Pinocchio (1940)

Directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske
Written by Ted Sears, Otto Englander, Webb Smith, William Cottrell, Joseph Sabo, Erdman Penner, and Aurelius Battaglia. Based on the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.
Premiered February 7, 1940
88 minutes
Rated G

Synopsis
Once upon a time, there lived a lonely woodworker named Geppetto (Christian Rub) who longed to have a child. One night he wishes upon a star that his newest creation, a wooden marionette named Pinocchio (Dickie Jones), was his real life son. The Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) hears his wish and brings Pinocchio to life but does not make him human. She enlists Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) to be his conscience. If Pinocchio proves himself to be "brave, truthful, and unselfish", he will become a real boy. But instead of going to school as he should, Pinocchio is lead astray by the silver-tongued fox Honest John (Walter Catlett) and he is persuaded to become an actor and join Stomboli's (Charles Judels) puppet show, which leads down a darker path to the ironically named Pleasure Island and the belly of a whale.

Before We Begin
Pinocchio is the second film in the Disney Animated Features Canon, which meant it had a hell of an act to follow. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was an artistic phenomenon and a box office hit and there was absolutely nothing else like it at that point in history. Even though it's hard to imagine now, Pinocchio was a flop at the box office despite its two Oscar wins for Best Score and Best Original Song. It took a postwar rerelease to make a profit and after decades of more theater releases, Pinocchio eventually gained its classic family film reputation.

Pinocchio was one of  a handful of Disney movies I didn't own but my Grandma did, so I watched it with quite a bit of regularity. The older I got, the more I dug it.

Mötley Müsings
• The most famous Disney song of all time. It mostly plays over the opening credits.

• Oh Jiminy, it's so nice to see you again!

• Look at all this detail!

• This must but set in northern Italy, the part close to Switzerland, because it seem so Bavarian, right? I mean, Pinocchio wears leiderhosen. 

• Look at all this detail!

• Everyone forgets Jiminy was a hobo and a squatter.

• A puppet is "a small figure of a person or animal, having a cloth body and a hollow head, designed to be fitted over and manipulated by the hand." A marionette is "a jointed puppet manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs." #themoreyouknow

• FIGARO!! Disney cats, always.

• BAHAHA...Jiminy's hand on that carving's bustle.

• Figaro and Cleo WILL judge your baby name. BTW, I think I read somewhere that "Pinocchio" means pine.

• "I wonder what time it is."

• MORE FIGARO AND CLEO PLEASE!

• "I forgot to open the window." Geppetto, you lazy fuck.

• "A very lovely thought. But not at all practical."

• Here comes the Blue Fairy in all her 1930s glamour.

• "What they can't do these days." You just wait, Jiminy.

• "A conscience is that still small voice that people won't listen to."

• Jiminy is no saint in this movie, let me tell you...

• "They're the wrong things that seem right at the time... but... uh... even though the right things may seem wrong sometimes, or sometimes the wrong things...may be right at the wrong time, or visa versa." YOU SEE WHY HUMANS HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE.

• "Who's there!?"

"It's me!"

"Oh...it's me." 

• What the hell kind of gun is that?

• Comic. Gun. Play.

• "Say hello to Figaro."

"Hello to Figaro."

• Yeah...I think the school is going to have a problem taking a talking puppet.

• Well, a talking fox, walking on his hind legs and smoking a cigar is somehow acceptable...

• How are Figaro and Gideon both cats in this universe? I think they were going with Bad Dopey here.

• "A WOODEN BOY!"

• Bright lights, music, applause! Fame!" Oh, how many times has this story been told? AND IT NEVER GETS OLD.

• And why does Pinocchio fall for this scam? Perhaps because his conscience overslept! "Oh, well. He can't get in much trouble between here and school."

• Jiminy's trying to set it right, but the call of fame is too sweet.

• How come we never hear how offensive Stromboli is to Italians and/or gypsies?

• To be fair, Pinocchio is doing pretty damn good considering he had maybe five hours to rehearse.

• Jiminy is a lech!

• "Well... guess he won't need me anymore. What does an actor want with a conscience, anyway?"

• Oh, poor Geppetto. He probably should have walked with him all the way to school.

• Bah! Bite of a raw onion!

• Oh no. Pinocchio is a slave now.

• At least Jiminy comes back.

• Oh the irony! There goes Stromboli's wagon right by Geppetto! #heartbreaking

• You're both right.

• "Be cheerful. Like me!"

• Why does he lie so much here? And everyone makes a big thing about Pinocchio's nose growing, but it only happens this once and he learns his lesson.

• "Perhaps you haven't been telling the truth, Pinocchio."

"PERHAPS!?"

• SMOKING and DRINKING!

• "I'm collecting stupid little boys."

• "They never come back...AS BOYS."

• "I'd rather be smart than be an actor."

• Jiminy, why don't you settle in Pinocchio's pocket so you're always with him! You can't leave him alone!

• "You are allergic."

• Honest John and Gideon never get their comeuppance. In fact, none of the villains do.

• "Well...here we go again." Jiminy, it's your fault!

• Pleasure Island. The isle of Boys Will Be Boys where they can drink, smoke, eat junk, gamble, fight, vandalize, etc. And there's no girls allowed! The pre-pubescent boy's heaven.

• "Give a bad boy enough rope, and he'll soon make a jackass of himself."

• "Oh, you smoke like me grandmutter."

• How can anything physically effect him? He's made of wood!

• "Your best friend! And what am I? Just your conscience!" And Jiminy abandons him again.

• "But Lampwick says a guy only lives once." #YOLO

• Bad boys get turned into donkeys!

• And I ask again, how can anything physically effect Pinocchio when he's made of wood?

• This is disturbing.

• They escape by jumping into the ocean, then go back to Geppetto's house which has been abandoned. Then they get a letter from God a magical dove telling them Geppetto was swallowed by a whale named Monstro while out searching for Pinocchio.

• Pinocchio bravely goes to find Geppetto, doesn't even waver. And Jiminy has learned his lesson to never leave Pinocchio! Progress.

• He took his kitten and his goldfish with him, for goodness sake.

• "I never thought it would end this way, Figaro, starving to death in the belly of a whale." Trust me, no one thinks it will end that way.

• It's pretty clever that he thinks to start a fire inside Monstro to make him sneeze...or burn him alive.

• Fuck, that puppet is strong.

• And there's no way Figaro and Cleo wouldn't make it.

• Two Disney movies in a row with the main character basically dead.

• "Father, whatcha crying for?"

"Because you're dead, Pinnochio."

"No. No I'm not!"

"Yes. Yes you are. Now lie down..."

• I don't think Jiminy deserved that metal. He totally bailed too many times.

Final Thoughts
I have a concern that as I start to go through the DAFs I really like, the less I'll have to say about them, especially when I'm reviewing movies that everyone agrees are good. Most people like Pinocchio, and if they don't it's because there's an imbalance between the cute and charming stuff and the dark and disturbing stuff. I am one who enjoys this imbalance. What can I say about Pinocchio that hasn't already been said?

I love the Hero's Journey aspect, even if it doesn't follow Joseph Campbell's map beat for beat. Pinocchio must develop some fairly basic but extremely important values to become human (even if there are millions of humans walking around right now that don't hold to any of these values). Yes, he is a little slow to learn these things, but you have to give him a break. He's only a few days old and he's a puppet, for crying out loud. One lesson he should have learned was to be weary of strangers and to not be so trusting. That is truly Pinocchio's weakness, not lying. But eventually Pinocchio learns to be brave, truthful and unselfish and just in time.

And as irritating as it is for Jiminy to fail Pinocchio over and over again (seriously, once you pay attention to this, it will forever annoy you), we have to remember Jiminy isn't an angel. He isn't qualified to be anybody's conscience. It's odd the Blue Fairy appointed him so quickly. It was out of convenience, if you ask me. But Jiminy still charms me.

Who  doesn't like Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo? Who isn't freaked out by Stromboli and the Coachman? Impressive animation, enjoyable music. Yes, yes, Pinocchio is a gem.

Favorite Character

Figaro

Favorite Moment -- Pleasure Island
Favorite Song -- "When You Wish Upon a Star" performed by Cliff Edwards