"A boy who won't be good might just as well be made of wood."

In a lot of ways, the second movie that a studio releases needs to be even more impressive than the first because expectations are much higher.  Snow White was a masterpiece, but it was especially impressive because everyone expected it to fail.  Audiences were left waiting for Disney’s second feature, which they expected to be as good as Snow White if not better. I went into my Pinocchio viewing wanting to search carefully at how they did things in comparison to Snow White.  At first I thought that there could not be two more different films.  It felt as if they went from a dreamy, demure fairytale to a haunting and raunchy PSA against drugs and violence.  In Snow White the characters are, if anything, lacking in personality and realistic qualities.  In Pinocchio I thought the characters were too real, taking on aspects of the worst kind of mobsters and hooligans of the 1940’s. This was not the movie I remembered.

My initial shock after watching Pinocchio made me decide to take a day off in between watching the film and watching the DVD’s special features.  I think this was a good choice because I came back with fresh eyes and after watching “The Making of Pinocchio,” I realized what makes the film special . . . almost as special as Snow White.  With a nearly unlimited budget (thanks to the success of their first film) the Walt Disney Studios was able to spend tons of time perfecting their second feature.  Now that they had paved the way and learned how to make an animated film, they wanted to do for Pinocchio everything they did for Snow White and more, adding in effects and using devices at which they were now experts.

While watching the “Making of,” I was reminded of a moment I had during “Traditions,” the mandatory training course for Disney employees. “Traditions” is meant to explain the policies and expectations of the Disney Company, and in doing so they show you a video timeline of Disney history.  The video briefly explains the success of Snow White and mentions that it was followed by Pinocchio, “the most technically perfect film ever made.” I was confused by this quote mostly because they did not take the time to explain why they were crediting the film with such an awesome byline.  The most technically perfect movie ever? That was never how I thought of Pinocchio.  While watching I did notice that the animation seemed to have progressed by leaps and bounds since Snow White, but “technically perfect?” I didn’t understand.  So while watching the “Making of,” I was surprised to hear that quote again, and glad to have it backed up by almost an hour of explanation and evidence. 

            For one, Pinocchio is an elaborate and richly drawn film.  The studio had just invented the multi-plane camera for the production of Snow White, but used it most noticeably on Pinocchio.  The multi-plane camera allows filmmakers to move “planes,” or slides with various background images, in front of a camera to create an effect that feels like you are moving through a physical space.  This invention allowed Pinocchio to include some of the most beautifully drawn moving backdrops. Additionally, the film included huge amounts of intricate detail.  For example, in Gepetto’s cottage there is a scene featuring a wall full of clocks that start to chime together at the strike of 9PM.  The scene focuses separately on each and every clock that Gepetto has made.  One can only imagine the time and thought put into the animation of these clocks, which were physically constructed in real life for the animators to use as models while drawing. We also take for granted the fact that water was and still is tricky to animate.  The scenes in this film that take place either underwater or on the surface with Monstro the whale are exceptional considering the fact that they are some of the first ever animations of the ocean, breaking waves, and foam.  Not only had the animation advanced, but the special effects used and the artistry of the entire film is better in Pinocchio than in any animated feature before it, and many films that come after it.

Above - the multi-plane camera and diagram
Below - Monstro the whale chases Pinocchio

            The music also adds to the technical sophistication of the film.  The song “I’ve Got No Strings” is remarkable because it starts off with, and carries at its core, a jaunty folk tune, but as each puppet from a different country comes into the song it changes.  It turns into a Dutch number to a French show tune to a Russian chant.  Composers Leigh Harline and Paul Smith did an incredible job varying the music not only in this particular song, but also in the entire film.  If you listen to the soundtrack, the music changes in style throughout.

            And possibly the most clever and innovative part of Pinocchio is the now famous concept of a growing nose being indicative of a lie.  There are certain parts of Disney movies that have been repeated or quoted so often that you forget Disney invented them.  For example, Lady and Tramp bumping noses while eating spaghetti is one of the most copied images in the romantic-comedy genre. Pinocchio’s tendency to lie and his subsequent elongated nose is another Disney creation that has made its way into modern culture.  When I was young and I would occasionally lie to my mom, she would always know and tell me, “Sarah, your nose is growing!” Disney’s early writers thought of a metaphor for Pinocchio’s lies that was so imaginative it has become a frequently used saying.

Pinocchio tells a BIG lie!

            Most of my notes on Pinocchio express how stressed I felt while watching the movie.  The story is fast-paced and it felt like Pinocchio and Jiminy were running into danger every minute.  There are three main adventures that Pinocchio goes on in this film: the first is when Pinocchio gets tricked into performing for Stromboli, the second when he gets taken to Pleasure Island, and the third when he saves Gepetto from Monstro.  Three times innocent little Pinocchio is fooled by malicious villains, three times Jiminy loses faith in his ability to help Pinocchio, and three times the situation gets even worse because Jiminy is gone only to have him come back at the last second and save the day.  As the special features explain, this film was based of a serious of periodicals written by Carlo Collodi in the 1880’s.  They were, essentially, a series of short stories meant to teach children how to be good.  The film Pinocchio has three main parts because each is based on a separate story by Collodi.  Once I learned this, I felt a tiny bit better about the nerve-racking feel of the movie.  But nothing can stop me from nearly pissing my pants when the little boys start turning into donkeys.  That’s right.  If you haven’t seen this movie yet, let me explain.  Pinocchio is taken to Pleasure Island, a place where young boys can be as bad as they want without being chastised.  The trick is that their wicked ways eventually turn them into “jackasses,” literally donkeys, and they are sold to work the salt mines.  The most frightening scene in Pinocchio is when we watch in horror as Pinocchio’s friend Lampwick slowly turns from boy to donkey.  First Lampwick’s ears pop out, and Pinocchio puts down his beer.  Then Lampwick sprouts a tail and Pinocchio puts out his cigar.  Lampwick realizes what is happening and starts freaking out.  The audience watches as his shadow against the wall turns into a full donkey and his hooves beat against Pinocchio’s chest in desperation.  It is terrifying, but at the same time you can’t help but notice how cinematically perfect it is.  What they choose to show, not to show, or to show in pieces makes the scene so much more dramatic.  Luckily, Pinocchio makes it home safely to his father Gepetto.

Collodi's Pinocchio

Lampwick turns donkey

Pinocchio would not exist without Gepetto.  While watching Pinocchio I started thinking that Gepetto was a creep because he lives alone, talks to his cat, and his one wish is for his favorite puppet to come to life.  But then I started to think of Gepetto as what Carl Frederickson from Up would have been like if he never met Russell.  Obviously, Carl grew up to be a grumpy old man obsessed with his house, but I think there could have been the possibility that he’d grow up to be an old man obsessed with the child he never had with his now dead wife.  That’s now how I see Gepetto: a version of Carl Frederickson who never came to terms with the life he could have had.  Longing for his wife, who happened to be infertile, he wishes on a star for a little boy to fill his life with the happiness he used to have.

When I was younger I assumed that Walt Disney himself sang the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” for the film. I always thought it sounded like him and pictured him singing it whenever I listened to the soundtrack. And because of this I have always had a strange reverence for the song.  If I’m listening to my Disney Music playlist on iTunes and “When You Wish Upon a Star” happens to come on, I can never, under any circumstances, skip the track. It would feel as if I were insulting Walt to not stop and listen to what is now the anthem for Walt Disney Studios. Finding out that the song was actually (and logically) performed by Cliff Edwards, the voice actor for Jiminy Cricket, was not too disappointing, but it was very informational. There was a lot I did not know about this movie. While I initially reacted to Pinocchio with a low level of disappointment, I realized after taking some time to digest the movie and then watching the “Making of” that it is wonderful in a very different way than most Disney movies. The film was made at a special time, a time when all of the animators were on a high from the success of Snow White and felt invincible.  They were all inspired to do better than they had before and to make a film with more character, more beauty, and more heart to it.  It stands out in the history of Disney animation because never before or after were the animators so inspired to do bigger and better things in their field.

Next up: Fantasia

Money spent so far: $29.70