Monday, August 9, 2010

#3. Pinocchio (1940)


 DVD Synopsis: Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney's Pinocchio! Join Geppetto's beloved puppet with Jiminy Cricket as his guide on a thrilling quest that tests Pinocchio's bravery, loyalty and honesty, virtues he must learn to become a real boy. The one and only Pinocchio will live on forever in the heart of anyone who has wished upon a star.











Pinocchio must have been an amazing sight to behold in 1940. At that time, feature-length animation was still relatively fresh (it was Disney’s second feature film, following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938), and Pinocchio, with it’s brilliant use of color and stunning detail, was undoubtedly awe-inspiring for a pre-WWII movie-going public. 

This is what made Pinocchio memorable, but not what made it a classic. It is, and remains, timeless thanks to its well-told story of youth, friendship and responsibility, a trait that separates films like Pinocchio from later Disney animated fare, such as 2002’s Treasure Planet; the animation, brilliant as it is, serves the story, and not the other way around. Make a great film like Pinocchio, and the excitement generated by its novelty will naturally follow.






 
 

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Classic Disney storytelling at its finest. LOVE this movie. Visually stunning to watch. Figaro and Cleo steal the show.

DVD Infatuation said...

Jill: It sure is! A great example of Disney when they "got it" (something they would lose periodically through the years).

Thanks for the comment, and for stopping by!

Unknown said...

My favorite thing about Pinocchio is how dark it is. It has some truly scary imagery. The donkey transformation scene still gives me chills!