When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.
After being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.
When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.
With the help of a smooth talking tomcat, a family of Parisian felines set to inherit a fortune from their owner try to make it back home after a jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country.
Inventor Gepetto creates a wooden marionette called Pinocchio. His wish for Pinocchio to be a real boy is unexpectedly granted by a fairy. The fairy assigns Jiminy Cricket to act as Pinocchio's "conscience" and keep him out of trouble. Jiminy is not too successful in this endeavor and most of the film is spent with Pinocchio deep in trouble.Written by
Tim Pickett <quetzal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au>
In the midst of production, the entire Disney animation branch was also in the process of moving from its old home on Hyperion Avenue into new premises in Burbank. See more »
Goofs
In the pool game on Pleasure Island, the yellow 1-ball turns into a red 3-ball. See 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.
See more »
Crazy Credits
There are no end credits for this feature film. However, the credits are at the beginning. See more »
Alternate Versions
The 2009 Platinum Edition DVD (English mono and 5.1) omits two single lines of dialog: Jiminy Cricket's reassuring "Right!" to Pinocchio's utterance of his name during the song "Give a Little Whistle", and the "look out, Pinocch'!" a minute later. Even the subtitles and captions omit this line as well. Past releases, and even the 2009 Platinum Blu-ray (mono and 7.1), have the lines intact. Both of these lines are also intact in the Walt Disney Signature Collection release. See more »
Pinocchio was the only the second ever animated film made by Disney and should rightfully be considered a milestone for animation. The film is easily one of the company's best and has barely dated. It features some of their best work which includes wonderful animation, memorable characters and a really engaging story.
The plot sees inventor Geppetto create a wooden puppet named Pinocchio and he wishes for him to be real, the Blue Fairy decides to grant his wish. She gives Pinocchio a conscience in the form of a cricket called Jiminy to keep him out of trouble and if he behaves he can become a real boy. However Jiminy is given a difficult job as Pinocchio frequently faces the wrong types of temptation and it's an uphill struggle to avoid trouble. The plot is brilliant as it quickly moves from one sticky situation to another, never slowing long enough to be boring. The film has plenty of light and dark moments while talking about smart subject matter which keeps everyone entertained.
The characters are excellent. Pinocchio isn't the most interesting of leads but he's supposed to be naïve, curious and easily led astray much like any young boy so it's a successful role. Jiminy is a lot of fun, always trying and failing to keep Pinocchio in line. He's laid back but has his limits while his exasperation leads to good comedy and his kind nature makes him likable. Geppetto comes across as a kind man, while silent pets Figaro and Cleo have some very funny moments. Honest John and mostly mute Gideon are an excellent double team and the funniest comic pieces come from their slapstick as well as strange humour. Both Stromboli and the Coachman are two of Disney's most sinister villains, Stromboli being intimidatingly loud and the Coachman restrainedly creepy. The Blue Fairy is a pretty decent guide.
The animation is outstanding and some of the best Disney has ever done. When it wants things to be bright and cheerful it adds some beautiful scenery or colours, the scenes in Geppetto's house show that. While for the dark scenes it keeps a great gloomy and murky look, the Red Lobster Inn scene being prime example. A brilliant aspect to the film is the dark tone that it takes on. It never shy's away from the terrible things that can happen if you do wrong and can be rather frightening, the scenes of the kids turning into Donkeys at Pleasure Island and the whole climax with wild whale Monstro are now classic scary scenes. The fact that all the villains never get punished makes it different from the norm and it reflects real life in that way. The film does have a strong emotion impact, when it wants you to feel happy or sad or scared it makes you feel that way with ease whether it be via the artwork and the atmosphere. The music is superb too and the score itself is very memorable, the songs are fantastic as well as rightful classics including 'When You Wish Upon A Star' and 'An Actors Life For Me'.
Overall Pinocchio is by far one of Disney's finest films and is a combination of everything great about the company.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Pinocchio was the only the second ever animated film made by Disney and should rightfully be considered a milestone for animation. The film is easily one of the company's best and has barely dated. It features some of their best work which includes wonderful animation, memorable characters and a really engaging story.
The plot sees inventor Geppetto create a wooden puppet named Pinocchio and he wishes for him to be real, the Blue Fairy decides to grant his wish. She gives Pinocchio a conscience in the form of a cricket called Jiminy to keep him out of trouble and if he behaves he can become a real boy. However Jiminy is given a difficult job as Pinocchio frequently faces the wrong types of temptation and it's an uphill struggle to avoid trouble. The plot is brilliant as it quickly moves from one sticky situation to another, never slowing long enough to be boring. The film has plenty of light and dark moments while talking about smart subject matter which keeps everyone entertained.
The characters are excellent. Pinocchio isn't the most interesting of leads but he's supposed to be naïve, curious and easily led astray much like any young boy so it's a successful role. Jiminy is a lot of fun, always trying and failing to keep Pinocchio in line. He's laid back but has his limits while his exasperation leads to good comedy and his kind nature makes him likable. Geppetto comes across as a kind man, while silent pets Figaro and Cleo have some very funny moments. Honest John and mostly mute Gideon are an excellent double team and the funniest comic pieces come from their slapstick as well as strange humour. Both Stromboli and the Coachman are two of Disney's most sinister villains, Stromboli being intimidatingly loud and the Coachman restrainedly creepy. The Blue Fairy is a pretty decent guide.
The animation is outstanding and some of the best Disney has ever done. When it wants things to be bright and cheerful it adds some beautiful scenery or colours, the scenes in Geppetto's house show that. While for the dark scenes it keeps a great gloomy and murky look, the Red Lobster Inn scene being prime example. A brilliant aspect to the film is the dark tone that it takes on. It never shy's away from the terrible things that can happen if you do wrong and can be rather frightening, the scenes of the kids turning into Donkeys at Pleasure Island and the whole climax with wild whale Monstro are now classic scary scenes. The fact that all the villains never get punished makes it different from the norm and it reflects real life in that way. The film does have a strong emotion impact, when it wants you to feel happy or sad or scared it makes you feel that way with ease whether it be via the artwork and the atmosphere. The music is superb too and the score itself is very memorable, the songs are fantastic as well as rightful classics including 'When You Wish Upon A Star' and 'An Actors Life For Me'.
Overall Pinocchio is by far one of Disney's finest films and is a combination of everything great about the company.