{"id":16369,"date":"2011-03-28T09:50:59","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T16:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16369"},"modified":"2021-01-14T14:39:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T21:39:42","slug":"pinocchio-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16369","title":{"rendered":"Pinocchio (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Now, remember, Pinocchio: be a good boy &#8212; and always let your conscience be your guide.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster-195x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-63296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster-195x300.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster-665x1024.png 665w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster-175x270.png 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Poster.png 719w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA wooden puppet (Dickie Jones) hoping to become a real boy relies on the help of his &#8220;conscience&#8221;, Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards), to prove himself &#8220;brave, truthful, and unselfish&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Animated Features<\/li>\n<li>Carnivals and Circuses<\/li>\n<li>Coming of Age<\/li>\n<li>Con Artists<\/li>\n<li>Father and Child<\/li>\n<li>Puppets and Ventriloquism<\/li>\n<li>Talking Animals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nLike most critics, Peary rightfully labels this early Disney classic (the studio&#8217;s second feature-length film after its 1937 release of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15970\"><em>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/em><\/a>) a &#8220;supreme&#8221; picture, arguing that it &#8220;has no flaws&#8221;, given that it&#8217;s &#8220;beautifully paced, funny, [and] has outstanding songs, marvelous characters, and the best animation in all of Disney&#8221;. He accurately notes that the &#8220;characters and sets are impressively and imaginatively drawn&#8221;, pointing out that one should watch (just for instance) &#8220;Pinocchio&#8217;s face change when he smokes a cigar&#8221;. Indeed, there are countless visual treats throughout the entire film, as demonstrated immediately during the marvelous opening scenes taking place in the woodcutter Gepetto&#8217;s house; I defy you not to chuckle with delight while watching the enchanting <a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/pinocchio-disney-animated-1940.htm\">&#8220;dance of the cuckoo clocks&#8221;, displaying clocks with &#8220;a hunter shooting a bird, a woodsman chopping a turkey\u2019s neck, a mother spanking the boy\u2019s bottom, and two classical dancers&#8221;<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><em>Pinocchio<\/em> &#8212; like <em>Snow White<\/em> &#8212; is yet another astonishingly bold Disney adaptation of a &#8220;children&#8217;s tale&#8221; which is simply far too scary for the littlest of audience members. Peary drolly states that the &#8220;film has a lot of visuals that could scare a young child (<em>but that&#8217;s okay<\/em>)&#8221; &#8212; italics mine (!!).  Countless fans have shared anecdotes about the most frightening scenes they recall from their own childhoods, with some citing the culminating sea-battle with Monstro the whale (&#8220;fabulously animated&#8221; with meticulous care; Peary refers to it as &#8220;absolutely terrifying&#8221;), and many others &#8212; including myself &#8212; noting that the most personally terrifying scenes were those in which the little boys at &#8220;Pleasure Island&#8221; are gradually turned into braying donkeys, to be sent off to work in the salt mines or at carnivals. Ouch. (And &#8212; <strong>minor spoiler alert<\/strong> &#8212; there&#8217;s no final resolution to this dilemma, by the way; as far as audience members know, the boys&#8217; metamorphoses are permanent.) <\/p>\n<p>Indeed, <em>Pinocchio<\/em> unapologetically presents the world as the big, bad place it often is, full of temptations and evil, in which it&#8217;s really each man &#8212; or child &#8212; for himself. Pinocchio&#8217;s father, while kind-hearted, is presented as utterly clueless, from the moment he sends his &#8220;newly born son&#8221; out into the world to go to school (why not walk him there on the first day, for goodness sake??? he&#8217;s the ultimate ANTI-helicopter-parent), to the final episode of the film, in which we see him mysteriously trapped in a whale, essentially in need of rescuing by Pinocchio himself, rather than the other way around. Meanwhile, it&#8217;s a good thing Pinocchio has more reliable &#8220;adults&#8221; to count on &#8212; though both the Blue Fairy (animated via rotoscoping, she truly is &#8220;exceptional&#8221; looking) and Jiminy Cricket (ukelele-playing Cliff Edwards is &#8220;perfect&#8221; as his voice) are equally &#8220;hands off&#8221; at critical moments. Ultimately (<strong>spoilers here again<\/strong>), when Pinocchio is granted the wish he&#8217;s longed for during his entire short existence, he&#8217;s proven he truly deserves it. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Masterful early animation<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Animation.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A strong sense of whimsical visual detail<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Visual-Detail.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A refreshingly no-holds-barred coming-of-age tale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Pinocchio-Coming-of-Age.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Several memorable, Oscar-winning songs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nOf course. Nominated by Peary as one of the Best Pictures of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032910\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1940\/02\/08\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-pinocchio-walt-disneys-longawaited-successor.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-pinocchio-1940\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/pinocchio-disney-animated-1940.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/pinocchio\/review\/109242\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2823pino.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=2174\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Now, remember, Pinocchio: be a good boy &#8212; and always let your conscience be your guide.&#8221; Synopsis: A wooden puppet (Dickie Jones) hoping to become a real boy relies on the help of his &#8220;conscience&#8221;, Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards), to prove himself &#8220;brave, truthful, and unselfish&#8221;. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Animated Features Carnivals and Circuses Coming of Age Con Artists Father and Child Puppets and Ventriloquism Talking Animals Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Like most critics, Peary rightfully labels this&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16369\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16369"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63298,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16369\/revisions\/63298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}