Dapper bug-about-town Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) spends the night at the home of Geppetto (Christian Rub) the kindly old woodcarver whom he finds finishing off his latest puppet. When Geppetto spies the wishing star twinkling in the night sky he forelornly wishes his wooden creation were a real boy. Sure enough the angelic Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) visits Gepetto’s house at night and with a wave of her wand brings little Pinocchio (Dickie Jones) to life. Appointing chirpy Jiminy as his conscience, the Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio he can become a real boy by proving himself brave, truthful and unselfish. How hard can that be?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs may have been the groundbreaker but it is Pinocchio that truly reflects the driving ethos of the Walt Disney studio and remains a pinnacle achievement in the art of the animated feature film. It was the sumptuous animated film ever made, employing groundbreaking techniques in effects animation that remain dazzling even in today’s digital-dominated age. Never before had an animated cartoon seemed so vividly alive. From scene-stealing supporting characters like Figaro the Cat and Cleo the Fish to those candy-coloured backdrops and charming contraptions found in Geppetto’s workshop, it was as if Disney’s animators opened a window into a delightful parallel world of leaping wonders. Whether it is the scintillatingly feminine presence of the Blue Fairy (whose realism contrasts strikingly amidst an otherwise surreal environment) or the visceral terror evoked by Monstro the Whale, this is a remarkably tactile and sensual film. Far from a mere shallow display of technical virtuosity the film’s style represents a conscious decision on the part of Disney and his animators to convey the sheer sensoral overload of the world and its sundry temptations upon the titular wooden boy.
In contrast to the problematic passive message underlining Snow White, Pinocchio’s thematic core is a lot closer to the philosophy espoused by the notoriously diligent Walt Disney himself. The timeless song “When You Wish Upon a Star” composed by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington that became the signature of the Disney studio and went on to win an Academy Award is deceptively simplistic when actually the key line “if your heart is in your dreams” stresses a belief in fortitude, dilligence and good moral decisions as the path towards making one’s dreams come true. As such the plot is closer in spirit to the original tale woven by Carlo Collodi than many Italian critics would like to admit, though it is worth pointing out that in Italy Luigi Comencini’s The Adventures of Pinocchio (1971) starring Gina Lollobrigida as the Blue Fairy is considered the superior and indeed definitive adaptation.
Many still accuse Disney of sweetening Collodi’s more acerbic edges but the fact is the characters are somewhat more engaging here than they are in the book. Collodi’s Pinocchio is a wilful brat who bites the ears off little boys, drives the Blue Fairy to the brink of despair and lest we forget, squishes the cricket with a mallet shortly after the first chapter! By making Pinocchio a flawed but well-meaning innocent Disney enabled filmgoers to grow more emotionally invested in his journey. And anyone who thinks the film is all sweetness and light has clearly forgotten all about the Pleasure Island sequence, one of the most nightmarish and disturbing in cinema history. The sight of the newly transformed donkeys sobbing and cowering in terror from the grotesque whip-wielding coachman (who rarely figures in polls listing great Disney villains - but is one scary dude!) fuelled generations of childhood nightmares. It is worth pointing out that none of the evildoers ever get their comeuppance in this story. They remain an ever-present threat to children everywhere. Now that’s scary. Yet for all the trauma involved this is ultimately a tale of triumph and builds to a moment of transcendent joy.
9 (from 2 votes)
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