Written by Ted Sears And Otto Englander And Webb Smith And William Cottrell And Joseph Sabo And Erdman Penne And Aurelius Battaglia
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen And Hamilton Luske And Bill Roberts And Norman Ferguson And Jack Kinney And Wilfred Jackson And T. Hee
Blue Fairy: "Now, remember, Pinocchio: be a good boy. And always let your conscience be your guide."
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the 2022 version of this movie but I realised that I hadn't reviewed the original, so I'm amending that right now. Yes, another childhood classic to go over.
You've got lonely toymaker Gepetto (Christian Rub) who carves himself a wooden boy named Pinocchio (Dick Jones). Pinocchio's brought to life by the Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) and talking cricket Jiminy (Cliff Edwards) had the unenviable task of being Pinocchio's conscience.
Of course for a newly brought to life puppet child, Pinocchio was a little eaaily led astray. There was dodgy cat and fox duo Honest John (Walter Catlett) and Gideon the Cat (Mel Blanc) who managed to get Pinocchio the fame he wanted by being an act in Stromboli's (Charles Judels) puppet show.
Even though Pinocchio managed to get away from Stromboli's horrible grasp, his penchant for lying and mischievous behaviour continued to bite him. It's amusing as he found his nose growing every time he lied, even with the Blue Fairy seemingly exasperated by him.
There was also his encounter with the Coachman (Stuart Buchanan) on Pleasure Island. It's a horrifying sequence in which bad children found themselves turned into donkeys and the very thing that set Pinocchio on the straight and narrow.
The last act of the movie of course involved being eaten by a whale where Pinocchio reunited with Gepetto. The whale being called Monstro (Thurl Ravenscroft) and a sneeze being the thing to free everyone. As for Pinocchio, his quest to become a real boy ended exactly how you'd expect to end but it's earned.
- Gepetto also had a cat and a fish called Figaro and Cleo, who weren't in the original story.
- None of the actors are credited for the movie.
- Standout music: When You Wish Upon A Star, Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee and Ive Got No Strings.
- Chronology: Late 19th Century Italy.
Pinocchio is a tale about one's conscience and humanity, all through the prism of a live puppet learning about both with harsh lessons along the way. It's effectively done with a decent soundtrack and a slew of different obstacles. The Coachman remains one of the most terrifying villains though.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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