I am writing this Pinocchio at a kind of awkward time. You see as a kid, Pinocchio was one of my favorite Disney movies, heck even now I love it and I always go on the ride at Disneyland Paris! However, I am writing this after the live-action Disney Plus Pinocchio came out in 2022 and I have to say…. I like the live-action remake quite a bit better!
How to Download Pinocchio (1940)
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like Pinocchio, check out also the 2022 stop-motion film by Guillermo del Toro.
The Movie Review
Pinocchio is an absolute classic, it is crazy to think that this movie which still looks and sounds great today was released over 80 years ago! It is actually the second big movie from Disney, but it never reached the level of success that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs did, mainly because of the effects of World War II.
I am pretty sure that most of you by now know the deal with the story of Pinocchio. We have an old woodworker called Geppetto who more than anything wants a son so he makes a wooden puppet and calls him Pinocchio. He wishes for him to be brought to life and the Blue Fairy makes this happen.
The thing with the original Pinocchio is that, we do not get much in the way of backstory for Geppetto. You see, the live-action remake of Pinocchio does a wonderful job of making you really care and feel sorry for Geppetto. I watched the original again recently and you just do not get that same level of sympathy for Geppetto as you get with the remake.
Pinocchio has a buddy in Jiminy Cricket who is tasked with being his conscious and leading him down the right path. I think that Jiminy is arguably better in this original version of Pinocchio than he is in the remake, but if I am being 100 percent honest the same cannot be said for Pinocchio himself.
You see, in the original, Pinocchio is much easier led astray by Honest John and he ends up at Pleasure Island, a scene which I loved, but terrified me as a kid for some reason. Anyway, this original movie has Pinocchio kind of acting like a bit of a jerk if I am being honest. I feel like they did a great job of making him more likable in the remake.
One thing that is still spectacular is the whole scene with Monstro. I know that many were not happy with Monstro being an actual monster in the remake and I keep flip-flopping on which one I like best. Still, Monstro is such a great, well I am not sure we could say straight-up villain, but it is still an awesome scene and a major highlight of the movie.
If you went back to the 80s and asked me to make you a list of my five favorite Disney movies, Pinocchio would 100 percent have made that list. However, while I still enjoy the movie and appreciate its place in history. I do feel that Disney took this original idea and made it better with their live-action remake and if I had to watch Pinocchio, it would be the remake that I would choose!
