THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(New Line)
Directed by Steve Barron
Written by Sherry Mills, Steve Barron, Tom Benedek, and Barry
Berman, based on the novel by Carlo Collodi
Cast Martin Landau, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Genevieve Bujold,
Udo Kier, Bebe Neuwirth, Rob Schneider
MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 96 minutes
Reviewed at The Carmike 7, Raleigh, NC (30JUL96)
==
A live-action Pinocchio made without Walt? Jiminey Cricket! The first half of this Carlo Collodi adaptation is not without its charms: the storybook look of Geppetto's village, shot on location in Prague; nice underplaying by Martin Landau as the lonely puppet maker; Rob Schneider and Bebe Neuwirth hamming it up as the minor villains Fox and Cat; and the near-seamless special effects that bring a certain wooden boy (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) to life. While darker than the animated version, the drama is still decidedly kid-powered, such as a scene placing Pinocchio in peril on, gasp!, a rooftop. The period detail is also very nice, as is one fabulously photographed scene, at a courthouse, where the costumes and the murals blend together.
The movie takes a sour turn in the second half, during a hideous production number that attempts to blend musical styles spanning a couple of centuries. This shrill, dissonant mess signals the beginning of the end. The movie never recovers from that misstep, despite such interesting imagery as boys changing into jackasses and sea monsters swallowing boats whole. Pepe, the cricket-with-a- conscience, is also on hand, albeit in computer-generated form. He's voiced by David Doyle, who, regrettably, makes no references to either whistling or wishing upon a star. And how about those tuneless tunes by Stevie Wonder and Brian May? Woof! This version of PINOCCHIO may be quite the kids movie, but the rest of us should stay put until Thanksgiving, when Disney's 101 DALMATIONS is due. Directed by Steve Barron.
Grade: C --
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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