Product: Pinocchio
Rating: 5.0
A classic second chance
We just happened to have a VHS copy of this tape when we adopted our son at age four from a foreign country. In his first weeks at home, he watched the story over and over, seemingly endlessly.This should have been no surprise, I suppose. When you think about it, Pinocchio is really an adoption story--the tale of an elderly man who has crafted a new life from his profound wish to have a child.Adopted children are not crafted, of course. They are a great gift from their birth families, who have sacrificed the child, usually (I think) because they know they cannot provide him or her with adequate care. And yet, the child does in fact become "real" when he or she accepts the adoptive family as his own, and accordingly finds a real place in the world.For our son, Pinocchio provided the perfect metaphor at the perfect time and place. Here was a boy who awoke one morning in a strange environment he did not recognize, who was unable to attach to those who loved him, or even to tell right from wrong, or why telling the truth is an essential trait for all. Here was a boy who had so little self-respect, he could feel "at home" anywhere.Pinocchio finds himself at Geppetto's home, replete with other puppets on strings, who unlike him, cannot move or speak, not to mention the music boxes, coo coo clocks, Figaro the cat and Cleo, in a fish bowl. Eventually, as most grown-ups know, Pinocchio learns the lessons of love and the importance of family, bringing all his wishes true.For all children, this is a wonderful tale. But for adoptive children, it is especially poignant, for Pinocchio got a second chance, as do all adoptive children.