Barnes & Noble

Just as the Blue Fairy brings life to a little wooden marionette in this timeless classic, the groundbreaking work of hundreds of animators sets a cast of delightful characters into amazingly supple, lifelike motion. Pinocchio, the puppet who must learn to follow his conscience before he can become a real boy, and his guide, Jiminy Cricket (wonderfully voiced by Cliff Edwards, who also sings the Oscar-winning "When You Wish Upon a Star"), remain two of cinema's most endearing figures. And who can forget the gentle woodcutter, Geppeto; his winsome cat, Figaro; or the wickedly funny fox, J. Worthington Foulfellow (a dead ringer for John Barrymore)? Pinocchio's marvelous misadventures take him and Jiminy from an island of lost boys into the belly of whale. The spectacular underwater sequence pioneered techniques used decades later in The Little Mermaid, yet Pinocchio has a luminous warmth missing from contemporary computerized animation. Mingling moments of sweetness and terror, this beautifully realized fairy tale -- the second of Walt Disney's animated features -- is one of the crowning achievements in film history. Kryssa Schemmerling

All Movie Guide

When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto (Christian Rub) builds a marionette to be his substitute son, a benevolent fairy brings the toy to life. The puppet, named Pinocchio (Dick Jones), is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right to be real by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. But, even with the help of Jiminy (Cliff Edwards), a cricket who the fairy assigns to be Pinocchio's conscience, the marionette goes astray. He joins a puppet show instead of going to school, he lies instead of telling the truth, and he travels to Pleasure Island instead of going straight home. Yet, when Pinocchio discovers that a whale has swallowed Geppetto, the puppet single-mindedly journeys into the ocean and selflessly risks his life to save his father, thereby displaying that he deserves to be a real boy. Based on a series of stories by 19th century Italian author Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio came under fire for being a sugarcoated version of its original tale, but the film's moral did have a strong educational effect on children. Soon enough, a 16 mm excerpt from the picture, titled "Pinocchio: A Lesson in Honesty," was released for teachers to use in schools. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 786936785951
• Source: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Anniversary Edition, Special Edition, Dubbed, Bonus DVD, Restored
• Time: 1:28:00
• Sales Rank: 5,732

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