Pinocchio - G
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that there's little objectionable in this film. Pinocchio's friend Lampwick introduces him to cigar smoking, but is punished for it. Kids may be disturbed by Pleasure Island, where "bad boys" are turned into donkeys and sent to work in salt mines.
Families who see this film might discuss the difference between doing bad things and being bad. Is Pinocchio really a "bad boy?" Or is he a good boy who sometimes does bad things, though he tries not to? Can good people sometimes do bad things? In the movie, Jiminy Cricket acts as Pinocchio's "conscience," that little voice that tells you right from wrong. You don't have Jiminy Cricket, but do you have a voice or feeling inside yourself that tells you when something is right or wrong?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: M. Faust
Disney's second animated feature remains one of the studio's most beloved, with a gripping story, engaging characters, memorable songs, and detailed animation. Even girls will learn about good behavior from Pinocchio's lessons in how to become a "real boy."
PINOCCHIO is the story of a wooden marionette who is given a chance to attain his dream of becoming a real boy is one of the great treasures of American film.
Gepetto is a lonely woodcarver whose only friends are his pets. He has devoted special care to carving a wooden puppet, and wishes that it was a real son. Because of his good works, his wish is granted by the Blue Fairy, who brings Pinocchio to life. But the boy is still made of wood. The Blue Fairy advises Pinocchio that, in order to become a real boy, he must learn the difference between right and wrong.
She warns Pinocchio that his nose will grow if he ever tells a lie, and assigns Jiminy Cricket to be his conscience and moral guide.
Overjoyed that Pinocchio is alive, Gepetto sends him to school. But though Pinocchio wants to do good, he is led astray by bad companions. He and Jiminy Cricket have a series of adventures, through which Pinocchio learns the value of good behavior and eventually becomes a real boy.
There's probably not a child alive who can't identify with Pinocchio's struggle to be a "good boy" without quite understanding what that means. Like Pinocchio -- who is "born" at the age of most viewers, without having had a few years to get used to the world -- kids are given rules of behavior but have to learn for themselves why those rules exist. If nothing else, Pinocchio is a great movie for parents to experience with children because it helps to illustrate the abstract notion of conscience. But of course, this wouldn't have come to be such a beloved classic if that was all there were to it. From the opening song, "When You Wish Upon a Star," the movie holds viewers of all ages rapt. The scenes in Gepetto's workshop will remind kids of the Beast's castle in Beauty and the Beast, though the workshop is so much warmer. Kids may not understand that this movie, like Dumbo and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was animated by hand, not by computer. Yet they still respond to the difference. The characters are particularly endearing, especially Gepetto and Jiminy Cricket. Adults who haven't seen Pinocchio in some time are often surprised at how dark the story is. Could anything be more nightmarish than Pleasure Island, where "bad boys" are turned into donkeys and sent to work in salt mines? Most children, accustomed to moral fables, take it in stride, though parents should be forewarned that this is a potentially unsettling sequence. Parents looking for similar Disney features might want to go on to Peter Pan or The Sword in the Stone.
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoPinocchio's friend Lampwick introduces him to cigar smoking, but is punished for it. |
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