Each Christmas, my wife and I give each other a tree ornament which best sums up significant events or favorite things in the other’s life. This year, she gave me a Hallmark sculpture of Gepetto and his boy puppet from Disney’s "Pinocchio." She couldn’t have picked a better ornament.
"Pinocchio" has always been one of my most "significant events and favorite things." I’m not sure when I first saw the 1940 cartoon—was it in the theater? On TV? Or did I get a Pinocchio coloring book 30 Christmases ago and fall in love the beauty of the line drawings then? The memory is fuzzy, but one thing’s for certain: I’ve always loved this cartoon. Last night (ironically, 12 hours before I opened my ornament), I sat down with my family and watched "Pinocchio" for the first time in years…and fell in love all over again.
It’s a simple tale of a poor, childless woodcarver named Gepetto who lives a lonely life with his cat, goldfish and a hundred animated clocks. One day, after putting the finishing touches on his newest marionette, he wishes upon a star and asks for a real son. The star is really the Blue Fairy in disguise (a shimmering blonde who was, I am certain, every young boy’s romantic fantasy). The Fairy animates the puppet and says she’ll turn him into a real boy…as long as he lives a straight and true life. She also christens a vagabond cricket named Jiminy to serve as his conscience. The rest of the all-too-short film follows Pinocchio and Jiminy through a Pilgrim’s Progress of greed, temptation and ultimate redemption. It’s a carefully-constructed morality tale and as a child, I swallowed it whole and took it to heart. No way would I ever end up like one of the jackass boys of Pleasure Island!
Disney is fond of slapping the masterpiece label on its cartoons—in most cases, it’s 90 percent marketing and 10 percent true art. But in my mind, this is the one that best deserves the title. Every generation has a favorite Disney cartoon it grew up with. When I was a child, "101 Dalmatians" and "The Jungle Book" were my particular faves. I suppose it’s "The Lion King" and "The Little Mermaid" our kids will remember with misty eyes 30 years from now.
The Disney studio released "Pinocchio" three years after its first feature-length cartoon, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The earlier feature was revolutionary and a charming little tale; but if "Snow White" plowed the ground, then "Pinocchio" fertilized it with an obvious improvement in color, voice characterization, story and (most especially) song. Yes, "When You Wish Upon a Star" has been overplayed so much it’s now the national anthem of Orlando, Florida, but it justly deserves its Oscar. My other favorite tunes (and favorite moments) are "I Got No Strings" and "Give a Little Whistle." I bounced along with them as a child and, last night, the springs were squeaking on my couch as I hummed along.
Watching "Pinocchio" again as an adult, I paid attention to some things I might have missed as a child who was overwhelmed with its magic. For instance, I noticed how Lampwick, the bad boy who tempts Pinocchio to sin at Pleasure Island, so closely resembles Mickey Rooney. I noticed how Pleasure Island can still be a very frightening place—even to a 37-year-old grouch. I noticed how Disney gets so much expression out of the film’s nonverbal characters like Cleo the goldfish and Figaro the cat. I noticed that Jiminy Cricket doesn’t look anything like a cricket at all.
There is not a boring moment in all of "Pinocchio." The story moves swiftly along, like an illustrated Sunday School lesson, moving from point to point with fluid animation. Even the delightful songs are seamlessly integrated into the narrative (unlike some other Disney "masterpieces" where plot comes to a halt so characters can sing about the colors of the wind). "Pinocchio" is filled to the gills with enough laughter and terror to keep everyone in the household entertained.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of "Pinocchio" is the loving attention the Disney animators paid to the backgrounds. Gepetto’s workshop is an enchanting fantasyland of carved wood, whistles and the funniest clocks you’ll ever find. The colors, shapes and textures are truly eye-popping.
The underwater sequence where Pinocchio sets off to find his father (castaway in the belly of Monstro the whale) is another high point in the history of animation. As the puppet and his cricket conscience walk around the ocean floor, the scene turns blurry and bubbly. Even their voices, as they call for Gepetto, sound like they’re gargling and talking at the same time. It’s detailed, lovingly-crafted moments like these that make "Pinocchio" the best cartoon ever made.
There is so much to enjoy about "Pinocchio" that I’m almost at a loss for words. And I guess that’s proof it fulfills the aim of all great entertainment: it takes the words right out of your mouth.
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