Pinocchio

Yes, I am referring to the 1940's Disney classic, viewed on Disney+: 

Here’s another Disney classic cartoon viewed as a kid but never as an adult until now. Since I’ve been an adult (meaning, the past quarter-century plus) there have been several versions of this tale, to varying degrees of quality. As an adult, I have a feeling that the weirder elements of this film probably left me at least a little bamboozled!

By now, cultural osmosis should make the average reader aware of various elements… the titular character is a wooden puppet created by Geppetto and because of his wish to be a “real boy” upon a star, Pinocchio becomes a sentient being who is still a wooden puppet. His nose grows when he lies, there’s a blue fairy and Jiminy Cricket.

I’ve never read the original Italian children’s story this is based on (apparently it’s a loose adaptation) but the cartoon has strange moments. “Pinoke” is tricked to becoming part of a marionette show is a little weird—it doesn’t compare to his time on Pleasure Island, where boys fight, drink beer and smoke cigars! Oh, and there’s human trafficking to boot. Then there’s that transformation into a donkey… it’d be surprising if it wasn’t nightmare fuel for me as a little boy. The whale subplot I certainly remembered.

Lovely animation, an exciting although heart-wrenching finale, a swell score, catchy songs where When You Wish Upon a Star has been iconic for the past 85 years, some nice life lessons for the children… I was charmed by the film. As an adult, I was happy to see those wild moments again.