Pinocchio

Once “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was a hit, the Disney studio started production on “Fantasia”. At the same time, they recommenced working on “Bambi” and “Pinocchio” (production on those films was halted so that “Snow White” could be completed on time). “Bambi” proved very difficult in terms of story and animation. Also, Walt Disney wanted “Fantasia” to be the best that it could and so “Pinocchio” was to be the studio’s second feature. Just like with “Snow White”, people today classify “Pinocchio” as a children’s movie and nothing more. Upon rediscovery of these two brilliant movies, a person may change their mind and also identify some important differences between the two films. In some ways, scenes in “Pinocchio” are more fearsome than those in “Snow White”. It is true that there is a little less humor that adults can relate to in “Pinocchio” but the film has a higher level of sophistication, beauty and complexity animation-wise. The story is structured different and the theme of the movie has greater relevance to society. “Snow White” provides a pure escape while “Pinocchio” teaches a lesson. Both films though have great stories with great characters. The technological advancements seen in “Pinocchio” of course outdo those seen in “Snow White” because that was a pursuit of Walt’s and a goal of the whole studio. With “Pinocchio”, the ambition was to not repeat the imperfections in “Snow White” that only those who made that movie were able to notice.

The story of “Pinocchio” was americanized of course. For example, Pinocchio is given the nickname "Pinoke" by Jiminy. The Disney studio seems to often give nicknames to classic characters that they adapt for the big screen (Aladdin and Hercules became "Al" and "Herc" respectively). Despite the americanization, the film story still retains its episodic structure and Italian atmosphere. This was new ground for the story team working on the film but their approach paved the way for future episodic animated films such as “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Sword in the Stone” and to some extent “Peter Pan” and “The Jungle Book” (funny enough, the books of "Alice" and "Peter Pan" are in the background in the opening shot). The "strand" that holds the episodic sections of "Pinocchio" together is the protagonist's quest to prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish. There is a sense of irony throughout the movie such as the idea that acting and show business is the wrong road of life. You have actors and filmmakers making a movie that portrays their careers as negative. Pleasure Island becomes a very bloodcurdling place and there are multiple ironic lines in the entire film such as “What does an actor want with a conscious anyway?” There is also the ironic song of “I’ve Got No Strings”. The importance of responsibility and choosing the right are themes in the movie. I like the dramatic moments in the story when Pinocchio calls for help because it seems too late. He is stuck. That tends to happen a lot in the real world where people fail to do what's right and by the time they realize their fault, it is almost too late to change. The path back “home” is far harder than leaving it. The film also contains the message however that there is always hope. No matter how bad you have messed up, there is a chance to make things right. The Blue Fairy has a part in portraying this subject matter. She seems to represent God and His grace. Despite Pinocchio’s mistake for becoming an actor and Jiminy’s mistake for neglecting his job as conscience, she forgives them both. Many do not like the fact that the dove that gives our heroes the note because the Blue Fairy said she couldn’t help them anymore. In this circumstance, Pinocchio cannot prove himself brave without knowing what happened to Geppetto. The Blue Fairy seems to already know that Pinocchio will go & save his father and therefore she provides grace by pointing him in the right direction. I believe that grace is given to us only after we have done all that we can and we see this portrayed in the film. The film has scary and dramatic moments that outdo in some aspects that which was frightening and dramatic in “Snow White”. Lampwick’s transformation is very terrifying, especially for kids. It scared me a lot when I was young. What makes it horrifying is the sheer terror that Lampwick projects through animation and the vocal performance of Frankie Darro. Lampwick completely freaks out and Pinocchio’s reaction adds a lot to the fear of the scene. Shortly after as Pinocchio begins to transform, we have a small “D. W. Griffith” chase sequence as Jiminy hurries back to the pool hall. The dramatic climax of the film should not be overlooked. Monstro is so powerful and angry that it seems impossible for our heroes to escape. Despite the drama and terror in “Pinocchio”, there are some humorous moments such as when Gideon is making “doctor’s” notes and later we see just scribbles on the pad. What makes the gag funny is that Honest John pretends that everything is “perfectly clear”. I like how it takes a moment for Geppetto to realize things such as Pinocchio coming to life. Something that came to my mind recently is that I wonder why Cleo is not offended by the fact that Figaro is eating fish for dinner.

An important task for the filmmakers concerning our main character is that we must see Pinocchio as a puppet initially so that when he comes to life, it is magical. At the same time, the design & portrayal of the character must be appealing so that the audience will sympathize & relate to him. Walt shut down production so that Pinocchio could be redesigned to accomplish all this. I like how the first time we see Pinocchio, he has no expression on his face. It isn’t until he has eyebrows and a smile that he begins to feel real. Frank Thomas’ animation of Pinocchio being operated by Geppetto is some of his best work. It is an important scene because contrasts what we will see for the rest of the film. Once brought to life, Pinocchio is essentially a naïve, innocent little child. With the exception of his arms, legs and nose, he looks and acts like a real boy already. We are reminded of his wooden nature throughout the film but we like Pinocchio because of how real he already seems. Nearly 30 years before “A Charlie Brown Christmas” cemented the rule of having children performing the voices of animated children, Walt wanted a real boy to be the voice of Pinocchio. The redesign called for this. Recently, I found out the pageboy in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” played by Dicky Jones is the voice of Pinocchio and so I am excited to see that movie again. The book portrayed Pinocchio as mischievous and rambunctious; a brat. It is much more pleasing to have him the way he is in the Disney version. I also like how his childlike qualities are the reasons he gets into trouble. Another charming part of Pinocchio's character is that he always seems to be walking away from temptation and Honest John has to physically nudge him the other way. On the way to Pleasure Island for example, Honest John and Gideon are carrying Pinocchio so that he can't leave. Pinocchio as a result can't be blamed too much for his mistakes, only a little. The most enduring character from “Pinocchio” more or less resembles a little man in a tuxedo. He is a cricket only because he identifies himself as a cricket. Walt added the character of Jiminy Cricket during pre-production and the initial design started out very cricket-like. Walt hungered for appeal and cuteness which begat the character we know and love. For the first time at the Disney Studio, a famous actor was brought in to record the voice for a character: Cliff Edwards. His vocal range is what I like most about his voice. His voice sounds high and low quite all at once. The character of Jiminy must rise to the occasion himself as Pinocchio’s conscience. Jiminy Cricket also represents Americana more so than any other character in the film. His humor and personality are modern but they do not date the film. I love Jiminy's line just before the arrival of the Blue Fairy: “Now what’s up?” Both Jiminy and Geppetto represent the heart of the movie. I love how Geppetto makes his introduction in the film as he sings and puts the finishing touches on Pinocchio. His voice & personality are so beautiful & sweet. My heart is full during that sequence. He is also very humorous in a loveable way even after 70 years. Figaro and Cleo have human personalities but they act and move so much more realistically than the animals in “Snow White”. The villains in the film become increasingly threatening and larger in size as we go from Honest John all the way to Monstro. The villain that frightens me the most is the Coachman. Stomboli is a little comical where as the Coachman has no such ability. He is all business. His face when he says “…as boys” is quite scary due to the fact that we are not expecting it. Even Honest John and Gideon, the first villains introduced, are frightened by it. Everything about Monstro makes him a villain that seemingly cannot fail.

Many in the animation industry comment on the level of perfection seen in “Pinocchio”. I add my voice to that group. Perfectionism was the aspiration of the studio on this film, even as they tried to make “Fantasia” at the same time. Some of the Multiplane camera shots are so elaborate that I can’t believe that only three years separates this film from “Snow White”. The design of Geppetto’s home is very important to the film because it establishes mood. All the clocks and music boxes in the first part of the film give it an European atmosphere of sweetness, as does Geppetto himself. Other technological advancements include constructing working models of Stromboli’s wagon & Pinocchio’s cage and filming them. The negative of this footage could then be colored and used in the film. This kind of technology seems decades ahead of its time. In addition, I find it amazing that in Hollywood's second animated feature, they would be so daring as to create an underwater sequence. Not only did they do it but they did so well. I can't imagine animating water. Not only that, there is so much foam, waves and smoke in this climax. Pinocchio’s animation underwater as he rises off the ocean floor is quite real. The animation on Monstro to me is more powerful than the Chernabog in “Fantasia”. Realistic size and physical power is portrayed for the first time in animation. The work on Monstro in some ways has yet to be triumphed in the portrayal of a powerful and huge monster. Can you imagine the headache that Monstro must have after hitting that rock cliff? You react out of relief for our heroes but also, the force of the impact is felt emotionally too. As a kid while watching this scene, my dad and my uncles began making jokes about Asprin. This film affects people of all ages. Other elements of excellence include the music. The impact of the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” is apparent not only on the Walt Disney Company but on the world. It became the anthem of Disney. That and all the other songs in the movie were written by Paul Smith and Leigh Harline. Both men also worked on "Snow White" previously and I am most proud of Harline because he was a member of my church.

“Pinocchio” was almost a chore for Walt because his real passion was “Fantasia”. I would think therefore that the quality of “Pinocchio” would have been sacrificed for the benefit of “Fantasia” but that appears to not have been the case. They could have forfeited so much on “Pinocchio” but they didn’t. Unfortunately, despite the fact that critics were at a loss of positive adjectives upon seeing the movie, it did not make a profit in its first release in large part because World War II cut off the European market. The war almost shut the studio down and it wasn't until the 50's when things began to pick up. In that context, the opening references to "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan" feel like impossible wishes because it took over ten years for them to come true for Disney. Besides World War II affecting the financial earnings, “Pinocchio” was expensive to produce and it had to compete with “Gone with the Wind”. The film did win more Oscars than Snow White. “Pinocchio” was the first animated feature to win both music Oscars (song and score), a feat that would not be repeated by Disney until “Mary Poppins”. More recently, the American Film Institute has recognized “Pinocchio” on their lists. On the list of the most inspiring films of all time, it is rated #38 ahead of such classics as “The Karate Kid”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “The Ten Commandments”, “Braveheart”, “Dances with Wolves”, “Rudy”, “Spartacus”, “The Sound of Music”, “Star Wars” and even “Gone with the Wind”. “When You Wish Upon a Star” is #7 in the greatest movie songs list and the movie is #2 on the list of animated films after “Snow White”. Words of elegance, complexity and beauty describe this film. It has an important theme also with a good story, great characters and new technologies. There is a good mix between American and Italian influence. In many ways, “Pinocchio” is flawless when you consider that it was released in 1940. It is my favorite film from that year.

4.5 Stars