Pinocchio

My Rating : 9/10

This is a very complete movie. The artwork is perfect and colorful, everything is carefully drawn and painted. The film is a clever combination of some of the funniest moments in cinema history and some of the darkest and most sinister ever. Animation is terrific. The soundtrack is excellent, with lots of musical pieces to enjoy.

This is an Italian tale, so it takes place in Italy, which is great, for it benefits from a certain Italian touch of film-making and Italian charm.

'Pinocchio' benefits from one of the finest collection of songs to grace a Disney cartoon; from 'I Got No Strings', to 'An Actor's Life For Me', and (best of all) 'When You Wish Upon A Star' - brilliant sung by 'Ukelele Ike' Edwards as Jiminy Cricket.

This cute adaptation from Carlo Corolli's classic novel adds pets with the 'aw' factor (cat and fish), as well as a truly scary sequence involving donkeys. The characters are all memorable and Pinocchio is convincing in his move from a wooden puppet to a real boy, even in cartoon form. Good voice talent from Evelyn Venable as the Blue Fairy too, especially in the bits where Pinocchio can't help revealing he isn't telling the truth!

Short, sweet, funny, and involving, 'Pinocchio' is worth an hour of anybody's time, young or old.

When I - and I assume, most people - think of Pinocchio, we think of his nose growing longer when he tells a lie. Yet, that is only one scene in this movie - the first one ever done on this famous fictional character, I believe.

This is strictly a fantasy-adventure story, not a parable or a full story about lying, although that obviously is one of the messages. There are several moral messages in here, so it's a worthwhile story for kids to see.

Sometimes I think these totally-innocent first few Disney efforts (Bambi, Fantasia) are still better than all the stuff they have put out since.

The colorful scenes are another attraction. particularly in the beginning in the old man's house with all the fancy clocks and toys. That part is better than much of the adventure story, as it turns out. The story lags a bit in the middle and then picks up with a rousing finish with a big whale.

Overall, I enjoyed "Jiminy Cricket" the best and also appreciated that they didn't overdo the songs in here: short and sweet, and not that many. They don't make 'em (normally) like they used to!!

It certainly is interesting reading other viewers comments. I can't imagine anyone being "bored" with this film. But then, I don't even go to movies anymore, because I find those made today to be either horrific and traumatizing, or brain-numbingly stoopid and poorly made. Pinocchio, on the other hand, is the ultimate in everything that is "movie" : camera-work, special effects, background music, musical numbers, characterization, story development with narrative sweep, high-drama and low-comedy (but never Lockerroom-low), color, motion, editing, use of sound, artwork, audience manipulation... and in the end, life-affirming! I cannot possibly recommend this movie too highly. In my opinion, considering cinematic effectiveness, Pinocchio rates way up with Citizen Kane, Sherlock Jr., and Battleship Potemkin.

A very wonderful film - one I remembered from my childhood (but then again so are most of the classic Disney films). Pinocchio is a type of film the entire family can love. Nothing offensive about this motion picture, quite the contrary there are good lessons to be learned from Pinocchio. Pinocchio learns what it takes to be a good *human*. So the film is good for young kids.

This movie also contains another one of Walt Disney's most memorable songs: When You Wish Upon A Star sung by Cliff Edwards.

If you like Disney movies like "Peter Pan" or "Peter and the Wolf" then you might like Pinocchio.

8.5/10