4. Dumbo (1941)

After a very strong start with Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia, Disney takes its first (but not last) dip in quality with Dumbo. Apparently Fantasia was an extremely expensive film to make and it did not recoup its budget in box office returns. So what we have here is an attempt by the studio to make back some of the money it lost in the previous year and it shows in many areas. First off is its running time. This is one of the shortest films in the Disney library, clocking in at a measly 1 hour and 4 minutes, barely feature length. Second, the quality of the animation is noticeably reduced. The colors are muted and flat and the backgrounds are practically nonexistent, much less detailed than the marvelous toy shop of Geppetto or the lush environments of Fantasia. 

This is especially a shame considering the setting of Dumbo is a circus, which easily could have provided so many colorful and lively backdrops but just doesn’t deliver. The characters themselves suffer as well. The motions and facial expressions just seem lazier somehow, perhaps rushed. The best way I can put it is that the whole thing comes across as something the studio would have made 10 years prior, as an animated short that played before a feature rather than as a feature itself.

In terms of plot, Dumbo is not terrible, it does have a very positive message about self-worth and the strength of a mother’s love. Dumbo starts off tugging at the heartstrings almost immediately with a flock of storks delivering little bundles of joy to all the animals of circus. Except poor Mrs. Jumbo the elephant. She gazes skyward watching the tigers and giraffes and hippos becoming proud parents but she is left empty handed in the end. This is actually a pretty good way to set the audience up for the relationship between Dumbo and his mother. We feel sad for her right away and that makes it so much more exciting when her stork does shows up late the next day.

This scene is pretty important in establishing the themes of the film. Here we see the first example of how judgmental the other elephants are and we see the unconditional love of Mrs. Jumbo. When the stork arrives to deliver Dumbo, he asks which of them is “expecting”, which is met by a chorus of giggles and spiteful comments. “Not me!” “The very idea!” “Over there, of course!” Throughout the film, we see this over and over: the in crowd and the outcasts. Pay attention to how often Dumbo gets laughed at. Just about every character in the film laughs at him except his mother and his friend, Timothy Mouse. The other elephants can be interpreted as conventional society and it is not a pretty sight. They are spiteful, conceited, and insensitive. Mrs. Jumbo however, is unconcerned by their cruelty, she is clearly overjoyed by the arrival the stork whose voice you might recognize. It is worth noting that this is the first of a great many vocal performances from Sterling Holloway who provided the unmistakable voices for Winnie the Pooh and the Cheshire Cat. I will remind you that this film was made in 1941, almost 40 YEARS before Winnie the Pooh! Pretty impressive!

When Dumbo greets the world, the other elephants seem almost decent until he sneezes and his ears flop open for all to see. Right away they start making fun of him and start calling him Dumbo (his mother names him Jumbo Jr., her only line in the film). Dumbo is seen by the world as a freak because his ears are abnormally large. It is from this point on that Dumbo is ostracized for being different and this will remain the most prevalent conflict throughout the                                                                                                          film. 


One of the few instances where the film does make good use of the circus setting is in illustrating the complex social dynamics that exist within its community of animals and workers. When the train pulls up to a town, everyone piles out and gets right to work. A circus lives and dies by its routines. Everyone in the circus has a job to do and it is tough work requiring precision, efficiency, and dependence on the others to do their jobs too. 
This is demonstrated perfectly by setting up the big top. Dumbo’s first time out in the world is not very welcoming. He tries to help but he doesn’t know any of the jobs so he mostly just gets in the way. This is an effective way of portraying the world as a cruel place, especially for someone who doesn’t fit in. Dumbo’s world gets a whole lot tougher when his only advocate, his mother, is taken away from him. 
The cruelty of society is demonstrated again in a heart wrenching scene where Mrs. Jumbo tries to protect her baby from a group of heckling teenagers who come to see the sideshow. Of course, Dumbo’s ears quickly draw their attention and ridicule. They begin physically harassing him and Mrs. Jumbo dishes out a much deserved ass-whooping on the crowd. Sadly, this lands her in chains, locked away in solitary confinement, branded as a “mad elephant”.

This strips Dumbo of his only shield. Enter Timothy Q. Mouse. Sidekicks are a staple of the Disney formula. We already had a pretty great one with Jiminy Cricket so it seems like an obvious move to try to replicate this with Dumbo’s pint sized protector. It’s easy to draw comparisons between Timothy and Jiminy: both very small, they are the voices of reason, experience, and confidence for our main characters who lack these traits. 

Timothy is a very loyal companion and fights for Dumbo’s sake on multiple counts and for these instances I commend him. However, I just think he’s kind of an annoying character. Mainly it’s his voice. I don’t know, I can’t get past that exaggerated Brooklyn accent. “Mudder” instead of mother, “foist” instead of first. I’m also not entirely sure how his logic works. He offers to get Dumbo’s mom freed by making Dumbo the star of the circus, thereby making his mom important by association? Or something? I guess I’m over thinking this one but it is kind of an important plot point, this is Dumbo’s entire motivation after all and I don’t see the connection.

And this is how the rest of the movie goes. Through a series of trials and tribulations, Timothy manages to make Dumbo the premiere attraction after the startling discovery that Dumbo’s ears are in fact “perfect wings”. A flying elephant! Once Timothy and Dumbo realize that the ears are not something to be hidden but rather embraced, they succeed and Dumbo is reunited with his mother. As I said previously, I think this is a very positive message and it serves the film well, which is a good thing considering the film’s other short comings.

MUSIC: Not a lot going on in this department. The only thing worthy of attention is the cry-fest Baby of Mine. Probably the saddest Disney scene in which a character doesn’t die. Dumbo goes to see his mother in solitary confinement and she cradles him with her trunk through bars. :( The song is very sweet but I think it’s more the scenario than the song that makes this one so powerful.

Soooooooooo when it comes to talking about Dumbo, usually people fall into two camps: either they’ve never seen it or they have seen it but mainly remember the acid trip scene. Pink Elephants on Parade is bizarre, surreal, psychedelic, and pointless. Personally, I really detest this sequence for a number of reasons. First and most importantly, it’s a waste of time. It doesn’t progress the plot in any way and we learn nothing about the characters. The only thing that happens as a result of this sequence is that Dumbo finds himself up in a tree which leads to the realization that he can fly. I think this is a bit of a stretch and could have been achieved some other way. 

Another thing that pisses me off is that for once in the film, the animation looks great which means the majority of the budget went to this sequence, a sequence consisting of nothing but empty spectacle.Now if you haven’t seen the film, you’re probably wondering how the hell this sequence even happens. 
That’s the final reason I hate this number: it feels completely contrived. A bottle of booze tips over into a water bucket that Dumbo just happens to drink from, under the guidance of Timothy Mouse. Maybe if the movie was strong enough to support a goofy interlude, I wouldn’t mind so much but the movie is so damn short already it cannot afford to waste precious screen time on psychedelic dream elephants. All of this aside, the song itself is kind of fun. Go figure.

I guess I should probably mention the crows at this point too. There is a song in the final portion of Dumbo called “When I See an Elephant Fly”. It’s sung by a group of crows who are very obviously meant to be caricatures of how African Americans were perceived at the time by white animators and writers. It’s definitely in poor taste and is certainly offensive by today’s standards. We have come long a way since 1941 (and we still have a long way to go but that’s a different conversation) and as long we understand and recognize that fact, we can look at these sequences as having historical relevance if nothing else.

VILLAIN: At a glance, Dumbo really doesn’t have a villain in the traditional sense of the word. There is no “bad guy” to point to as the cause of Dumbo’s grief. If anything, I would say the antagonist of the film is more abstract. Dumbo faces the cruelty of the world. His ears make him an outsider, separate from the rest of the elephants. But aside from being insensitive jerks, I can’t really call the other elephants villains.

STANDOUT MOMENTS: I would say there are a couple of pretty memorable moments here. Of course the moment when Mrs. Jumbo meets her baby for the first time is so special. She’s just so happy that you can’t help but feel happy for her as well. This in turn makes Baby of Mine equally moving. Probably the most iconic moment in the movie is one we haven’t touched on yet: when Dumbo first flies. It happens a little abruptly and the movie is practically over by the time he makes this discovery but when it does happen, it is a huge triumph. Timothy says, “The very thing that held you down is gonna carry you up,” and that’s probably the most profound moment in the film.

CLOSING THOUGHTS/SCORES: Remember when your Mom or Dad ever said to you, “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed”? That’s kind of how I feel about Dumbo. What makes this movie so frustrating is that we’ve seen great work from the studio already so we know what they are capable of. Yeah, I get it, Fantasia broke the bank so they had to cut corners this time around and I know it’s not the last time this is going to happen but still it is disappointing. It’s a nice little story with a lovable protagonist and an interesting setting but the animators just didn’t pull it out of the bag this time and there are just too many missteps for this film to take flight in the same way as its adorable main character.

OVERALL: 4.5/10

VILLAIN: N/A

MUSIC: 3/10

Today’s Shorts:

We’ve met the big three (Mickey, Donald, Goofy) in our previous shorts, now let’s see what they can do when they join forces! I think some of the best material that came out of the Disney shorts was when these characters shared the screen and played off of each other’s personalities in crazy situations. The first of this kind was Mickey’s Service Station, an absolutely hilarious cartoon in which Pete brings his car in to get fixed and Mickey, Donald, and Goofy completely tear the thing apart trying to figure out what the problem is. Comedy gold. Also in this block of shorts, Clock Cleaners, and Mickey’s Trailer.

3. Fantasia (1940)

I love movies. I love everything about them. Most importantly, I usually know exactly what it is that makes me love one movie more than another. Many times, it is a film’s soundtrack that can be the one thing that escalates a movie from good to great. I think the soundtrack is an aspect of film that is too often overlooked. What a joy it is then, to have a film like Fantasia.

Fantasia is a truly remarkable film to experience. 75 years later, there is still almost nothing else like it. Even music videos, while functioning as a showcase for music, still retain a narrative form or at least a concept that is often unrelated to the music. Fantasia is unique in the sense that the animation itself is derived from how the music influenced the animators’ imaginations. Do sounds have colors? What does a crescendo look like? Can an orchestra tell a story? Fantasia not only answers these questions but also challenges you to think about the relationship between sight and sound in ways that no other film ever has.

That being said, the film demands a bit of patience from the viewer. This is not fairy tales and dancing puppets. This is high art. Sure there are a few segments that have a clear narrative but even those require your full attention if you want to know what’s going on. This is not a bad thing by any means, quite the contrary; I appreciate a film that makes me work a little bit. However, within the larger context of Disney’s film library, Fantasia is an outlier. When compared to the likes of Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh, this is a pretty challenging film.

It is precisely the film’s unorthodox structure that makes it rather difficult to critique in the same way that I would with any of the other Disney films. Essentially, this is a collection of 7 animated shorts with no dialogue, viewed in a particular sequence as an anthology. It’s not exactly symphony but it’s not exactly a movie either. I think the best way to go about discussing Fantasia is to examine the                                                                                                           different segments individually                                                                                                                     rather than as a whole.

Alone, pretty much of all of these sequences are fascinating. The one segment that I do find a bit dull is the dinosaur thing. But we’ll get there. First up is Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. This is a pretty awesome way to open the film and does a great job of easing us into the format of what’s to come. The first few minutes are spent just showing us the conductor, Leopold Stokowski, and the 

musicians playing silhouetted against a backdrop that slowly changes colors as they play. This instantly establishes the relationship between the music and animation. We then gradually transition into the animated portion. This is the most abstract segment in the film consisting of nothing but colorful shapes moving in time to the music. It’s quite hypnotic and clocks in at a modest 3 and a half minutes so it’s not too drawn out. Nice strong opening. 

The second piece, and maybe my favorite, is the Nutcracker Suite. Here, we see the animators interpreting the music as a journey through each of the four seasons, starting with spring and ending in winter. I think what makes this sequence so good is how clearly the theme is conveyed through the animators' choices in imagery. It's obvious we are seeing the seasons changing over time but it's still creative enough to remain interesting and surprising. 

Once again, we see a pretty remarkable leap in the quality of animation from their previous film, Pinocchio. It seems that with each feature film released, the animators hone their craft more and more. The fidelity of motion becomes more pronounced, especially in this piece, all of those flowers, the way the petals and leaves move like fabric, and the reflections in the water, simply marvelous! Without a doubt, this is the most visually                                                                                    impressive segment in Fantasia.

Okay! Let’s talk about The Sorcerer’s Apprentice! Who doesn’t love the Sorcerer’s Apprentice? Really, this piece is just so damn good! It might be the presence of Mickey Mouse or that this segment has a more traditional narrative structure than the others, but whatever the reason this is certainly the most popular segment in the film, the “face” of Fantasia. It’s also just the right length, a solid 9 minutes; not too long, not too short. I think what makes this segment so impressive is how clearly the story is told with no words at all. The other segments are more interpretive or abstract so they can afford to be more ambiguous. Sorcerer’s Apprentice is tasked with telling us a story about a young wizard who bites off more than he can chew; it has characters, it has a beginning, middle, and end, it has conflict, and this all has to be conveyed without dialogue. And it succeeds masterfully. 

Not only does it tell us this story but it also manages to give us so much great characterization in Mickey Mouse.I love the way Mickey’s robe is just a little bit too big and he has to keep pulling his sleeves up. Just this subtle touch is a great visual way of reinforcing his apprentice status and makes him look younger or that he hasn’t quite grown into the position that his master currently holds. And the way Mickey’s actions are perfectly synchronized with the music! Every gesture he makes that’s accompanied by a “BOOM” from the music is just so satisfying. And the way the broom comes back to life after it’s been chopped to bits! That slow “dooodooodoodoo…….dooodooodoodoo….” SO COOL. I could go on and on!

The next piece, The Rite of Spring (cue the crashing chimes); this is apparently a reference to the riot that happened at the first performance of Rite of Spring which would have been common knowledge in the 40’s. Anyway, I’m really not a fan of this segment; it’s way too long and it’s just not very interesting visually or thematically. 

Speaking of not very interesting, I think this is a good spot to mention Deems Taylor, the guy that talks in between every segment. I admit, I’m not a frequenter of the symphony but I do understand that the conductor usually introduces each piece before they begin playing to give the audience a little background on the piece or an insight into the composer’s thought process. In the symphony, this is necessary because you have nothing visual to convey this information, only the musicians and your imagination. This does not work the same way in Fantasia. The whole point of the film is that we do have a visual to match what we are hearing. Therefore, is it really necessary to have a guy telling us what we’re about to see? It’s redundant and it kind of spoils the experience of seeing where the music is going to take us, like giving away the ending. If it weren’t so frequent it may not have bothered me much but I tallied up his total screen time: he uses up a full 12 minutes. That’s longer than Sorcerer’s Apprentice. And his voice is terribly droll.

The second half of the film presents four more timeless pieces of music: Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Dance of the Hours, and Night on Bald Mountain paired with Ave Maria as the finale. Pastoral Symphony is pretty light fare, unicorns and centaurs. The animation is impeccably suited to the piece and I really like Greek mythology so this one holds my interest quite easily. It’s also surprisingly sultry. The centaurs and (centaurettes?) flirting, while totally innocent, makes me blush every time I watch it. 

This is followed by the fantastic, and hilarious, Dance of the Hours. Talk about perfect casting, every animal is SPOT ON in their roles and their personalities. The graceful ostriches, the majestic hippos, the lecherous gators, are all an absolute pleasure to watch and consistently get a laugh out of me. And the climax of this piece is beautifully organized chaos. BRILLIANT. Apparently this has                                                                                                             something to do with the hours                                                                                                                 of the day? I don’t see it lol. 

Fantasia ends with a pretty awesome visual of the dichotomy between “the profane and the sacred” as depicted by the nightmarish demons and spirits in Bald Mountain, followed by the angelic choirs and sunlight of Ave Maria. This piece carries a seriousness not present in the rest of the film. This is life and death, heaven and hell. One truly feels a sense of despair when the great Demon Chernabog awakens and begins a 
reaping of souls on the little village sitting in the shadow of the mountain. The houses and towers themselves are physically moved by his will. His power seems irresistible as armies of ghosts, goblins, and wraiths flock to his perch. As the creatures dance among the flames, Chernabog casually plays god, dropping handfuls of his minions into the abyss. It’s chilling to say the least. 

But damn when that church bell rings for the first time. It’s so uplifting. And as each chime gets louder and the light of day gets brighter, the forces of darkness retreat. Then the music gradually shifts from the blaring horns and shrill strings of Bald Mountain into the warm embrace of Ave Maria’s choirs and harps. It’s a beautiful finale and a great way to end the musical journey of Fantasia.

MUSIC: It doesn’t quite seem fair for me to assign a score to the music of Fantasia. In this particular instance, the music was not written explicitly for this film so I don’t think it can be judged within the context of the film itself. How do you compare Hakuna Matata to the Nutcracker Suite? Obviously all of this music is wonderful. I’m pretty sure there is nothing I can say about Ave Maria that hasn’t been said a million times already and for that matter I don’t consider myself to even be remotely qualified to discuss this music in any capacity, academically or casually. Let’s just say all of these compositions are absolute masterpieces and leave it at that.

VILLAIN: By now I’ve already mentioned way too many times how different this movie is compared to anything else, this category is no different. There really is no plot to speak of so how can there be a villain? However, I would be remiss if I didn’t draw your attention to the mighty Chernabog of Bald Mountain. If there is a force of darkness in Fantasia, it would be this guy. In terms of sheer power, he would probably blow away every other villain in the Disney universe (except Maleficent). Just for fairness, I’m not going to score Chernabog as a villain; indeed he is the villain of his own story but not of Fantasia as a whole.

STANDOUT MOMENTS: As irritating as I find Deems Taylor’s interruptions, I really do enjoy watching the conductor, Leopold Stokowski, and the musicians themselves playing. The opening chords of the first segment where Stokowski is silhouetted against the backdrop with the colors changing in time with his gestures is pretty damn epic. And when Mickey comes out after Sorcerer’s Apprentice to congratulate him, so adorable! Speaking of Mickey, a couple of legendary moments in Sorcerer’s Apprentice include the marching of the brooms and Mickey’s dream, where he is commanding the forces of nature and the cosmos. The image of Sorcerer Mickey controlling the elements is practically synonymous with Disney Animation. The climax of Dance of the Hours is a joy to behold. Finally, Chernabog awakening to the opening chords of Bald Mountain is one that will surely leave a lasting impression.

CLOSING THOUGHTS/SCORES: At last, we come to it. I’ve had a lot of great things to say about Fantasia. However, there is one major caveat that is hard to ignore: I’ve been critiquing each of these segments individually, not the film as a whole and there’s the rub. Having watched the whole movie several times in my life, I can say this with conviction. Watching Fantasia all the way through is kind of a chore. The stop and go pace of the film combined with a 2 hour running time, the longest in the Disney library, makes for a viewing experience that as whole (this is important) AS A WHOLE, is uneven. That being said, the segments by themselves range from average to superb. This is why I often find myself frequently revisiting the Nutcracker segment but not Rite of Spring. Due to the bite sized nature and clear beginnings and endings of segments, it’s very easy to just skip to your favorite parts, more so than any other Disney film. Sometimes I’ll even put the movie on as background entertainment while I do chores around the house but actually sitting down and watching from beginning to end? Can we watch Tangled instead?


OVERALL: 8.5/10
VILLAIN: N/A
MUSIC: N/A

Today's Shorts:

The Skeleton Dance (1929)
Flowers and Trees (1932)
Music Land (1935)

As revolutionary as Fantasia is, it's not the first time Disney married music and animation in this way. Throughout the 30's and 40's, Disney produced a series of shorts called "Silly Symphonies". These cartoons were different from the Mickey or Donald shorts in that they were usually based on fairy tales or nursery rhymes, they often portrayed nature, and they rarely had main characters, much like the segments in Fantasia. Walt clearly had a passion for music and this is why I have paired the the Silly Symphonies with Fantasia.

Skeleton Dance is a pretty well known cartoon that I think a lot of people would recognize without even realizing that it's Disney. This is considered to be the very first Silly Symphony. Flowers and Trees is the very first color cartoon produced by Disney Animation and it won the Oscar that year for best animated short. Last is Music Land which is a very creative little piece about a land of musical instruments who speak in toots and whistles. Enjoy!

2. Pinocchio (1940)

I feel like Pinocchio is one of those stories that everybody just knows, even if you’ve never seen the movie. It just exists in our collective consciousness, this little wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. I think any story of a thing wanting to become one of us is inherently appealing. It reaffirms our self-worth as human beings when something “other”, or almost human, aspires to be like you or me. But I’m getting ahead of myself. How does Pinocchio stand up to the test of time? Very well actually. If you can forgive a few mostly harmless racial caricatures, the film is exciting, fun, and brimming with charm. 

First off, the animation is noticeably improved from Snow White. The environments and the characters are more detailed and the fidelity of motion is astonishing, particularly the way Pinocchio topples around when he is still a lifeless marionette. The first scene in Geppetto’s shop includes a wonderful array of music boxes and clocks all adorned with little figures that move in unique ways. The attention to detail that these animators had is astonishing to say the least. 

The story itself is obviously a bit preachy but that’s kind of the whole point. Our main character is on a quest to learn right from wrong so it’s practically unavoidable. What’s pretty awesome is that the movie is still entertaining in spite of its moralistic overtones. This is an impressive feat of storytelling and I give most of the credit to Jiminy Cricket. They easily could have made Jiminy a know-it-all-goody-two-shoes who spells things out for Pinocchio (and us) every step of the way but that’s not what happens. Not at all actually. Jiminy Cricket is speechless when the Blue Fairy (oh by the way, our first fairy god mother in a Disney film! Way before Cinderella!) chooses him to be Pinocchio’s conscience. In fact, he’s even a bit cynical, “A conscience is that still, small voice that people don’t listen to,” he doubts himself more than once, he’s frequently missing when he’s most needed; all of these things make him a dynamic, believable character. Add to that his desire to do better and his dedication to Pinocchio and you have one of the most likeable and enduring characters in the Disney roster. I would say that this is just as much Jiminy Cricket’s movie as it is Pinocchio’s.

As the film progresses we see our little wooden boy get into trouble pretty quickly and frequently. His first pitfall is skipping out on school to be an “actor”. Our first pair of villains, a fox and a cat named Honest John and Gideon, lead him astray. This pair of mischief makers is an homage to the slapstick comedy of the Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons. Lots of sight gags (even a large wooden mallet) make for some pretty funny moments. This leads us to the famous “I’ve Got No Strings” number. I dare you not to laugh out loud when Pinocchio comes tumbling down the stairs on the very first note. But for all of the film’s comedic moments, when things go dark…. they go DARK. 

The first real moment of panic comes after Pinocchio’s performance and the travelling showman locks him up in a cage. The image of him all curled up crying for Jiminy to save him as the carriage rides out of town is a potent one. Luckily, our fairy godmother swoops in to save him and we are treated to one of the more famous scenes in the film: the growing nose. We all know this one, he lies and his nose grows. I thought they revisited this at some point again in the movie but it only shows up this one time. Goes to show how little moments can really leave big impressions.

Up next is more scariness. Pinocchio is tricked once again, this time our destination is an awesome place called Pleasure Island. And by awesome, I mean absolutely terrible. And by pleasure, I mean traumatizing. 

So this creepy guy, known only as the Coachman, rounds up young boys with a knack for misbehaving and takes them all to this little island where there’s a whole amusement park filled with things to break and cigars to smoke and all kinds of other “temptations” for kids. As time passes, Pinocchio and his new friend, Lampwick, find themselves alone, throwing back some beer, shooting some pool, turning into donkeys………… Yeah. The donkey thing happens. And it sucks. Lampwick transforms and completely loses his shit (understandably). There is something extremely visceral about this sequence, I’m not sure if there are any other moments in Disney history that I could compare to this one. Then Pinocchio sprouts ears too and after just seeing what happened to Lampwick, your stomach just drops. Just as upsetting is when Jiminy finds the rest of the boys (now all donkeys) being carted off in boxes but some of them can still talk and cry for their mothers. It’s awful. Let’s move on.

Pinocchio’s final test comes in the form of a colossal leviathan named Monstro who has swallowed up Geppetto. In his final hour, the little wooden puppet who dreams of being a real boy at last steps up to the plate and delivers. Seeing Pinocchio fail so much through the movie makes this last battle really pay off in a very satisfying way. He never flinches in the face of easily his most daunting challenge but he pays for it with his life. This of course proves to the Blue Fairy, that he has passed her test and learned how to be honest, brave, and selfless, the true qualities of a real boy. She revives him, he and Geppetto are reunited and all is right with the world.

VILLAINS: Wow take your pick! We’ve got Honest John and Gideon, we’ve got Stromboli, the Coachman, and of course Monstro the Whale. I almost didn’t include Monstro since he is just a big animal and presumably not acting out of malice but after watching him 
in that last scene, he is totally 
out for blood. And those sound effects! Scary! Stromboli the showman is probably the closest thing to an actual villain in the movie but he is barely in it and he is such a flat character, not a lot going on there. Same goes for the Coachman. Despite the wide range of choices here, I can’t help but feel that none of them are truly great villains. I think they are more representative of the “temptations” and evils of the world. As such, none of them are really interesting.

MUSIC: In this department, the film goes for quality over quantity. There are only a few songs throughout the film but the mere presence of “I’ve Got No Strings” is enough to rank this score near the top of Disney’s library. It’s full of energy, it’s catchy, and Pinocchio’s voice has exactly the right amount of glee and innocence, but also confusion since he doesn’t quite get that the audience is laughing at him rather than with him. When the all the girl puppets start dropping in, forget it. Poor kid lol. Also included in this film is arguably the most significant musical contribution in the nearly 100 year history of Walt Disney Studios: “When You Wish Upon a Star.” This is quite literally the theme song of Disney. It’s the jingle you hear at the beginning of every Disney film, every commercial for Disney World, it’s the company’s entire philosophy all wrapped up in just a few lyrics. That melody alone is enough to turn anyone who has ever had a wish into a wide-eyed child dreaming of the possibilities. This is what I’m talking about when I say, “Disney magic”. This right here.

STANDOUT MOMENTS: The Blue Fairy bringing Pinocchio to life. This is one of those images that has always stood out in my mind as being so magical and it comes from such a genuine place. Geppetto’s wish to have a real boy is so poignant because we never really learn why he doesn’t have a son of his own. As mentioned previously, Got No Strings is a show stopper. I LOVE the last scene where Jiminy gets his “official conscience” badge, a great cap to Jiminy’s story. And Donkeys.



CLOSING THOUGHTS/SCORES: Pinocchio is a surprisingly tight film and what I mean by that is there is very little time wasted. Snow White was guilty of this but nearly every moment in Pinocchio is spent either progressing the plot or developing its characters and this is so crucial to me when evaluating a film. I don’t like a movie that wastes time on fluff and thankfully that is not the case here. Each scene is vital to the story as a whole, it never drags, the characters are diverse and memorable, and there is just enough music to leave an impression. This film is still as great today as it was 75 years ago but don’t take it from me, just let your conscience be your guide ;)

OVERALL: 9/10
VILLAIN: 6/10
MUSIC: 8.5/10


Today's Shorts:

The Barnyard Concert (1930)
The Band Concert (1935)
Symphony Hour (1942)

Having met our big 3 (Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) in the previous block of shorts, now we take a closer look the mouse himself. In the next film on our Retrospective, Fantasia, we are going to see a full color Mickey Mouse looking very modern compared to Steamboat Willie. The challenge of creating a playlist of shorts in line with the feature films is that the shorts had gotten started more than a decade before Snow White. In that time, Mickey made the jump from black and white to color and went through various design revisions. How do you squeeze all of that into just a few short films? With a theme of course!

Mickey has a history of being the "leader of the band" so to speak, so I've picked one cartoon from each era of Mickey's career in which he is a band leader. This way, we can see a very clear development 
visually and stylistically. The Barnyard Concert is from Mickey's black and white era, The Band Concert is Mickey's very first color cartoon, and Symphony Hour shows Mickey as he will look in Fantasia and how he still looks today. These cartoons are still very funny today, especially Band Concert, still one of Mickey's best. Enjoy!