My brother and I have recently started a Disney animated movie marathon. Last night we watched two movies, Snow White (1937) and Pinocchio (1940). This review is for Pinocchio.
Pinocchio isn’t so much the well rounded journey I remembered, but a linear cautionary tale. “GO TO SCHOOOOOOOOL!!!” it screams at me in a loud screeching voice, blinking neon colors and flashing lights, just so I wouldn’t miss it. It pounds itself into me, incessantly hitting me in the head.
I don’t really like Pinocchio as a character, even though I should, but that’s my issue, not the movie’s. I do like that his innocence is used to move the story instead of ignorance as the cause for his downfall. He simply doesn’t know better, and Jiminy Cricket is a little too small to exude any influence on him. He is always trying to keep up, condemned by hopping after him and forgetting to check that Pinocchio is within sight. And even in once scene, where Pinocchio lies to the Blue Fairy, Jiminy Cricket, instead of insisting Pinocchio tell the truth, says, “leave me outta this.”
Now. Jiminy Cricket. Hellllooooooo Jesus metaphor. Jiminy Cricket was used in the mid 19th century as a minced exclamation to take the place of “Jesus Christ” as an oath. Pinocchio is continually told to let his conscience be his guide, and is severely punished by situation when he doesn’t listen. However, it is clear that Jiminy and the Blue Fairy are always watching and waiting to get Pinocchio out of trouble.
I was, however, totally and utterly charmed by Gepetto, who, in a reverse of the typical Disney trope later used of the orphaned child trying to find a parent, is the kindly, lonely parent desperate for a child. I don’t think that it is fair that when Gepetto has faith in the wishing star and is granted his wish by the Blue Fairy for Pinocchio to become a real boy, he’s rewarded for his goodness with one hell of a heartache. Poor Gepetto.
The other characters are colorful, from Figaro the kitty and and the hussy in the fishbowl, Cleo, who kisses everyone and has a thing for interspecies relationships, to the villains, Honest John, Gideon, Stromboli and the Coachman. I even felt myself drawn to Lampwick, the binge drinking, chain smoking truant who befriends Pinocchio on Pleasure Island. I didn’t like Monstro, but then, I’m not supposed to.
The movie is overall darker than other Disney movies. I enjoyed the balance of light and dark overall in the film. The part on Pleasure Island where Lampwick completes his transformation into a donkey, using the shadow on the wall is truly the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. It is Hitchcock-esque implied horror and it delivers the terror far more effectively than simply showing the transformation. I involuntarily cringed.
Altogether charming are the underwater sequences before the meeting of Monstro the Whale. The climactic chase after the escape from the belly of the whale is handled brilliantly. It is the sharp contrast between the lighter moments and the darker ones that gives the film a correct blend of fantasy and horror.
It was also visually appealing. The detail of Gepetto’s shop, his clocks, the toys and candle holders, the maelstrom of Pleasure Island, the dancing of the marionettes in Stromboli’s show. All exquisitely detailed. The scene of Gepetto searching for Pinocchio with a lantern on a rainy night after he has been captured by Stromboli is unforgettable imagery and very moving.
And the music. The music perfectly accents the dramatic chase for the whale sequence and the songs throughout are in keeping with the mood and characters of the story. It serves as a steadfast narrator, more reliable than Jiminy Cricket. From the catchy and fun “There Are No Strings on Me” to the iconic Disney theme “When You Wish Upon A Star” the movie is full of fantastic gems.
As one vehicle, I was pleased by Pinocchio. Even though the actual story was not the well rounded adventure I hoped for, the piece as a whole was a great mesh of traditional Disney magic.
8/10
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