THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
I think the hardest thing in life is to maintaining your true self. And I will not stop appreciating such a lesson when watching Walt Disney’s Pinocchio.
PLOT
Based on Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, the film takes place in 19th Century Italy. The story follows a talking cricket named Jiminy (Cliff Edwards) who decides to take shelter at a work shop. There lives the human wood/toymaker Geppetto (Christian Rub) who lives with his pet cat Figaro and goldfish Cleo. His most recent invention is a marionette he names 'Pinocchio' (Dickie Jones). Before he falls asleep, he wishes for the puppet to be a real boy for him to raise as his own. Once he goes to sleep, a fairy (Evelyn Venable) in blue visits his home and grants the wish for Pinocchio to come alive, but remains a puppet. She believes that he must earn a human life by proving to be brave, truthful and unselfish. Jiminy would then volunteer to be his conscience in order to help him understand the differences of right and wrong. After both make a ruckus overnight, it wakes up Geppetto who is at first shocked but delighted that his puppet has come to life. By the next morning, he decides to send his son to school, but that doesn't happen because on the way there, Pinocchio is stopped by an anthropomorphic red fox named Honest John (Walter Catlett) and his mute cat friend Gideon. Despite being plead by Jiminy to go to school, they convince the wooden boy to be part of a puppet show hosted by the puppet master Stromboli. From one performance, he quickly becomes a sensation which embarks the puppet master to take him on a world tour. However, he tends to take him unwillingly and locks him in a cage to prevent him escaping. And plans to make firewood out of him when he no longer finds use of him. When Jiminy reunites with him, he is unable to unlock the lock. When the Blue Fairy returns to check on them, Pinocchio anxiously lies about the day they've went through. The consequences of his dishonesty cause his nose to grow from each lie. The Fairy decides to restore his nose and free him from the cage when he promises to make amends. Once he is free, he intends to return home but is again fooled by Honest John. This time, he convinces him to join 'Pleasure Island', a place that appears to be free of consequences for delinquent children. There, Pinocchio quickly befriends with a delinquent boy named Lampwick (Frankie Darro). Jiminy gets disgusted that the wooden boy partaking in delinquency, but later finds a shocking truth of the island: He sees that the island appears to be cursed as children turn into donkeys overnight. This is part of the plan of an unnamed Coachman sell them to slave labor in circuses and salt mines. Pinocchio eventually leaves with Jiminy when Lampwick turns as well. Once he does, he prevents himself from fully turning into a donkey. When the pair finally return home, the work shop appears to be empty and deserted as Geppetto is not present with his pets. Confused, the Blue Fairy sends a letter explaining what happened to him. According to Jiminy, it said that Geppetto went looking for Pinocchio and during his search, he got swallowed by a giant sperm whale dubbed 'Monstro', now living in the belly of it. Knowing that his father is alive, Pinocchio enters the ocean to look for him. He does so after getting swallowed by the whale as well. Despite being happy to reunite with his family, Pinocchio quickly decides to make the mammal sneeze by starting a fire. When that happens, they take the opportunity to escape. Just when they do, it only enrages Monstro to chase them down. Just when it destroys their raft, Pinocchio pulls his father to safety in a cove. Monstro crashes into the cove, in which Geppetto survives but his son apparently drowned during the chaos. When he takes the body of his son home to mourn, this sacrifice proved Pinocchio to be brave, truthful and unselfish as he was pursuing to become. The Blue Fairy saw that and ultimately revives him as a human boy. The film ends with Pinocchio his new life with his family, whereas Jiminy is rewarded a gold badge to be certified as an official conscience.
THOUGHTS
For someone born in the late 90s, I was considered to be pretty grateful to have so many animated classics at my disposal to watch in my childhood. Movie by movie, each one found a way to make me smile and this one was no exception. For one that is over 8 decades old as of writing this, you would think that the animation would be aging badly. Well I believe this is not the case because upon re watching it, it still has this dazzling mark you never thought you'd expect. Each character and each location stands out spectacularly and that is just downright impressive. The reason I keep coming back to this one will always be because of its oddly creative way to teach (young) viewers to always find the best version of yourself. It is something that is not easy to find, but is worth finding once you do. In this movie's case, the biggest attributes involves honesty, bravery and selflessness. These traits make sense because they benefit getting through life as one gets older. No one is telling you to be perfect, but the best you can do is do right by others and you can do that with those same traits. Pinocchio has remained to be a lovable character for so long because he is learning this first hand. He is the one that shows the benefits of being a good person. His curiosity does get the best of him, but it's not his mistakes that define him. No one likes to get into trouble and he didn't deserve the trauma that came with it, but he had to be in that position to understand the consequences of disobedience. After getting two strikes, he knew that some risks were not worth taking. And on the other hand, some were when it came down to saving his father. He gained a life because of him and he know how wrong it'd be to not try. And seeing how selfless he was for him is what earned his human life. Knowing that, I am sure that Pinocchio had a great life that came after such a daring journey. Again, he wouldn't be a part of our lives if it wasn't for the man that wished for him to be alive. In his given screen time, it is easy to love Geppetto because he is humble throughout for giving back to others with his work. Knowing that he spent years making people happy with his skills is what earned him his wish. Within this story alone, he may have not been around much to give needed advice to his son, but at least he loved him for the heart he knew he had. It's not easy to make friends, so Pinocchio was very lucky to have one out of Jiminy Cricket around. Being someone's conscience is not an easy task because one would still need to know some differences as well. Nevertheless, he was still a worthy companion for the job because with every advice he gave was nothing but caring. You could say he was lucky to be bring the best out of Pinocchio because in between, many brought the worst out. Honest John used his charm to make him dishonest, the vicious Stromboli tended to take advantage of him and the sadistic Coachman (the latter of two were voiced by Charles Judels) would've set up the most cruel fate possible. Had Jiminy not been there for either, there would be no happy ending. There is no telling if he stuck around in Pinocchio's life after that, but if not, I'm sure he continued the work of a conscience for other kids that need guidance as much as the wooden boy did. The best thing about Walt Disney films is that there is always a song that reminds you of the magical experience you went through. The opening theme 'When You WIsh Upon A Star' is the one that does it because it accurately symbolizes the theme that dreams can come true for anyone. When I hear it play in the opening logo of modern Disney films, I am positively reminded just that. This film will continue to be as timeless as the films that came before and after it, but even I can admit to have noticed that the story had its fair share of issues after many times re watching it. To get it out of the way, I creep out when seeing two particular music boxes Geppetto made: One with a bumbling alcoholic and one with a mom disciplining her child. I get it’s supposed to show off his creativity, but I don’t want to be thinking who he’s trying to impress. And how deaf is the neighborhood? I don’t want Geppetto to be protested against, but he and Pinocchio make so much noise you might as well start one. Also, what makes him it was a good idea to let him go to school after coming to life overnight? I know kids have to go to school, but he should’ve given him a week to give him his own tips of right and wrong. I know it’s not his fault, but just spending more time with him would’ve saved a whole lot of trouble. I don’t blame Jiminy for feeling conflicted on how to give Pinocchio, but he really could’ve saved some trouble by warning Geppetto. Snitching can be annoying, but it again could’ve saved him from further trouble. O do try to ignore cartoon logic, but what makes Geppetto thinks it’s a good idea to give Cleo a slice of cake, if dirty water caused by fire wouldn’t kill that fish, the unsanitary of that cake would. You guys know I have a gripe for continuity errors, so you bet how confused I was when seeing Jiminy’s hat and coat disappear in between shots when he’s trying to unlock the lock. I know this was made in 1940, but someone should’ve double checked this shot. I was scared shitless of the kids turning into donkeys, but how the hell was that possible? If it’s caused from the provided food, alcohol or tobacco, then that should’ve been clear. I appreciate the Blue Fairy sending a message to Pinocchio on his dad’s whereabouts, but how come we don’t see what it said? Considering that Jiminy reads it fast, it feels like he skimmed it. That bothers me because we don’t know the timeframe of when Geppetto got swallowed alive by Monstro. Lastly, how does Pinocchio die from drowning? I know we need a moment to prove his selflessness, but I don’t think he should be capable of drowning if he wasn’t even human yet. If being half donkey gave him lungs, that should’ve been clear as well. I even respect the kid for thinking fast on making Monstro sneeze, but the firewood was risky since he was still made of wood at that point. All of that is more unbelievable than Figaro surviving the conflict. However, I still find this film quite enjoyable once you ignore all said flaws. In conclusion, 1940’s Pinocchio is a wonderful animated film for sparking the better parts we can struggle. If you seek guidance, this movie might do the trick.
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