Product: Pinocchio
Rating: 3.0
Disney's second animated movie lacks charm
The second feature-length Disney animated movie PINOCCHIO is a perennial children's favorite, however it differs from other films in tone and strays too far from Carlo Collodi's book, but perhaps that's a good thing. The film's morals are too heavy-handed and the animation doesn't quite sparkle like SNOW WHITE and DUMBO, but this has been a very impressionable film in Hollywood history, particularly on filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters) and is hailed by critics and audiences alike. The songs are memorable and catchy, and the underwater scenes with Pinocchio and Monstro are the highlight of the film. However Collodi's aforementioned book arguably overly-influenced the movie's final tenor. I've never been a big aficionado of the book (Pinocchio kills Jiminy Cricket then Pinocchio gets hung up on a tree then dies (!) Animal mutilation, dismemberment, death, despair, destruction, all dished out in spades. Therefore it seems unfair to criticize the film for its darker moments, considering the large amount of omitted scenes. But this still isn't my favorite, and it's too scary for some kids. A classic in some quarters, but not perfect.