Feature: Pinocchio
Release: 1940
Viewing: Platinum Edition DVD

Makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you…

Whatever happened to those chorus people?

What movie were we watching the other day where people were saying “Jiminy” Cricket as a phrase?  Was it Lady and the Tramp maybe?

It was Snow White.  

I don’t remember it opening with Jiminy narrating

Yeah.

Makes me dizzy… (As Jiminy is jumping to the house)

He doesn’t really look like a cricket at all.

I know.

Oh.  I don’t like cats but I do like Figaro.

He could jump that far because he’s a cricket.  

What was it?

It was just animated really well.

So jealous.  (Referring to Figaro’s jealousy of Pinocchio)

9 o’clock.  (as the clocks go off in the toyshop)

Bed time.

Oh, if fish only were that fun.  (Referring to Cleo’s tricks)

I know.  Maybe we need a goldfish too.

No.

That is a creepy cat bed.  Look at the litter box.  Beside his bed.  A shovel and pail and sand.  If all cats were the size of Figaro and stayed that way, i would want one.

And so animated and cute…

Is her name just “blue fairy”?  She looks rotoscoped.

I don’t know what that means.

It means it looks like they traced her over live action footage. She just knighted him.  

He gets that fancy button.

She called him “Sir Jiminy Cricket”  And he said “M’lady”

I like Jiminiy’s definition of temptations.

Did he (Gepetto) strike that match on his shoe?  Or his butt?

I didn’t see.

Why didn’t you see?  Are you sleeping over there?

I was blinking.

I guess her name is just Blue Fairy.

Oh poor Cleo…

I wish “because” was still a good answer to the question “why?”
You’re sleeping.

What do we do?

I guess we wait until you are more awake.

(This ended our first attempt at viewing Pinocchio.)—- The next night…

Why?  Where did you stop it?

Pinocchio was on his way out the door to school!

Oh.  Sorry.

—So, we will pick it up at the Blue Fairy’s entrance.

Did you figure out if she was that thing you said she was?

Do you meant if her name is just “Blue Fairy”?

No.  That other thing.

Rotoscoped?

Yeah.

I think she is. I think I read that when I was looking at Snow White stuff.

– Aaron reads everything about a movie after he watches it.

Now he’s fancy.  A fancy bug.

This is the temptation speech that I talked about and you kind of responded.

I don’t remember that at all.

And there’s the whole song about giving a whistle.  And I was whistling.

I was sleeping.  Sorry.  I don’t know how to whistle.

Stop yawning.  We aren’t starting this over again.

Did he light the match on his butt or thigh or shoe?!

I missed it again.  Rewind it.  I turned my head for two seconds to yawn.

I’m not rewinding it again.  

Maybe this is my Great Mouse Detective.

–Aaron always falls asleep watching Great Mouse Detecitve.  He has tried five times to watch it in it’s entireity.

Oh no.  Oh.  Poor Cleo.  (Pinnochio’s finger on fire)

There.  Now he’s off to school again.  All caught up.  There’s that multi-plane camera at work again.

I don’t understand how they make animated movies.  They use a camera?  I thought they used a computer.

In 1940?

They camera the drawings?

Yes.

I don’t get it.

He smokes.  Does the cat talk?  (Of Honest John and…that cat friend…)

No.

Where did that flower come from?

He picked it up. He was carrying it like an apple.

I didn’t see him (the cat) pick it up.

It was behind the wall.

Where’s Jiminy?  

In his pocket I thought.

I haven’t seen him.  

He’s supposed to protect him from these temptations.

He’ll come.

I can’t spell Pinnochio  (the fox can’t either)

Maybe he’s not in his pocket.

I think he’s late.  And that’s how Pinnochio ends up with them.  Yep.  

I like that cat.  

Oh no.  (Pinocchio deciding to skip school.)

I disagree with Jiminy.  (about how telling his father would be snitching)

Stromboli is so scary.

(Jiminy gawks at can-can girl puppets) Boys…

They’re puppets.

I know I’m just teasing.

That’s the irony.  He sings how there are no strings on him.  But – he’s caught in a web of temptations!  Get it?  (song: I’ve Got No Strings)

Yeah.  Does Jiminy leave him?

Jiminy: “What actor wants a conscience anyway?”

Hmm.. Most actors don’t seem to have a conscience. He should have gone to school.

I know it.  

He (Stromboli) said “shut up”.  In a disney movie.  In 1941.

He (Pinocchio) was whistling.  No Jiminy.  (After a whole song about “Give a Little Whistle”)

What’s wrong?

It’s sad.  There’s so much sad stuff left to go through.  He’s got to go to that scary circus and get in the whale still.

Do you mean Pleasure Island?

Yeah….His daddy is looking for him.

The Blue Fairy is disappointed.  

Yeah.  Excuses.

I like how she just lets him lie.

Pinocchio: “I’ll never lie again.”

That’s not true.

That’s a good quote right.

What?

“A boy who won’t be good might as well be made of wood.” – The Blue Fairy

Red Lobster!  (Honest John is at a tavern called The Red Lobster)

Don’t you think it existed back then?

No.  

You think Red Lobster got its name from Pinnochio?

I don’t think so…

Then what are you saying?

I just think it’s interesting.

—

Why did he (Honest John) say “but the law!”?  (This is when the evil Pleasure Island man whispers his plan in Honest John’s ear.)

I don’t know.  

Disney movies are scarier when you are older.

What do you mean?

Well – I didn’t understand half of this when I was little. Poor boys.  

They don’t know what’s in for ‘em.  The Pleasure Island at Disney World is not “all free”.

Oh no.  That’s awful.  Children smoking…

Did he say “Jack-Ass”?

Yep. It’s just one word.

I think it’s hyphenated.

Oh.

What turns them into a donkey?

Just them being bad.

It’s not poison in the smoke?

No.  I don’t think so…

In Saludos Amigos, Goofy smokes.  But they edited it out since it’s original release.

Oh.

They left it in Pinocchio because it’s obviously negative.

“Jack-ass.”  Now Jiminy said it.

Sold to the circus and the salt mines!  It’s creepy. 

That’s three times (jack-ass).

CREEPY!  How did I watch this movie when I was a child?!  I hate it!  (As Lampwick turns into a donkey.)

A message from the Blue Fairy.

From the Blue Dove…So random.  

I know.  A whale…Have you ever read the book?

Pinnochio?

I read it a long time ago when I was in third grade.  I don’t really remember it that well.

I don’t know.  

Can crickets breathe in the water?

I don’t think so.

Is his name Monster?

Monstro.

Oh no.

There he is.

I don’t think whales do that really.

What do you mean?

They don’t just lay on the bottom of the ocean.

That’s a big whale to swallow a whole boat.  

I thought they wanted to get swallowed.  (As Jiminy and Pinocchio swim away from Monstro’s mouth…)

I love Figaro.

I hate birds too! (When Jiminiy is attacked by birds.)

How does Phinocchio get so smart all of a sudden to figure that out? (About blowing fire smoke inside of Monstro to get him to sneeze)

How do they get away?! I don’t remember!

They end up on the shore.  

Where’s Figaro?  Where’s Figaro?

I don’t know.  Where did he go?  Oh there they are.  

How did they get saved?

They just floated I guess.

That was a creepy shot of him (Pinocchio) face down in the water, not moving.

It’s kind of weird ending.  He’s dead. Then he’s alive.  And they celebrate quick.

I like Snow White better than Pinocchio so far.

Yeah.  Well they are just so different.  Pinnochio is kind of long.  And there’s like only nine characters.  Ten if you count Lampwick.  Eleven if you count the evil guy on Pleasure Island.  Snow White only had 11 too..  Okay…

I’m listening to you.  You’re counting characters…

Well that’s the end.

So, we are embarking on this great experiment of watching all 51 Walt Disney Studio Animated Features before the 52nd, Wreck it Ralph, is released this fall.  As we watch, we’ll make note of our thoughts or comments, write them down, and post them after. Aaron’s comments are in blue.  Whtiney’s comments are in this pinkish hue.  Anything in black is a quote or will help reference what was on the screen at the time.

Feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Release: 1937
Viewing:Platinum Edition DVD

The Queen is the first Disney Villian.  She’s MEAN!  And a stepmother.  They get a bad rap…

I hate her (Snow White’s) singing voice the worst of all the princesses. 

Princesses can always talk to animals.  All of them can.

Why is the prince running around the outside of the wall…and climbing over?  Creepy stalker.  That’s how every episode of “SOLVED: FORENSICS” starts.

Oh no…(as the Queen watches the prince singing from the window.)  Scary.  

Where’s the king?

I was always scared at the part when she had to run through the scary woods.  

As scary as the woods are, the only things that attack her are tree branches.  

It must be so cloudy in those woods.  It was really light outside.  I guess it was just her perspective.

That’s very profound.

Yep.  Sometimes it’s very dark and then the cute little bunnies come out and it’s all okay.

I like this song.  (A Smile and A Song)

Uhhh…

You don’t like this song?  

I just don’t like her voice.    

It’s so happy.

This is fun.  Don’t you think?

It would be more fun if I could play with little woodland creatures like that.  

The poor turtle…

That’s cool how they did the reflections on the water.  Even way back then.

It’s Walt Disney.  He’s a genius.

——-

A what? (after some inaudible dialogue)

A doll’s house. (Snow White is inspecting the Dwarfs’ cottage.)

Aw…the turtle.

Snow White knocks three times.  No one is home.  And she breaks in.

She’s a princess.

Snow White is bossy.  She just ordered all those animals around to clean for her.

The dwarfs are loaded!  What do they do with all those diamonds and gems?!

They’re dwarfs.  They’re probably hoarders.

They just sang that they don’t know why they dig them, didn’t they?

(REWIND)

Yep.

They do have to buy Snow White that big coffin later though.

They are hoarders!

Iconic image of dwarves walking across the bridge.  I love it.

—–

Cozy.

Who’s your favorite dwarf?

I was just going to ask you! I like Doc, and Grumpy and Dopey – of course.

I like Sleepy and Doc and Dopey.

“They’re hid in the cupboard!” I love it when they discover the dishes haven’t been stolen.

Oh I forgot about Sneezy!  I like him too.

Dopey is like the least scary to send up to chase whatever they think it is down stairs.  He can’t even talk to scream at it.

“She’s a female.  And all females are full of wicked wiles!”  “What are wicked wiles?”  “I don’t know.  But I’m gonna get ‘em!” – Grumpy (I like this quote!)

Is that why you like Grumpy?  

Disney?

I don’t think he had a step mother.

Well Snow White and Cinderella have stepmothers.  And Belle and Ariel don’t have mothers.  Pocahontas doesn’t either – if she counts, sometimes she doesn’t.  Rapunzel had an evil mother figure.  It seems like in all the movies the princess’ mom like isn’t around, or is bad, or isn’t a big deal at all.

Where is the motherly influence to make these princesses good?

Boys are dirty. (The scene when the dwarfs must wash up.)

“I’m warning you.  You give ‘em an inch, and they walk all over you.”  You said it Grumpy!

Doc isn’t even washing.  He’s just singing to get everyone else to do it.

Oh no…(castle in view)

Poor pig…

She just threw the heart of the pig on the floor…gross.

Interesting she wants to be the fairest in the land but makes herself the ugliest hag ever.  Is it because she’s so ugly on the inside?

I like the spinning part.  I love the spinning.  

Where does it say about the kiss?

I don’t know.  Does it?  It just said it was a Sleeping Death…

I feel like the dwarves song is the first kind of “improv” song.  They have a chorus but each dwarf has to make his own words.  

You mean like the first ever?

I just meant that it’s like one.

Well – what do you mean?

I just…

What are you saying?

Nevermind.

They traced over some of this to animate a dance sequence in Robin Hood.

She only saw him (the prince) one time.  It was love at first sight.  

I love it when they attack Dopey and that pillow.  

Snow White is praying!  

Dopey whines in his sleep…just like Penny.

Oh here’s the answer to your question.  “The vicitim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by Love’s First Kiss”.  Silly witch.  ALWAYS check to see if there’s an antidote before you turn yourself into a hag and make a skull-caramel dipped candy poisoned apple.

She is CREEPY.

Grumpy wanted that kiss on his head the whole time.  He was just putting up a front.

They warned her not to let anyone in.

She takes the apple through the window though.

But they said beware of strangers.

What kind of pie was that?

A green pie.  Gooseberry pie?

It looked like peas.  A pea pie.  For Grumpy.  That’s what you get if you are grumpy.  A pea pie.

Yes.  Gooseberry pies!  You were right!

Hm. Guess I must have remembered in my subconcious.  

She did get in the house!  Faking heart pains!

Animals to the rescue.  

Always!

I like how Grumpy leads the charge.

Aw.  That poor turtle.

She’s evil!

She’ll get hers.  

Now she wishes she could move a little faster.

Maybe the old hag disguise was not a good choice after all.

Those vultures are happy now.  

Even the candle is crying.

They’re so sad.

They didn’t buy the coffin.  They fashioned it.

There’s the princess “wake up.”  Blink. Stretch.  Look up.  Stretch. Smile.  Birds.

She just says bye.  

Does she say thank you? She should thank them for not burying her in the ground.

I was always confused about his castle being in the clouds.

Brought to you by Hallmark.

The End.