Pinocchio (1940)
Written by Sears, et al.
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske
The early years of the Walt Disney Animation Studios is fraught with a huge financial pendulum: massive successes, like Snow White and Dumbo, and catastrophic failures, such as Fantasia and, surprisingly, Pinocchio. A financial disappointment during its first release, it wasn’t until the film was re-released in later years that the film began to return a profit to the studio.
Considering it’s rocky start, it’s potentially surprising to learn that Pinocchio is often cited by animation experts as being one of the best animated films ever created. Indeed, on Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rare 100% rating. While I don’t think I would put it quite that high on my own personal list, I found the film, which I hadn’t seen in well over 20 years, to be enjoyable, with, as usual, a few minor qualms.
First, the overall animation quality is much improved from Snow White. Detail abounds in every frame, and so many different locations are featured, and each seems completely natural within the world of the film. A major example, for me, of the improved animation, is huge jump in the quality of the lip sync. It’s still not quite perfect, but it is leaps and bounds over what was featured in Snow White.
Notice that the Blue Fairy looks more reminiscent of the Snow White style of animation than Pinocchio.
There’s an interesting animation choice in the film, in regards to the Blue Fairy. Her design and animation is much more reminiscent of the style of Snow White, almost to the point of being jarring. I honestly can’t decide if this is intentional or not, although I lean more towards the intentional: she is, by her nature, very separate from the rest of the characters, so the difference in animation style helps visually show that difference. If it is, in fact, intentional, I think it’s brilliant.
Almost 80 years later, still chilling…
A couple other animation notes: Jiminy Cricket’s animation is so wonderful and spot-on; his emotiveness comes through every moment he is on screen, and the animation performance is a tour de force for animator Ward Kimball. Additionally, the scene in which Lampwick, and later Pinocchio himself, begin turning into donkeys is genuinely chilling. 78 years later, and I still found myself getting a small case of goosebumps, and I knew it was coming! I can only imagine what the audiences’ reaction in 1940 would have been.
Music has always played a huge part of Disney Animation, and Pinocchio is no exception. With 2/3 of the amount of songs that were featured in Snow White, I find I enjoy the music here more than I did its predecessor. In particular, “When You Wish Upon a Star” is, to me, one of the most perfect songs in the Disney catalogue. It’s not my favorite (that spot is always rotating, to be quite honest), but it’s definitely in my top five, and always brings a little tear to my eye whenever I hear it.
But, there are some minor story issues, as well. First, why exactly does the Blue Fairy just make Jiminy Pinocchio’s conscience? There was no credentials, no references...just a gut feeling (which is wrong, as the VERY NEXT DAY Jiminy oversleeps and fails to prevent Pinocchio getting caught up with Honest John. Like, it’s been MAYBE 8 hours, and he is already failing). Clearly, the Blue Fairy needs a better application and hiring system.
Some other plot issues:
Why, after coming alive just a few hours before, is Pinocchio being made to go to school? Doesn’t Geppetto know that he’s going to be made fun of? And, at the very least, why is he sending him off ALONE? Geppetto, you need to be BETTER.
How can Pinocchio cry? He’s...made of wood. And, won’t he warp?
At one point, Pinocchio says, “I’d rather be smart than be an actor”. Ouch. I was a theater major, Pinocchio, RUDE.
Why does Monstro sneeze? Can whales sneeze? I don’t feel like that’s a thing.
One final animation issue I noticed, that occurs occasionally throughout the film, are cel animation shadows, between the animated subject and painted background. It wasn’t a huge distraction, but something I continually noticed.
Obviously, my issues with the film are quite minor, and I definitely enjoyed it much more than I didn’t. It’s a film that still holds up today, and I have a gut feeling that by the end of this marathon, Pinocchio might end up being in my top ten, if not even my top five.
FINAL GRADE: A-
