Pinocchio et l'Empereur de la nuit

I watched this movie when I was little (can't remember exactly how old I was), and I just recently got hold of a copy and thought I'd watch it again (brings back memories, ya know).

It's supposed to be a sequel to Disney's Pinocchio. The characters are similar to the ones in the Disney movie - all except for the Emperor of the Night (I don't know where they got him from). He seemed a little bit too much to throw into this story (and he might be a little too scary for the really young ones). I mean, what kind of demonic overlord would want anything to do with an has-been puppet? (The story tries to explain this, but doesn't do a very good job.) Anyway, the kids will probably enjoy it, so rent it for them if you get the chance (if there's nothing better to get, that is).

Yeah, I am one of those people who are more familiar with Disney's version of the tale of wooden puppet brought to life, but I had to see this after hearing about it for a long time. Basically Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a movie made by Filmation (the same company that made some low budget cartoons for TV, most notably, Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids and the original He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe cartoon and its sister series, She-Ra: Princess of Power, among others), and it has gotten a cult following over the years since its theatrical release was not so well recieved.

Basically, the story is set one year after Pinocchio becomes a real boy, and he gets in trouble with his father after trading a jeweled music box that was a gift to the mayor for a fake ruby from con artists Scallywag and Igor, a raccoon and monkey duo serving as the film's version of Honest John and Gideon. The kid runs away, and what results is an adventure where he goes to try to get the music box back.

Yeah, this film has a lot of similarities to the Disney original. So much, that Disney actually tried and sued Filmation, but failed because the original story was out of copright. Other than Scallywag and Igor, we have Gee Willickers, a wooden glow bug brought to life to serve as a replacement for Jiminy Cricket, and Puppetino, a puppetmaster working at the carnival, actually recognizes Pinocchio from a show he saw, which could tie in to him being the film's version of Stromboli, the puppet master of the Disney film. Other than that, the film actually introduces new characters, like Twinkle, a female puppet who serves as Pinocchio's love interest, Liutenant Grumblebee, a bumbebee, and The Emperor Of The Night, the main antagonist (who looks like Filmation redid some animation cels of Prime Evil from their Ghostbusters cartoon). Also, the voice cast has some notable actors, like James Earl Jones as the Emperor of the Night, Don Knotts as Gee Willickers, Johnathan Harris as Grumblebee, and even Frank Welker, a man who has done a lot of characters in animation, as Igor.

As for the story, it is okay. Supposedly set after happily ever after, I believe this has no connection to the Disney film at all, despite certain characters being replacements of characters from the Disney films. There are some scary moments in this film (like the scene where Puppetino captures Pinocchio as he's turning back into a puppet due to taking his freedom for granted, with the creepy puppets and disturbing music played), but I think it's only scary if you're not an older person as I am (it never scared me, yet I could still never brave the scene of Lampwick turning into a donkey in the Disney film). The film has its fair share of high points and low points, but it has Pinocchio learn lessons about freedom and responsibility. It's an okay movie, but may not be suitable for younger viewers due to the use of scary imagery that may or may not give them nightmares.

I grew up watching the Disney film, and also love the book by Carlo Collodi. This is a wonderful underrated gem from 1987, that is a lot of fun. If I had to decide which is better, Disney's "Pinocchio" or "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night", the Disney film but only marginally.

For one thing, the animation is very impressive. The backgrounds are surprisingly detailed and the character movements are convincing. The animation on the Emperor of the Night is absolutely brilliant. Also, the songs are fun and memorable. "Love is the Light Inside Your Heart" is not only haunting but a genuine tearjerker. "Neon Cabaret", while more a background song is also great, while "You're a Star" is wonderfully upbeat.

Other advantages are an engaging, dark and heartwarming story that keeps to the spirit of the book, a strong script and good characters, including the hilarious Igor and Puppetino(the part when he turns Pinocchio into a puppet was quite frightening). Pinocchio is engaging enough, and the Emperor of the Night while very intense is a great villain. Oh and the Good Fairy is gorgeous.

The voice acting is top notch, you don't hear much of James Earl Jones but once again he does an awesome job as the voice of the Emperor of the Night. Tom Bosley is surprisingly good as Geopetto, while William Windom is unrecognisable as Puppetino. Also Frank Welker deserves credit for his hysterical performance as Igor. In conclusion, this is wonderful and something quite special. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This film will go down as one of my all-time favorites. Filmation wasn't known for phenomenal animation, but after watching the Masters of the Universe series again, I wasn't expecting too much from them on THIS one- I was COMPLETELY blown away! The animation is PHENOMENAL, coming from Filmation. The Emperor looks awesome, and the music scores are EXCELLENT. In my opinion, this film never received the marketing blitz it truly deserved. Personally, I like THIS film better than DISNEY'S Pinocchio, and this film is actually not a continuation of the DISNEY film, but of the Adventures of Pinocchio animated series. Every time I see this film, I love it even more. A real winner in my book! :)

A creepy mysterious carnival comes to town, Pinocchio (voiced by Scott Grimes) has just celebrated his first birthday as a human has been given a special assignment from his dad Gheppeto (voiced by Tom Bosley) to return an important jewel box back to the mayor and has been granted the power of freedom from his Fairy Godmother (voiced by Rickie Lee Jones) as he must be responsible for it or else he'll end up a puppet again. He gets swindled by a scandalous Raccoon named Scalawag (voiced by Ed Asner) and his monkey assistant Igor (voiced by Frank Welker) for a worthless fake ruby, it upsets his dad so much that he decides to run away to join the carnival for he falls for the hypnotic singing of a beautiful female puppet named Twinkle (voiced by Lana Beeson) over there and is tricked by the evil Puppetino (voiced by William Windon) as he is magically changed back into a puppet. However, Pinocchio does escape as he looks for the two scumbags that swindled him for they go after the traveling carnival to get the box back and end up in the nightmarish Las Vegas-esquire hellish realm of the empire of the night ruled by the evil Emperor (Voiced by James Earl Jones).

Co-starring the voices of Jonathan Harris and Don Knotts, this is a highly underrated and hugely entertaining animated fantasy from Filmation (The studios behind "He-Man", "Fat Albert", "Star Trek Animated" and "She-Ra") for i believe this is their best movie besides "Starchaser: Legend of Orin" and "The Secret of the Sword". The film does have a few good songs such as the haunting "Love is the light inside your heart" by Rickie Lee Jones, the upbeat "Neon Carbret" and finally the most fun song of all "You're a Star".

I remembered back in 1987 when i was 5 on Christmas night when i lived in St. Louis, my mom took me to see this movie at a shopping mall theater and it sure scared the crap out of me. But now i love it for it's one of my favorite animated movies ever! the animation is just breathtaking here considering it's an improvement over any Filmation animated effort and the film really gets dark with such moments like the absolutely horrifying sequence where Pinocchio changes back into a puppet as he's surrounded by puppets for it will scare the hell out of kids considering it almost escape the "PG" rating plus the Emperor himself is quite an awesome villain here.

If you love animation and good fantasy stories then this is a must see! it's a rare forgotten 80's animated diamond in the rough.

Also recommended: "The Black Cauldron", "Rock & Rule", "Fire & Ice", "Wizards", "The Dark Crystal", "Aladdin", "Big Trouble in Little China", "The Phantom Tollbooth", "Transformers: The Movie", "The Wizard of Oz", "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs", "The Great Mouse Detective", "Sleepy Hollow", "The Corpse Bride", "Willy Wonka and The Chocholate Factory", "Return to Oz", "Oliver & Company", "The Little Mermaid", "The Last Unicorn", "The Secret of NIMH", "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", "Mulan", "Spirited Away", "Making Contact (a.k.a. Joey)".