Today (Feb. 23) is the anniversary of the release of Pinocchio way back in 1940. Who doesn't know the story of the wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy and his adorable cricket conscience? To celebrate I watched the newer live action version released in 2019.
Let's face it, Pinocchio is an odd story. A wooden puppet comes to life, has a cricket tell him what to do, turns into a donkey and all sorts of other weird things. And I think it seems even stranger when it is not animated. They do a good job making Pinocchio look wooden but then with the real eyes he is kind of spooky. The Talking Cricket (he doesn't have another name in this film) is creepy too. And I don't even want to talk about the salmon with the human eyes. The big features of the Disney movie (I have not read the book so I don't know how it compares to that) are all there. The donkey business, the fairy, the whale, the cricket, running off and meeting a fox. His growing nose does make a brief appearance but it is not a major part of the film. Pinocchio is not a very likeable character and you have to wonder why everyone keeps saving him from himself. But you do want him to be saved, not for his own sake, but for Geppetto's, who is a likeable character and loves his little wooden boy. The make-up and effects are good, if creepy sometimes. But I can't say I actually enjoyed the film. But I can't really blame the film. I think it is the story I don't care for. Pinocchio runs around getting into trouble in a bunch of random situations that are just a hodgepodge of nonsense really. Which is what the Disney film is too. So it was my fault for watching it in the first place when I didn't really get the other movie either. I don't think the characters are as loveable in this movie as the Disney one but the stories are very similar, although I think this one is slightly darker. If you are a big fan of Disney's Pinocchio than I think this will appeal to you.
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