The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)

One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Barron

Writers:

Sherry Mills (screenplay), Steve Barron (screenplay),

Stars:

Martin Landau, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Geneviève Bujold

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Landau	...	Geppetto
Jonathan Taylor Thomas	...	Pinocchio (voice)
Geneviève Bujold	...	Leona
Udo Kier	...	Lorenzini
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Felinet
Rob Schneider	...	Volpe
Corey Carrier	...	Lampwick
Marcello Magni	...	Pastry shop baker
Dawn French	...	Baker's wife
Richard Claxton	...	Saleo
Griff Rhys Jones	...	Tino
John Sessions	...	Professor
Jean-Claude Drouot	...	Magistrate
Jean-Claude Dreyfus	...	Foreman
Teco Celio	...	Henchman

Storyline

One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he has to learn to act responsibly. This film shows you the adventures on which he learns valuable lessons.

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Plot Keywords:

pinocchio | slow motion | children | based on novel | independent film | 

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Taglines:

A new angle on the classic tale... and that's no lie!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Family | Adventure | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA France Germany Czech Republic

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio

Filming Locations:

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

JPY 39,648,400 (Japan) (20 December 1996)

Gross:

JPY 132,354,100 (Japan) (17 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Savoy Pictures, Kushner-Locke Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 90 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wallace Shawn was originally set to voice Pepe but was taken over by David Doyle, though the trailer for the film features Pepe with Shawn's voice and Shawn is even credited in the trailer.

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Quotes

Lorenzini: Act like a Jackass, If you have the nerve. Drink up the water, get what you deserve. Be wicked, be naughty. Come drink from my fountain, then I'll be rich, king of the mountain!

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Connections

Version of Pinocchio (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Hold On To Your Dream (with orchestra)"
Music and Lyrics by Stevie Wonder
Lead vocal by Stevie Wonder
Pinocchio's voice: Sterling Proffer

User Reviews

Not in the same depth as the Disney version, but it's apparently more faithful to the original story

Several years ago, Disney released their second animated feature length film Pinocchio in 1940, based on a book by Carlo Collodi and was considered as one of their most darkest films ever made before The Black Cauldron (which became a failure for Disney in 1985). It was also well-received by critics and people all over the world as one of the best films that touched their hearts since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Years later, New Line Cinema made their own adaptation of the story and it got seriously panned by critics while resulting in bombing at the box office, but some people actually liked it and I'm one of those people. Sadly, I never read the book, but I'm planning to someday.

I used to like this as a kid, but as a young adult, this isn't in the same depth as the Disney version. It's pacing is pretty slow at times, but the stiff character animation of Jiminy Cricket and the underused villain are even bigger flaws than the pacing. Flaws aside, this is a pretty good adaptation. In fact, it's actually more faithful to the book compared to the Disney version. Don't get me wrong. Their version had charm and darkness that wasn't presented here, but this version has some elements from the book. With that said, there are some good aspects that made this worth-watching.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas' voice over for Pinocchio made him likable as did Martin Landau who brought sadness to his role as Gepetto. David Doyle did great as Jiminy Cricket despite it's stiff character animation and Rob Schneider and Bebe Neuwirth did very decent Volpe and Felinet. Udo Kier, although underused, did great as the villain Lorenzini. The cast isn't the only strongest aspect, however. The mixture of animation and live-action with the help of the Muppet creator, Jim Henson, captures the spirit of the book perfectly well and the CGI effects on Pinocchio is creative to look at you can feel like thanking the company for doing such a fine job. The visuals are magnificent and the cinematography is imaginative. Rachel Portman's music is dynamic and fitted quite well with the movie's slow moments and the pop songs, although not the greatest, are at least worth-listening to.

The Adventures of Pinocchio may not be the kind of family movie you've expected it to be, but due to it's faithfulness to the story with a likable cast, fantastic visuals, and solid CGI effects, this is a worth-watchable film to not only fans of the book, but to families young and old.