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Pinocchio
(1940)
In possibly the greatest of all Disney animated cartoons
(Disney's second full-length animated film (following Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)) - a morality tale and
coming-of-age story about a simple-minded wooden Pinocchio boy with
an impetuous curiosity, who overcame temptation and learned courage
in the face of fear and danger, but first had to encounter terrifying
and frightening adventures:
- the storybook fairy tale opening told by Jiminy
Cricket (voice of Cliff Edwards) in a library, while singing the
memorable "When You Wish Upon a Star"; he described his
journey to the dwelling of a kind old Tuscany, Italy woodworker
or carver named Geppetto (Christian Rub) who lived with his two
pets: black and white Figaro the cat, and flirtatious Cleo the
goldfish; he also performed a high-wire act on a violin string
- Geppetto's wish (on an evening falling star) that
his hand-made wooden marionette puppet Pinocchio (voice of Dick Jones)
would become a real boy
Jiminy Cricket with Pinocchio - His Official Conscience
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Storybook Opening
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"Give a Little Whistle"
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"...Let your conscience be your guide"
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- the granting of Geppetto's wish by the Blue Fairy
(Evelyn Venable) by bringing Pinocchio to life as a live puppet;
Pinocchio was told he had to prove himself in order to become a real boy
by being "brave, truthful, and unselfish"
- she also appointed Jiminy Cricket as Pinocchio's official
conscience; Jiminy Cricket taught Pinocchio to whistle and then sang
the advisory "Give a Little Whistle" to become Pinocchio's
conscience: "...Take the straight and narrow path / And if you
start to slide / Give a little whistle, give a little whistle / And
always let your conscience be your guide"
- on his way to school, Pinocchio's duping by the wily,
smooth-talking, wicked fox Honest John Worthington Foulfellow (Walter
Catlett) (with his mute, simpleton feline sidekick Gideon or "Giddy" the
Cat), enticing him to become an actor and join the marionette show
of traveling marionette master Stromboli (Charles Judels), a large
bearded Italian puppet-maker; as they led him away, they sang the
delightful song "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)": "Hi-diddle-dee-dee
An actor's life for me A high silk hat and a silver cane A watch
of gold with a diamond chain Hi-diddle-dee-day An actor's life is
gay It's great to be a celebrity An actor's life for me!....Hi-diddle-dee-dum
An actor's life is fun...Hi-diddle-dee-dee An actor's life for me
A wax mustache and a beaver coat A pony cart and a billy goat Hi-diddle-dee-dum
An actor's life is fun You wear your hair in a pompadour You ride
around in a coach and four You stop and buy out a candy store An
actor's life for me!"
- Pinocchio became the star attraction while performing
for Stromboli, including the song "I Got No Strings" where
he outshone other normal wooden European marionettes, although he
was locked up in a birdcage each night to keep him from escaping
- the scene of the Blue Fairy coming to Pinocchio's
aid; he lied about not going to school, and his nose grew long from
so many lies; she advised him: ("A lie keeps growing and growing
until it's as plain as the nose on your face...Always let your conscience
be your guide"); Pinocchio was released and warned about misbehaving
- the sinister and scary Pleasure Island amusement
park sequence where Pinocchio was taken - a symbol of debauched and
unbridled hedonism; it was notorious for letting delinquent, bad
and naughty boys such as Lampwick (Frankie Darro) break rules, smoke
cigars, gamble, play pool, commit vandalism, and get drunk on beer;
due to their misbehavior, Pinocchio and other bad boys began to sprout
donkey ears, hooves and a tail, and bray like a donkey - they frantically
cried out for their Mommas - and were ultimately to be sold as slave-labor
pack animals (jackasses) in the salt mines or in circuses
- the sequence of Geppetto's attempt to rescue Pinocchio
from Pleasure Island by floating on a raft-sailboat, but he was swallowed
into the belly of the satanic black Monstro the Terrible Whale; Pinocchio
was able to be swallowed to reunite with his father, and then schemed
to light a fire inside the whale to force them to be expelled with
a giant sneeze
- although appearing dead on the beach after sacrificing
for Geppetto, Pinocchio was resurrected by the Blue Fairy for his
good deeds, and transformed into a real boy ("Awake, Pinocchio")
- in the conclusion, Jiminy Cricket was also rewarded
with a gold badge by the Blue Fairy for serving as Pinocchio's conscience
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Geppetto with Hand-Made Wooden Puppet
The Blue Fairy Making Pinocchio a Live Puppet
Pinocchio Led Astray by Honest John Worthington Foulfellow
"I've Got No Strings"
Nose-Growing Pinocchio Lying to the Blue Fairy
Lampwick (Transforming into a Jackass or Donkey)
Pinocchio's Near-Transformation
Geppetto's Raft and Monstro the Whale
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