I used to think Pinocchio was kind of creepy and weird. I still kinda feel that way. After all, this movie has not one, but three disturbing villains: Strombolli, the Coachman, and Monstro. To enjoy this movie, you have to wrap your head around the idea of a living wooden boy who can spin his body around while his head stays stationary like something out of a horror movie. He makes Honest John and Gideon, the talking fox and his bipedal cat companion, seem normal by comparison. Pinocchio himself is humorously clueless and gullible, with a shorter attention span than Gepetto's goldfish, Cleo, making the audience as exasperated as Jiminy Crickett as he epically fails to teach Pinocchio any life lessons. It's really Jiminy, our two-legged insectoid narrator, who steals the show with his songs, flirtations with wooden toys, and numerous asides. The Blue Fairy is just deus ex machina. The plot goes as such: Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, Pinocchio gets in trouble, Blue Fairy helps, Pinocchio needs info, Blue Fairy helps, Pinocchio dies, Blue Fairy helps. Actually, one of my favorite characters this time around was Figaro, the feisty kitten who may only say, "Mrrrrrrrrow?" with his mouth, but says so much more with his expressions. Interesting characters, but built upon a very strange premise.
Art: beautiful backgrounds, smooth animation
Comedy: laughable ignorance (of Pinocchio), Jiminy flirting with toys, boys being boys, slapstick of Honest John and Gideon
Mood: cautionary, frightening at times, both light and dark moments
Music: some catchy ("Give a Little Whistle" and "Hi-Diddle-Dee Dee"), others memorable, beautiful ("When You Wish Upon a Star")
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