This movie is a joy. I forgot how good this was.

The songs are memorable with clever lyrics and beautiful vocals. "When You Wish Upon A Star" is classic, "An Actor's Life for Me" is fun and funny, and "I've Got No Strings" is an enduring bit of fun - it's used to great effect in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Notable Grossness

Stromboli is a "gypsy" and contributes to a negative ethnic stereotype. I also forgot to note the brief racist depiction in Snow White where Dopey has a cymbal on his head and they briefly draw him "acting Chinese" and with slightly exaggerated slanty-eyes features.

The animation is great - the beautiful, intricate work from Snow White remains in Geppetto's workshop creations, and the secondary characters are animated with as much care as Pinocchio is. There are moments of real terror - from Stromboli locking Pinocchio in a cage, to Lampwick's transformation into a donkey, to the sinister black figures on Pleasure Island, to Monstro, who is truly terrifying. I particularly noted the excellent animation when Monstro is chasing Geppetto and Pinocchio, because it was clear how extremely fast he was swimming, despite being an enormous whale.

Jiminy Cricket, a cricket in a smooshed blue top hat, holding a closed umbrella and black shoes with gold spats, puts his black overcoat on backwards while shouting angrily at Pinocchio (off-screen). Jiminy is shouting, 'You buttered your bread, now sleep in it!'

This is the first time they started developing real humor. Jiminy Cricket is a riot. I requoted a lot of his lines to James as I was watching. They also did an excellent job at character building; even characters with a few lines felt fleshed out and interesting. Lampwick, Honest John, even the Blue Fairy felt like real characters to me. I also love the Pleasure Island sequence, and I'm really sad the Pleasure Island part of Disneyworld has been renamed, it was one of my favorite parts of going to Disney as an adult.

November 3rd, 2020

More Disney Animated Features

A movie release poster shows a group of white people, 4 men, a woman, and a young boy, surrounding a green animated dragon with pink wings and red hair. The poster says "Coming at Christmas, Walt Disney Productions' Pete's Dragon"
Pete's Dragon
Five human actors, a woman, a man, and three children of various ages, sit on a flying brass bed with a floral blanket, with the moon and clouds behind them. Below them, illustrated animals are in various poses: two fish dance together (one in a suit); two fish and an octopus play in a band together with the words "The Briny Boys" on the front of the drum kit; an alligator, a rhino, and a gorilla run around a soccer field in yellow and green athletic outfits; a lion in a crown and red royal robe stands with one foot on the soccer ball; and a secretary bird in a suit with glasses stands watching.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bert, a chimney sweep, Jane, a young blonde child in a red dress and yellow overcoat, Michael, a young strawberry blonde child in short pants and a button coat, and Mary Poppins, a nanny in a red dress with a black hat with white flowers, stand on a rooftop, covered in soot.
Mary Poppins
Bigfoot, a giant humanoid creature with red fur, sits in front of a cardboard box with a downward pointing arrow on the side, wearing a pair of white men's briefs underwear on his head. He holds the crotch hole open with his fingers so he can look out. Goofy, a dog-like humanoid cartoon with black skin and a pale face, and long ears, watches from his yellow car several hundred feet behind Bigfoot, with his son Max in the passenger seat; Max looks similar to Goofy.
A Goofy Movie

Recent Snark

The Lion King

February 22nd, 2022

This is a really epic movie, but it's less of my favorite than I remember. It still has some great moments and songs I like but basically, the half of the movie where Simba's away from Pride Rock is more boring than I remember, and I care a lot less about Simba when he's not a tiny baby.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

July 13th, 2021

Do I honestly even have to review this movie? I have a matching tattoo with my brothers where we each got Lock, Shock, or Barrel. I think it's safe to say I love the hell out of this movie. I've also seen it so many times, and so many times recently, that I ranked it before I even started it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aladdin

July 6th, 2021

This is really just such a joyful piece of art, not ONLY because of Robin Williams but definitely a lot because of Robin Williams.

Beauty and the Beast

June 29th, 2021

I love Belle and the animated furniture is charming. I liked this a lot more when I was a kid.

The Rescuers Down Under

June 22nd, 2021

This is legit one of my favorite movies.

DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

June 15th, 2021

What in the actual hell is this movie? Is this the trial run on Aladdin? But like.............a bad one? Also the literal best part of this movie is when they play the DuckTales theme. At the end. :sigh: