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Pinocchio (1940 Film)
''Pinocchio'' is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based on the story ''Pinocchio: Tale of a Puppet'' by Carlo Collodi. It was made after the success of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' and was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 7, 1940. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.
The plot of the film involves a wooden puppet being brought to life by a blue fairy, who tells him he can become a real boy if he proves himself "brave, truthful, and unselfish". Thus begin the puppet's adventures to become a real boy, which involve many encounters with a host of unsavory characters.
The film was adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith from Collodi's book. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and the film's sequences were directed by Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, and Bill Roberts.
Plot
The film starts with Jiminy Cricket singing the Disney song "When You Wish upon a Star". He then talks to the audience for those who may not believe in the song's optimistic words and recounts his experience of being one of those non-believers until he met Pinocchio. Through a storybook entitled ''Pinocchio'' (which acts as a window to Jiminy's aformentioned adventure), we see an unnamed town in the night and the workshop of the woodworker Geppetto. Jiminy walks into the workshop to warm himself from the cold. He notices a puppet Geppetto is working on. Geppetto names the puppet Pinocchio and after making his marionette dance around for the amused and bewildered eyes of Figaro, his kitten, and Cleo, his goldfish, he decides to go to bed. He notices a falling star in the sky and wishes that Pinocchio could be a real boy. While everybody is sleeping Jiminy wakes up and notices a Blue Fairy entering the room. She makes Pinocchio come alive since Geppetto has always been a good man and deserves his wish to come true. Pinocchio is alive, but still nothing more than a puppet. If he wants to become a real boy of flesh and blood he must prove himself to be brave, truthful and unselfish and able to tell right from wrong by listening to his conscience. Pinocchio doesn't understand what a conscience is and Jiminy appears to explain it to him. The Blue Fairy then assigns Jiminy with the official title of acting as Pinocchio's conscience and changes him into better clothes, before disappearing.
Jiminy teaches Pinocchio that whenever he needs guidance he should whistle, as exemplified in the song "Give a Little Whistle". Pinocchio tumbles over some furniture during the song and wakes up Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo who were asleep during the song. When Geppetto discovers his wish has become true, he is filled with joy and starts to celebrate by turning on all his clocks and music boxes. The next day Pinocchio goes off for his first day of school. Despite warning Pinocchio not to walk with strangers, the cricket is quickly ignored. Pinocchio never arrives at his destination since two crooks, the fox, Honest John, and the mute cat, Gideon, convince him to become an actor in the puppet show of Stromboli while singing the song "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee". Pinocchio immediately becomes a sensation singing "I've Got No Strings" at the theater and makes a lot of money for Stromboli. Stromboli however refuses to permit Pinocchio to return home and locks him up in a bird cage. During his captivity Jiminy reappears. He tries to open the lock on the birdcage, but the lock is too old and rusty, and he admits that only a miracle would help them get out of that mess. Suddenly, the Blue Fairy appears and asks Pinocchio to explain what happened. Pinocchio lies and to his surprise his nose starts to grow longer. The Blue Fairy explains to him that his nose grew because he lied. When Pinocchio admits he lied, and Jiminy pleads to the Blue Fairy to give Pinocchio one more chance, she forgives him and helps them escape, by unlocking the birdcage: disappearing right after. Pinocchio and Jiminy get out of Stromboli's coach, and go back towards home.
Meanwhile, Honest John and Gideon have met The Coachman in a tavern. The Coachman promises them a large sum of money if they can bring him little boys whom he can lead to Pleasure Island. The mentioning of the island and the Coachman's evil grin scare Honest John and Gideon, but they nonetheless lure Pinocchio away and deliver him to the Coachman. Jiminy Cricket, again unable to warn Pinocchio of the danger, travels with him incognito. During the travel to Pleasure Island Pinocchio befriends Lampwick, a misbehaving and destructive boy who is older than he. On the island boys are able to have fun and do all the things their parents and other adults usually tell them not to do, such as: gambling, drinking, brawling, smoking, vandalism, and cussing. Pinocchio imitates Lampwick and has fun doing all these mischievous things. A furious Jiminy Cricket attempts to convince Pinocchio into leaving, but is ridiculed by Lampwick. Filled with anger and humiliation, Jiminy leaves. While trying to discover a way to leave the island, he makes a horrible discovery — a curse on the island has transformed all the misbehaving boys into donkeys who are then sold by the Coachman as work forces in salt mines and circuses. Jiminy rushes to warn Pinocchio and discovers that he is dangerously close to being too late. Lampwick has already morphed into a donkey and Pinocchio already gained donkey's ears plus a tail. Pinocchio and Jiminy quickly escape the island by jumping off a cliff into the ocean.
The two travel back home to find the house deserted. They are informed by the Blue Fairy (in a letter) that Geppetto ventured out to sea to rescue Pinocchio from Pleasure Island, but was swallowed by a whale named Monstro. Pinocchio, wracked with guilt, decides to travel underwater at the bottom of the ocean with Jiminy to find him. Pinocchio and Jiminy are swallowed by Monstro and discover his father, Cleo, and Figaro on a ruined boat inside the whale's stomach. After a happy reunion Pinocchio comes up with an escape plan by burning wood on the boat to create smoke to make Monstro sneeze. The plan works, but the enraged sea mammal chases them. He destroys their raft and Geppetto almost drowns, only to be saved by Pinocchio who tries to swim him to the shore. Monstro swims after them, but crashes into a cliff on the rocky coastline, knocking him out and causing a huge wave. Everyone washes onto shore and survives, except Pinocchio who was drowned by the enormous wave.
In Geppetto's home everybody mourns over Pinocchio's death. But the Blue Fairy decides that Pinocchio has proven his worth in being a brave, good boy and brings him back to life as a real boy. Everyone celebrates Pinocchio's revival and Jiminy is awarded an 18 karat gold badge by the Fairy for acting well as Pinocchio's conscience. The film ends with Jiminy once again singing "When You Wish upon a Star".
Production
The plan for the original film was considerably different from what was released. Numerous characters and plot points, many of which came from the original novel, were used in early drafts. Producer Walt Disney was displeased with the work that was being done and called a halt to the project midway into production so that the concept could be rethought and the characters redesigned.
Originally, Pinocchio was to be depicted as a Charlie McCarthy-esque wise guy, equally as rambunctious and sarcastic as the puppet in the original novel. He looked exactly like a real wooden puppet with, among other things, a long pointed nose, a peaked cap, and bare wooden hands. But Walt found that no one could really sympathize with such a character and so the designers had to redesign the puppet as much as possible. Eventually, they revised the puppet to make him look more like a real boy, with, among other things, a button nose, a child's Tyrolean hat, and standard cartoon character 4-fingered (or 3 and a thumb) hands with Mickey Mouse-type gloves on them. The only parts of him that still looked more or less like a puppet were his arms and legs.
Additionally, it was at this stage that the character of the cricket was expanded. Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) became central to the story. Originally the cricket wasn't even in the film. Once added, he was depicted as an actual (that is, less anthropomorphized) cricket with toothed legs and waving antennae. But again Walt wanted someone more likable, so Ward Kimball conjured up "a little man with no ears. That was the only thing about him that was like an insect."
Mel Blanc (most famous for voicing many of the characters in Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons), was hired to perform the voice of Gideon the Cat, who was Foulfellow the Fox's sidekick. However, it was eventually decided for Gideon to be mute (just like Dopey, whose whimsical, Harpo Marx-style persona made him one of ''Snow White'''s most comic and popular characters). All of Blanc's recorded dialogue in this film was subsequently deleted, save for a solitary hiccup, which was heard three times in the film.
The influential abstract animator Oskar Fischinger contributed to the effects animation of the Blue Fairy's wand.
Cast and characters
*Jiminy Cricket, voiced by Cliff Edwards. Jiminy is a cheerful cricket who acts as Pinocchio's "conscience" and the partial narrator of the story.
*Pinocchio, voiced by Dickie Jones. Pinocchio is a happy wooden puppet made by Geppetto and turned into a living puppet by the Blue Fairy.
*Geppetto, voiced by Christian Rub. Geppetto is a woodcarver who creates Pinocchio and wishes for him to become a real boy.
*Figaro and Cleo, vocal effects by Mel Blanc . Geppetto's tuxedo cat and goldfish, respectively, who don't like each other very much until the end of the movie when Pinocchio becomes a real boy.
*John Worthington Foulfellow, voiced by Walter Catlett. Otherwise known as Honest John, he is a sly anthropomorphic fox and known criminal who tricks Pinocchio twice in the film.
*Gideon is Honest John's mute and crafty anthropomorphic feline accomplice. His voice was originally to be supplied by Mel Blanc of Looney Tunes fame, but they deleted his dialogue in favor of a mute performance (i.e. Harpo Marx) just like Dopey of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. However, Gideon's hiccups were provided by Blanc.
*Stromboli, voiced by Charles Judels. Stromboli is a large, sinister, bearded puppet maker who forces Pinocchio to perform onstage in order to make money. He speaks in an Italian Accent, though he is identified as being a gypsy.
*The Blue Fairy, voiced by Evelyn Venable. She is the beautiful fairy who brings Pinocchio to life and turns him into a real boy at the end.
*The Coachman, voiced by Charles Judels. A corrupt coachman who owns and operates Pleasure Island. He speaks in a Cockney accent.
*Lampwick, voiced by Frankie Darro. Lampwick is a naughty boy Pinocchio meets and befriends on his way to Pleasure Island. He turns into a donkey while the boys are shooting pool.
*Monstro is the whale that swallows Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo during their search for Pinocchio. Pinocchio is then swallowed when Monstro is eating and he and Geppetto reunite.
Crew
*Supervising Directors: Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske
*Sequence Directors: Bill Roberts, Norman Ferguson, Jack Kinney, Wilfred Jackson, T. Hee
*Supervising Animators: Fred Moore, Franklin Thomas, Milton Kahl, Vladimir Tytla, Ward Kimball, Arthur Babbitt, Eric Larson, Woolie Reitherman
*Story Adaptation: Ted Sears, Otto Englander, Webb Smith, William Cottrell, Joseph Sabo, Erdman Penner, Aurelius Battaglia
*Character Designers: Joe Grant, Albert Hurter, John P. Miller, Campbell Grant, Martin Provensen, John Walbridge
*Original Songs by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline
*Score Composed and Conducted by Paul J. Smith
*Art Directors: Charles Philippi, Hugh Hennessy, Kenneth Anderson, Dick Kelsey, Kendall O'Connor, Terrell Stapp, Thor Putnam, John Hubley, McLaren Stewart, Al Zinnen
*Backgrounds: Claude Coats, Merle Cox, Ed Starr, Ray Huffine
*Animators: Jack Campbell, Oliver M. Johnston, Berny Wolf, Don Towsley, Don Lusk, John Lounsbery, Norman Tate, John Bradbury, Lynn Karp, Charles Nichols, Art Palmer, Joshua Meador, Don Tobin, Robert Martsch, George Rowley, John McManus, Don Patterson, Preston Blair, Les Clark, Marvin Woodward, Hugh Fraser, Jimmy "Shamus" Culhane, John Elliotte
Release
With the re-release of ''Snow White'' in 1944 came the tradition of re-releasing Disney films every seven to ten years. ''Pinocchio'' has been theatrically re-released in 1945, 1954, 1962, 1971, 1978, 1984, and 1992. The 1992 re-issue was digitally restored by cleaning and removing scratches from the original negatives one frame at a time, eliminating soundtrack distortions, and revitalizing the color. The film also received four video releases (and two DVD releases), being a hot-seller in 1985 (this print was re-mastered and re-issued in 1986). Then the more comprehensive digital restoration that was done for the 1992 re-issue was released on VHS, followed by the final VHS release and first release on Disney DVD in 1999. The second Disney DVD release (the first in the Walt Disney Gold Classics Collection VHS/DVD line) premiered the following year in 2000. The third DVD release and first Blu-ray Disc release (the second Blu-Ray in the Walt Disney Platinum Editions series) were released on March 10, 2009 (March 11, 2009 in Australia), and like the 2008 ''Sleeping Beauty'' release, the Blu-ray package featured two discs, and a bonus DVD of the film also included.[http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99366427976092&item_id=1433163&searchID=]
Home video release history
*July 16, 1985 (VHS, Betamax and Laserdisc, Classics edition)
*October 14, 1986 (VHS and Betamax, remastered Classics edition)
*March 26, 1993 (VHS and Laserdisc, restored Classics edition)
*July 1993 (VHS made in Brazil - Abril Vídeo/Walt Disney Home Video)
*April 16, 1995 (VHS, Spanish-dubbed Clásicos edition)
*October 26, 1999 (60th Anniversary Edition, as well as a Limited Issue DVD)
*March 7, 2000 (VHS and DVD, Gold Classic Edition)
*March 10, 2009
Reception
''Pinocchio'' became a big hit when released in 1940, earning almost $39 million in North America during its initial theatrical run. However, Films by Latter-day Saint Filmmakers cites the figure to be almost $72 million. The film achieved strong critical and box-office success at the American box office, but its release in Europe and Asia was delayed because of World War II and its immediate aftermath[[http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/pinocchio/index.html A Disney Classic: "Pinocchio"]].
The movie received enthusiastic reviews. Archer Winsten, who had criticized ''Snow White'', wrote: "The faults that were in ''Snow White'' no longer exist. In writing of ''Pinocchio'', you are limited only by your own power of expressing enthusiasm." Jiminy Cricket's song, "When You Wish upon a Star," became a major hit and is still identified with the film, and later as a fanfare for The Walt Disney Company itself. ''Pinocchio'' also won the Academy Award for Best Song and the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, making it the first Disney film to win not only either Oscar, but also both at the same time. In 1994, ''Pinocchio'' was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2001 Terry Gilliam selected it as one of the ten best animated films of all time[[http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/pinocchio/pinocchio.html Disney Archives | "Pinocchio" Movie History]]
Subsequent re-releases would tally Pinnochio's lifetime gross to $84,254,167 at the box office.[[http://www.ldsfilm.com/box/box.html Movie Box Office Figures]]
In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. ''Pinocchio'' was acknowledged as the second best film in the animation genre, after ''Snow White''.
Film critic Leonard Maltin stated that "with ''Pinocchio'', Disney reached not only the height of his powers, but the apex of what many critics consider to be the realm of the animated cartoon."
Awards and honors
American Film Institute recognition
*2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs:
** "When You Wish Upon a Star" #7
*2006 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers #38
*2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #2 Animated film
Soundtrack
The songs in ''Pinocchio'' were composed by Leigh Harline, Ned Washington and Frank Churchill. Paul J. Smith composed the incidental music score.
*"When You Wish upon a Star" - Jiminy Cricket; Chorus
*"Little Wooden Head" - Geppetto
*"Give a Little Whistle" - Jiminy Cricket; Pinocchio
*"Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" - J. Worthington Foulfellow
*"I've Got No Strings" - Pinocchio
*"Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me) (reprise)" - J. Worthington Foulfellow
*"When You Wish upon a Star (reprise)" - Jiminy Cricket; Chorus
On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes ''When You Wish upon a Star'' on the blue disc, ''Give a Little Whistle'' on the purple disc, and ''I've Got No Strings'' on the orange disc.
And on Disney's Greatest Hits, this also includes ''When You Wish upon a Star'' on another blue disc, ''I've Got No Strings'' on the green disc, and ''Give a Little Whistle'' on the red disc.
:Little Wooden Head and Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee are not included on Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic or Disney's Greatest Hits.
Songs written for film but not used
*"I'm a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow" - Jiminy Cricket (this song eventually showed up in ''Fun and Fancy Free'')
*"As I Was Saying To the Duchess" - J. Worthington Foulfellow (this line is spoken briefly by Foulfellow in the film, however)
*"Three Cheers For Anything" - Lampwick; Pinocchio; Alexander; Other Boys
*"Monstro the Whale" - Chorus
*"Honest John" (this song appears as a bonus feature on the 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition Blu-Ray and DVD)
Media and merchandise
Theme parks
* Many of the Pinocchio characters are meetable characters at Disney parks.
* Pinocchio's Daring Journey is a popular ride at Disneyland Park (Anaheim), Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park (Paris).
* Pinocchio Village Haus is a quick service restaurant at Walt Disney World that serves pizza and macaroni and cheese. There is also a similar quick-service restaurant in Disneyland, as well, with an almost identical name.
* In It's a Small World at Disneyland Park (Anaheim) and Hong Kong Disneyland, Pinocchio was a prop or puppet, while Jiminy Cricket was a toy (Only at Disneyland).
Ice show
Disney on Ice starring ''Pinocchio'', toured internationally from 1987 to 1992. A shorter version of the story is also presented in the current Disney on ice production "100 Years of Magic"
Video games
Aside from the Genesis, Sega Mega Drive, Game Boy, and Super Nintendo games based on the animated film, Geppetto and Pinocchio also appear as characters in the game ''Kingdom Hearts''. The inside of Monstro is also featured as one of the worlds. Jiminy Cricket appears as well, acting as a recorder, keeping a journal of the game's progress in ''Kingdom Hearts'', ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'', and, ''Kingdom Hearts II''.
Source: Wikipedia