So I think it's safe to say everyone has seen and heard of this classic Disney animation from way back in 1940. One of the original Disney animated movies that put Disney on the map and has since gained an iconic legendary status that will never ever go away, and rightly so.
However, what I didn't know much about was the original Italian fairytale that this Disney classic was based upon. The original story was created by Carlo Collodi in 1881 as a serial that was published in a very early children's magazine in Italy. The story was then first published as a book in 1883 and has since gone on to be one of the most popular children's books selling potentially around 35 million copies (actual figure unknown). But the most surprising aspect of this story I didn't know about was how cruel and relatively violent this original tale actually is. In traditional fairytale fashion Collodi's story is filled with quite shocking moments of...horror, for lack of a better word. Nothing horrendous of course (obviously not an issue for adults) but bearing in mind this was aimed at children and it certainly open your eyes a bit.
The story itself is a strange beast to be sure. Obviously being a fairytale I can't really pick too much but let's be honest, this story is a jumble of ideas. From the start you're thinking this is going to be set in a typical Disney-esque world so to speak, and it is for the most part. The location is supposed to be Italy yet it all looked a bit Austrian to me. Geppetto appears to be a lonely old man with no kids of his own. His only companions are a small adorable cat and a goldfish, both of which can somewhat communicate with Geppetto in typical Disney fashion. Again his workshop and all the things he makes came across more Germanic to me. One item he has made is a wooden puppet in the form of a young boy (named Pinocchio) and out of loneliness (I guess) he wishes for it to be real.
Luckily a fairy turns up late at night and does just that, makes the puppet real. She then basically gives Pinocchio a lesson about being a real boy and instructs him to follow some basic rules. If Pinocchio manages to follow said rules then she'll turn him into a real Human child! Talk about pressure! This piece of wood just got brought to life and he's already getting stern instructions on how to behave! It's amazing this piece of wood can even talk let alone follow instructions about Human societal behaviour. Luckily this piece of wood will have the assistance of a tiny tiny talking cricket in tux, problem solved.
What I found odd is the very next day Geppetto happily sends Pinocchio off to school with real kids. No worries about the inevitable issues that might cause. No worries about Pinocchio getting lost of abused or even killed (he is made out of wood). Nope, he just sends him off to school with an apple, what could go wrong. Naturally little Pinocchio does end up getting in trouble when he is essentially influenced and groomed by an anthropomorphic fox and cat. Wait what? Yep that's right, in this upside-down world anthropomorphic animals apparently live alongside humans.
Long story short Pinocchio ends up getting kidnapped and has to be rescued by the fairy. Somehow Pinocchio ends up in trouble over this so he lies which ends up getting him even deeper in trouble. Thing is I'm not sure why he lies because as far as I'm concerned he didn't actually do anything wrong (talk about victim blaming). The same thing happens again later with the same anthropomorphic fox and cat brainwashing Pinocchio into going to some seedy place called 'Pleasure Island' (excuse me?). This place is where delinquent boys get tricked into going with the lure of being able to do anything they want. Again kinda seemed like mass kidnapping and grooming of children to me. The weird thing is this place is made out to be something of a secret away from the law, yet the place is HUGE! It's literally a huge funfair. How does that get past the law?
So everything else aside so far, the really bizarre part of this fairytale is the fact that Pleasure Island seems to harbour some kind of dark magic. All these apparent naughty boys that go there (no girls?) end up turning into donkeys simply because they're delinquent? No explanations or anything, they just go there, act up, and at some point turn into donkeys. They are then essentially sold into slave labour and shipped off to some faraway salt mines. This appears to be a pretty big operation and no one has ever suspected or seen anything? Why doesn't the fairy help? Surely this is wrong?
Anywho, the most famous part of this classic eerie tale must be the consumption of Geppetto and Pinocchio by an evil whale which I'm guessing may have been inspired by 'Moby Dick'? It's not as creepy and harrowing as the mass incarceration and slave labour of young boys but it would definitely frighten little kids. The style of animation used for the whale has a much harsher and colder feel about it, clearly different to the soft warm colours used throughout the rest of the picture. Not a good impression for whales on kids though.
Right, yes I have moaned a lot about the plot here, and that's because it is quite frankly wacko. Obviously this is a morality tale, a cautionary tale for the young, much like other fairytales, and being a fairytale does give the story a pass. But you still can't get away from chunks of the story not having any explanations or making any sense. Unfortunately I cannot compare it to the original source material as I have not read it fully, but I know it's just as weird. That aside this animation is a landmark in film history for various reasons. The voice acting is absolutely perfect on every level because the people Disney hired actually had talent and weren't just some trendy political pop star. The film includes the now fabled, prestigious, beyond epic song 'When You Wish Upon A Star' beautifully sung by Cliff Edwards. And of course the animation is silky smooth and sublime.
Going by the story and its source, I wouldn't rate this that highly. A classic morality tale it may be, but the original fairytale is admittedly quite nasty in places and it's all over the place. If this were the plot of a new modern movie, animated or not, I don't think it would survive. On a technical level this film is of course sheer brilliance. Disney's early animated films were the apex of animation. I don't really like the story but I respect it, I think Disney bettered the original story to some degree; but it's impossible to not get drawn in and swept away with this picture.
9/10
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