of the best songwriters, and the world's greatest storyteller, Walt Disney Productions released Pinocchio. Did the film meet it's lofty expectations, surpass them, or suffer from a "sophomore slump"?Let's "swallow" our creativity and find out...
Plot: A toymaker named Geppetto sculpted a puppet one night and wished upon a star that the puppet would become real. Since Geppetto is one of the kindest and most generous people in the village, the Blue Fairy comes to his shop and uses her magic to give the boy life. Since the boy has no sense of right or wrong, a cricket named Jiminy Cricket is coerced into being his conscience. Geppetto awakens and is overjoyed to see him.
The next morning, while on his way to his first day of school, two con artists trick him into ditching school and joining a puppet show led by Stromboli. After being kidnapped by the greedy psychotic Italian, Pinocchio and Jiminy are met once again by the Blue Fairy. Pinocchio attempts to lie to her, but learns that whenever he lies, his nose grows. The blue fairy sets him free, but warns him that a bad boy will never be a real boy.
As the puppet and his conscience return home, the child is tricked again into going to Pleasure Island, a haven for runaway boys, including roller coasters, cigarettes, pool tables, and all of the windows to shatter. Little does the puppet realize that the boys who go to the island are turned into donkeys. Luckily, Pinocchio and Jiminy escape the island, with only the minimal donkey tail and ears on the puppet.
They finally return home, but learn that Geppetto has gone out to search for him, and was swallowed by a giant whale named Monstro. Pinocchio decides to go off and rescue his father, against Jiminy's best wishes. When he reunites with his father inside the whale's belly, the puppet builds a fire to make the whale sneeze them out. They make it out, but are attacked by the rampaging beast. Pinocchio sacrifices himself to save his father. But the Blue Fairy sees his sacrifice and gives him not only life, but also makes him a real boy.
What's Bad?: To be quite honest, I can't find a major flaw in the film's execution. Not a one.
What's Good?: Let's start at the beginning, with the music. All of the songs are great and easily recognizable tunes, especially the film's anthem "When You Wish Upon A Star", which has become the company's anthem. The film's musical score is not only among the best of all of the Disney films, but one of the best all time.
The film is abundant in villainous and wicked characters, such as Honest John and Stromboli, who all add into the archives of Disney Villains. Stromboli especially is a wicked monster, abusing poor Pinocchio and easily willing to shove the puppet into the limelight as long as he can, until he is in need of firewood.
The film is able to be a strong character film, despite not having a love subplot like it's predecessor had. We really feel for these characters and their emotions, especially Geppetto. Jiminy is a fun character, Pinocchio really feels like he's a real boy, and all of the other characters are likeable or recognizable.
The film is far superior to Snow White in terms of animation and special effects. While Snow White was a bit more cartoony, Pinocchio is a tour de force in terms of animation. The animation of the ocean water is unbelievable, and was the finest bit of aquatic animation until The Little Mermaid almost fifty years later. The fine crafting the animators did on even the most diligent details like the music boxes in Geppetto's workshop really show how determined these animators were to surpass their previous efforts.
Overall: Not only is Pinocchio the best film Walt Disney ever made, it is the best Disney film made between 1940 and 1991. Everything in this film is marvelous. I highly recommend it, if you haven't already seen it
Report Card
Hero: A
Heroine: B
Villain(s): A-
Sidekicks: A
Animation: A+
Special Effects: A+
Songs: A
Musical Score: A+
Story: A
Themes: A+
Overall: A+
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