IMDb > Pinocchio (1940)
Pinocchio
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Pinocchio (1940) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 20)
Pinocchio (1940) -- Music Video #3: "Wish Upon A Star"
Pinocchio (1940) -- CT #1, post
Pinocchio (1940) -- Clip: Pinocchio Day
Pinocchio (1940) -- TV Spot: Finally w/combo tag
Pinocchio (1940) -- CT #1, pre

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   19,144 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Carlo Collodi (story)
Ted Sears (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Pinocchio on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 February 1940 (USA) more
Tagline:
Disney's all-time family classic is back ...No strings attached! [1987 re-release Australia] more
Plot:
A living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins more
NewsDesk:
(33 articles)
A Japanese superhero whose backside fires bullets. Cool
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 16 November 2009, 1:43 AM, PST)

Astro Boy Review
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 28 October 2009, 5:13 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
The Ultimate Disney Masterpiece more (92 total)

Cast

  (Cast)

Mel Blanc ... Gideon (voice) (uncredited)
Don Brodie ... Carnival Barkers (voice) (uncredited)
Walter Catlett ... J. Worthington Foulfellow (voice) (uncredited)
Marion Darlington ... Birds (voice) (uncredited)
Frankie Darro ... Lampwick (voice) (uncredited)
Cliff Edwards ... Jiminy Cricket (voice) (uncredited)
Dickie Jones ... Pinocchio (voice) (uncredited)
Charles Judels ... Stromboli / The Coachman (voice) (uncredited)
Jack Mercer ... Rough House Statue (voice) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Patricia Page ... Marionettes (voice) (uncredited)
Christian Rub ... Geppetto (voice) (uncredited)
Evelyn Venable ... The Blue Fairy (voice) (uncredited)
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lux Radio Theatre on the CBS network, with Cecil B. DeMille as the Presenter, broadcast a condensed versions of "Pinocchio" on Christmas Day, 1939. The program featured the performers who did the voices in the film. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Pinocchio is surrounded by sea horses, Jiminy Cricket rides up to him on another sea horse. After it neighs, Jiminy Cricket says, "Steady there, Nelly!" in a regular voice, suddenly his speaking voice switches back to the processing that created under-the-water sound that was used previously. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Jiminy Cricket: [after singing "When You Wish Upon a Star"] Pretty, huh? I'll bet a lot of you folks don't believe that, about a wish comin' true, do ya? Well, I didn't, either. Of course, I'm just a cricket singing my way from hearth to hearth, but let me tell you what made me change my mind.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
When You Wish Upon A Star more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
24 out of 26 people found the following comment useful.
The Ultimate Disney Masterpiece, 1 September 2002
Author: bbethel66 from Buffalo, NY

I think Pinocchio is Disney's best animated movie ever made (as already speculated by many other cartoon fans). The movie just so happens to be an artistic advancement over Snow White, the movie of which the Disney artists initiated their most expensive animation techniques at the time. Pinocchio is partially known as the film of which they successfully mastered the multi-plane camera filming, which gives the background art breathtaking strokes of realism.

Pinocchio has much more than beautiful artwork. It also has creative writing (borrowed respectively from the original novel), great character development, fresh humor, wonderful music, and emotional impact.

Every character, ranging from Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket to Stromboli, the Coachman, and Monstro, has helped make this a milestone in American filmography. I like Pinocchio, because his innocence is used instead of ignorance as the cause for his downfall in both incidents (first with Stromboli, and later with his trip to Pleasure Island). This personifies how many bad things we might do in life are derived from our GOOD intentions, instead of bad. But my favorite character would have to be Jiminy Cricket, who's probably the smartest character in this whole presentation.

The story itself is so emotionally compelling, one would wonder if Carlo Collodi used the Bible for a little inspiration. A lot of what we see in Pinocchio would seem like it. The protagonist (Pinocchio) is brought to life upon his dad's (Geppetto) wish, but must prove himself a good person before he can become a real boy. The one who witnesses his coming-to-life (Jiminy Cricket) is appointed his conscience by the life-bearer (The Blue Fairy). Pinoke is tempted to do bad, what seems good at the time (by Honest John, Gideon, Stromboli, and the Coachman), and befriends one who is eventually condemned from following the wrong path (Lampwick). Pinoke narrowly escapes from being completely condemned, and has to use his mind to save his father from the beast (Monstro). Along with Figaro & Cleo as supporting players, this storyline goes on and on bringing joy where there's joy, grief where there's grief, fear where there's fear, and so on, to the point of stimulating the notion that Pinocchio is a morality tale derived from the Bible. We may never know for sure.

Walt Disney has conquered the art of retelling classic novels more than twice, and here he especially succeeds with flying colors. Pinocchio went on to win 2 Academy Awards following its 1940 debut, and several other states of recognition as recently as the mid-1990's. This is also one of the many pieces of evidence proving how wonderful Walt was (despite scorn from cynics, serious critics and fun-hating intellectuals).

Pinocchio truly is a milestone, not just in American animation, but American filmography in general. But beware: the current Disney Studio has been churning out terrible sequels to vintage animated films. They already got Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Lady and the Tramp, and more are due in the near future. We must make sure that Disney doesn't destroy this movie. As I said in my Sleeping Beauty review, some people just don't know when to LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE. Again, Pinocchio is a masterpiece that has touched the hearts of the past few generations, and will continue to do the same for many future generations.

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