THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
When you hear that a classic animated film is being made into a live action movie, your first reaction is curiosity as to how they will do certain parts. Upon further reflection, apprehension grows that the studio will screw it up, and you will leave the theater angry at their sacrilege. Well, fear not this time. In THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO writer and director Steve Barron has made a wonderful adaptation of Disney's 1940 classic film PINOCCHIO. Certainly elements are changed, but all of the basic parts are there and done with class and imagination.
If there is a single reason why this version works so well, it has to be the design of the visual effects (Angus Bickerton) for Pinocchio. His movements are a beautiful fusion of wooden jerkiness and human fluidity. He is simultaneously puppet and boy.
In this version, the puppet Pinocchio (voice by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is made by Geppetto (Martin Landau) from an old tree that has the initials of Geppetto and Leone (Genevieve Bujold) carved in it. When Pinocchio comes to life, there are a series of sweet scenes where he imitates everyone he sees. When he tells his first series of lies, his nose shoots way out.
The imaginative script definitively answers many questions about Pinocchio. For example, we learn that if he sneezes when his nose is fully extended, he blasts the room with sawdust. The show is filled with sight gags like this that are quite effective. My favorite is what happens to the natural enemy of a wooded boy, namely a woodpecker.
Although not quite as well done as Pinocchio, the Jimney Cricket role is played by an insect (grasshopper or cricket?) named Pepe (voice by David Doyle). Pepe has a mechanical look to him and yet seems almost real at the same time. He is the cute little philosopher of the picture and is a veritable fountain of advice, including: "Insects are people too you know," and "Applause may be good for the moment, but love is everlasting."
Although Pinocchio is surrounded by other actors, it is totally his show, and he is up to it. Only Geppetto and Pepe have some importance. Udo Kier playing the evil Senor Lorenzini gives the only bad performance of picture. His bad guy is neither vile nor threatening, and he cannot even sneer effectively.
The movie was filmed in Prague, and the director took full advantage of the lushness of the environment. The Renaissance sets by Allan Cameron are lavish and gorgeous. You may have admired his creations before in THE JUNGLE BOOK, FAR AND AWAY, WILLOW, and LADY JANE. My favorite Cameron set here is Senor Lorenzini's puppet theater which is a marvelous blend of an opera house and a vaudeville theater. How he recreated Pleasure Island as a sort of outdoor Disneyland is also imaginative.
The costumes by Maurizio Millenotti are as elaborate as in a Mozart opera. The big wigs of that era are fun. The cinematography by Juan Ruiz-Anchia is a mixture of realism and fantasy. The beautiful blend of oversaturated blues and golds are highly evocative. I do have a minor quibble about the film. The final morphing scene from puppet to boy cuts away rather than show us the morph itself.
THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO runs 1:36. It is correctly rated G. There is no sex, nudity, or violence and nothing to scare or offend. I recommend this magical film to you and your entire family, and I give it ***.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: August 11, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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