Pinocchio

1940 "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
7.5| 1h28m| G| en| More Info
Released: 23 February 1940 Released
Producted By: Walt Disney Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://movies.disney.com/pinocchio
Synopsis

When loving Geppetto creates a wooden puppet, his wish is granted when it comes to life as a little wooden boy named Pinocchio. With his faithful friend and conscience Jiminy Cricket by his side, Pinocchio, embarks on fantastic adventures that his bravery, loyalty and honesty until triumphs in his triumphs in his quest for his heart's desire: to become a real boy.

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Reviews

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
Sober-Friend This is by far my favorite "Disney" film. I was a small child when I first saw this at the Drive-in with my family in 1971. It is still one of my favorite childhood memories. This film is about a puppet coming to life. He is aided by a cricket who is his conscience. If "Pinocchio" acts brave worthy and unselfish he will then become a real boy. His journey to become a real boy is feast for your "eyes and ears"This film is a masterpiece. Any frame of the film you could blow up and hang as art. There are not many "perfect" films however "Pinocchio" is one of the few that are perfect.
Mrbrown43 The year is 1940; the second film by Walt Disney is released. After the surprise success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Disney was hoping for another movie that would be just as well received financially and critically, just like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (international gloss of $6.5 million against a $1.49 million budget) so Pinocchio had the daunting task of following in the footsteps of what many then and now called the mother of animated feature films but also turn a profit as the world falls into the madness of World War 2. Needless to say while Pinocchio was a moderate critical success that the time and was massive box office bomb with Disney getting only $1 million against a $2.289 million dollars. Time has been kind to Pinocchio however with it gradually getting it's money back and earned critical acclaim with a 100% like on Rotten Tomatoes ( a grade shared by Mary Poppins which would come out in 1964) does it deserve this much love and admiration? Well.....yes. Yes it does. The story of Pinocchio is much in the same vain as its predecessor, a simple story with good morals and characters. Geppetto (Christian Rub)is a toy maker living in what I can assume is mid to late 1800s France, he is lonely and dreams of a child of his own. One night he wishes upon a star and as result the magical Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) brings Geppetto's most recent puppet to life. Now Pinocchio (Dikie Jones) has to prove to the Blue Fairy that he is truthful, honest and unselfish in order to become a real boy. To help Pinocchio achieve this goal a cricket called Jiminy Cricket becomes his conscience a sort of guide through the real world. The main star of Pinocchio is the animation and artwork; the backgrounds are lush and highly detailed. They add to the magical atmosphere and make you warm and fuzzy as a result. The animation itself is typical late 1930s-early 1940s smooth and fantastically animated with tons of visual personality. Such as how Honest John (Walter Catlett) reads the school book upside down tells us that he is stupid and overconfident, Geppetto's cat is another example of this. The cat never said a word yet I feel I know everything about him. Another thing about the animation is the physical and visual comedy which is perfectly timed and thought out; my example I gave with Honest John is genuinely funny and is delivered with some nuance, all the jokes are delivered with subtlety and respect for the viewers intelligence, something a lot of children's movies throughout the years since Disney's creation have struggled to understand and have suffered as a result. It would be unfair of me to talk about the performances, they are all flawless and Dikie Jones deserves special mention as he is totally believable as Pinocchio, considering that Dikie Jones was only 11 years old at the time of playing the part. I cannot find anything wrong with his performance or any of the other actors. Pinocchio, much like Snow White has its morals told in simple but smart ways that both children and adults can relate to on some level. I do not need to explain why Please Island and the children turning into Donkey's are not only memorable and intelligent in delivering its message. The film is also not afraid to go to some dark places, the kids transforming into donkeys and the Ringmaster are only a few moments where the movie gets really dark and almost disturbing especially for a family friendly movie. However this is not a negative for the movie, the dark moments shine the happier moments all the brighter. In fact I cannot find any flaws in this film, this movie is almost perfect.Pinocchio is one of the best animated films out there, a classic that has stood the test of time. At times harrowing other times whimsical Pinocchio is an artistic marvel with themes and messages that will last forever.
grantss Jiminy Cricket finds himself at the home of Geppetto, a simple carpenter and toy-maker. Geppetto is old and his only company is his cat, Figaro, and goldfish, Cleo. He has made a toy puppet, Pinocchio, and wishes that the puppet was a real boy. To his astonishment, this comes true. Pinocchio now sets about behaving like a real boy, with Jiminy as his guide and conscience, but the novelty of being a wooden boy soon attracts the attention of some unscrupulous characters.Sweet, fun movie. Iconic too - one of the first movies you associate with Disney. Gave the world "When you wish upon a star", pretty much the Disney anthem.Not perfect though. After a wonderful start it does degenerate into a rambling adventure from a point. Not quite as profound or emotional as some other Disney movies, eg Bambi.Still a great watch though and ideal for all ages.
Michael_Elliott Pinocchio (1940) **** (out of 4)Disney's second feature tells the classic story of an elderly toy maker who makes a wooden puppet he calls Pinocchio. Before bed the old man wishes that he had a real boy and for that the fairy godmother brings the wooden doll to life but before he can become a real boy he must prove himself to be good.It's funny to think that upon its original release PINOCCHIO really didn't do that well at the box office and it ended up really hurting the studio. Of course when the film is discussed today it is considered one of the studio's best and most loved films and there's no question that there's really nothing like it. The story has been told countless times by a variety of people but nothing has come close to the magic of this movie.I use the term magic because when you get older and view this movie you can't help but be rather amazed at what all it contains. Of course there's the sweet side of the older man wanting a boy of his own and then there's the side of a puppet wanting to become a real boy. Both of these characters are great as is the Jiminy Cricket character who adds some nice laughs. Not only do you have the cute and charming side but there's also a very dark side to the film.It's funny but many people call this one of the scariest movies they've ever seen and you can read stories about how this movie traumatized young children. The scenes at Pleasure Island where kids are stolen from their families and turned into donkeys is just so dark yet at the same time you can't help but appreciate the message. Finally, there's the action inside the whale, which just adds to a great little sequence full of adventure and fun. Throw in the "When You Wish Upon a Star" song and you've really got one of the most complete Disney movies out there. As you'd expect, the animation from these original Disney features is wonderful and I really loved the terrific detail. Of course animation improved over the years but there's still something special and unique to these original Disney movies. PINOCCHIO is clearly one of the studio's best.