Forest Gump, Gone with the Wind….Pinocchio? Yep, it’s up there and let me tell you why.
Growing up I felt alone in my allegiance as my peers would often confidently say “It’s the Lion King—that’s the bombest Disney movie ever!” as I would coyly tell them my favorite was Pinocchio. Now I feel like shouting mine out like all my Lion kind loyalists did. I usually hold back on making sweeping generalizations and black/white statements but it’s fun to throw caution to the wind and instead of saying Pinocchio is “one of the greatest,” just saying “the greatest. Period.” Because that’s the title Pinocchio deserves.
It’s amazing the details and nuances that one picks up after watching a Disney movie as an adult, versus when they were a child. I know I’ve always had an appreciation for Pinocchio from a young age. I even had the opportunity to tour Pinocchio Land in Italy when my mom took me and my sister to Europe in 1996. Now, at 35 years old, I watched it for the first time in years and it only cements my appreciation more. I was trying to get my 4 year old neice to watch it and she was fighting against it—5 minutes in to the movie she was sold! In two weeks time she had watched it another 3 times. As an adult you pick up so much more detail and “get” the nuances of certain situations that you couldn’t grasp as child. Below are 7 reasons why I think Pinoke got it goin’ on…
UNDERDOG STATUS
What adds dimension to a movie’s legacy, I believe, is it’s underdog status. A lot of movies perform underwhelming at the box office, only to push forward like the little engine that could and create cult following status years later. Most Americans rediscovered the greatness of Pinocchio years after its release. It was an underdog in making its name in the Disney catalogue throughout the 20th century, much attributed to its premier release date in 1940, overshadowed by the onslaught of WWII. It was re-released several times throughout the decades and that had a profound impact on it earning so much respect and notoriety over the years.
LESSONS LEARNED > ROMANCE
What sets this Disney movie apart from the others is that there is no romance in the plot or sub plot. With so many princesses and princes in movies, Pinocchio is a reprieve from even the smallest hint of love sap—although I am curious to see if they come out with a sequel and Pinocchio has a wooden girl love interest? There are very few movies that enrapture us without romance being in the plot line. The same goes with music. That’s what I liked about Alannis Morisette, half her songs were singing about LIFE itself—not love. Pinocchio warms the heart in different way than a romantic plot would.
THE ANTOGONISTS
In Pinocchio there were a whopping 4 antagonists: Honest John, Stromboli, The Coachman, and Monstro the whale. All colorful and unique, I think it is a very impressive feat develop these characters through the different trials that Pinocchio faces. I can’t think of another Disney movie that so brilliantly incorporates several antagonists into it’s film.
STROMBOLI
Not named after the rich savory Italian turnover—that food name was created years later in the 1950s!—but rather an Italian volcanic island off the coast of Sicily. Either or, his character was rich n’ saucy like the turnover and volcanic in temper like the Island. He was the charismatic puppeteer showman. The blabbering tangents he branched off in to Italian are so cossplay of a real-life eccentric man—that “tick” enriches his character. I especially love the scene when he’s counting his money at the end the show and he’s eating raw onions like an O.G. whilst Pinocchio is peculiarly drawing tears over the onion’s presence—and he’s still a wooden boy, not human yet.
EMPHASIS ON CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT & ATMOSPHERE
One will relish in the first 20 minutes of Pinocchio as a slow crockpot simmering with goodness while protagonist family of Geppetto, Jimmy, Figaro, Cleo and Pinocchio are introduced. I adore the scenes with all the cuckoo clocks of such ornate detail. As a creator, whenever I watch movies I always empathize with behind the scenes development and how much work it must have taken to do particular scenes. The tedious nature of creating animation in the 1940’s must have been so primitive—thus, more hours and finely-tuned calculations put into the making of this masterpiece. With Pinocchio, the animators went to town with the craftsmanship of Geppetto’s clocks and as a visual person I thoroughly enjoyed these scenes.
METAPHORS
As small yet powerful as your conscious or intuition is, so is the character of Jiminy Cricket. The little critter effortlessly asserts himself as Pinocchio’s conscious after the wishing star fairy comes to visit Geppetto. One off the best sidekicks in a Disney movie, I think Jiminy steals the show from Pinocchio throughout most of the movie. The donkey boys are also a cautionary tale of what, literally, can happen when making a jackass of yourself.
OUTLANDISH SCENERIOS INTRODUCED SO MATTERAFFACTLY:
There are so many scenes that you step back and are like WHAT?—that is so ridiculous! I mean, I know this is pure fiction to start but confidently showing how smooth the transitions are in so many of these potent scenes creates the hallmark of greatness about this movie: from plucking up Pinocchio to perform for Stromboli, to the scene of the scheming Honest Jon, Giddeon and the Coachman in the pub that one night, Treasure Island, to—the best one—Geppetto going to look for Pinoke under the ocean because he got swallowed by Monstro.
I know a lot of people are cancelling their Disney accounts right now but try not to throw the baby out with the bath water—especially with movies from their Golden Era of the 20th Century. Their classic line of productions were grounded in truth and reality, good morals for kids. Ever since I saw Pinocchio at the age of 5 it stuck out to me more than any subsequent Disney movie thereafter. From a young age I could sense the hard work that went into the animation of all those ornate clocks and the dynamic storyline. That is what makes Pinocchio the greatest in my heart.
The Rescuers Down Under, Fern Gully, Goofy Movie, The Brave Little Toaster and The Emperor’s New Groove are my other favorite animated movies!
