Once Upon A Disney #2: Pinocchio

Goodbye dwarfs and magic mirrors, hello wooden puppets, smoking 10-year-olds and man-eating whales. You guessed it – the second Walt Disney Animated Classic is none other than...

Pinocchio (1940) 

'Shall I make him sing The Greatest Showman?'

Three years after the critically acclaimed triumph of Snow White, Disney had to raise their game, and with the outbreak of WW2, audiences were in need of a new dose of escapism. Pinocchio, with its Alpine European setting and chocolate box houses, seems to capture a more simple, idyllic time with rose tinted glasses. However, as the twists of the story unfold, Pinocchio is far from an innocent fairytale. 

In fact, Disney's second feature film is a not-so-subtle moral fable, and a pretty dark one at that. The set-up: our titular character acts as a biblical Adam, created as a blank canvas by adorable old puppet master Geppetto and brought to life by a divine force (in this case, the very glamorous Blue Fairy). It's up to Pinocchio to make the right choices and embody three values to become a 'real boy' – Bravery, Loyalty, and Honesty. Seems simple enough. 

'It's LeviOsa, not LeviosAR'

Enter a positive rogue's gallery of villains to stop him at every turn. Like, SO many. In Snow White, she manages to escape death once and then have a nice little vacation with the dwarfs for an hour or so before the evil stepmother finds her again. In Pinocchio, he literally skips about two metres out of the front door before he's accosted by a sneaky-ass fox luring him into an exploitative theatrical career. That 'Hi Diddly Dee' song is catchy though. 

From then on, our little wooden-headed boy just doesn't catch a break. From death-threats by theatre owner Stromboli, to being lured into a slave trade that turns naughty boys into donkeys, this film is extremely perilous, and explores some shockingly adult themes. Do you remember when Pinocchio and a group of children get uproariously drunk and take huge drags on cigars? Yeah, they did THAT. 

Always let your conscience be your guide 🎶

Pinocchio carries much more complexity than Snow White, in both the volume and motivations of the characters, and the heaviness of the plot. One crucial element holds it together though, and that's a little green insect – Jiminy Cricket. Jiminy acts as narrator, moral compass, and sidekick to Pinocchio (or 'Pinoch', as he cheekily calls him), and seamlessly guides us through the story. He adds a brightness and level of hope to what might otherwise seem a genuinely bleak movie. As long as Jiminy has faith, so do we. And he also sets the stage for Disney sidekicks to come, from Timothy Mouse, to Sebastian, to Olaf. 

'Consider yourself, one of us!' 

Story and characters aside, the sheer detail in the animation has already come on leaps and bounds since Snow White, no more so than in the opening scenes in Geppetto's workshop. The intricacies of each cuckoo clock going through its motions at the same time, their mechanisms providing contrapuntal rhythms along to the score, is mind-boggling, even to watch in the present day. The subtleties of Pinocchios' movements as a puppet, and how these change throughout his journey, is inspired. And let's not forget the how the waves wash over the characters and seem to engulf the entire screen in that terrifying Monstro sequence. 

I can hear this image

Despite – or perhaps, because of – the darkness throughout Pinocchio's story, the final scene is one of the most iconic in the entire Disney canon. The image of Geppetto crying over the child he thinks he's lost before he even got to know him, followed by that sparkle of light as he's reanimated and becomes a 'real boy,' is truly magical. And not just because it's a sweet moment in itself, but because it's a fitting payoff for a turbulent and dangerous journey of self-discovery, where Pinocchio really did have to prove his worth. Wishing Upon A Star gets you part of the way, but sheer grit completes the quest. 

Villain rating(s): 

Honest John: 3/5
Stromboli: 4/5
Coachman: 4/5
Monstro the Whale: 5/5

Best Song: When You Wish Upon A Star ✨

Disney Detail: In the very opening scene where the Pinocchio book is opened, the books in the background include 'Peter Pan' and 'Alice In Wonderland,' two other stories that were adapted by Disney during his lifetime.

Why it's a Classic: Aside from having the most iconic song in Disney history, Pinocchio is a beautifully crafted classic fairytale which delights, scares and truly makes you believe in magic.