![]() Perhaps there is a way to make Bible lessons and secular movies work in conjunction – to point out to kids, for example, how something like “Pinocchio” mirrors the challenges, both external and internal, faced by David, another boy who had to grow up very fast. The movies and the church don’t have to be in competition for the eyes and ears – and consequently hearts and minds – of our kids. By handing over such instructive authority to a secular property, though, am I undermining the influence that, say, Bible stories, may have on my kids? After all, some Christian parents restrict their children’s exposure to movies exactly because of this concern, limiting them to Veggie Tales videos or similar religious fare. This cinematic mastery, coupled with the story’s strong moral framework, is why I considered “Pinocchio” a must-see for the little moviegoers in my house (they both made it through unscathed). Like all of Disney’s classics, the movie is packed with intricate details, especially in the workshop of Geppetto, where Pinocchio is “born.” A wonderland of cuckoo clocks, wind-up toys and other delights, it’s where we first meet Jiminy Cricket, the cheery little fellow who is anointed by the fairy to be Pinocchio’s conscience and who stands as one of the landmarks in feature-length character animation. He's sweet, but maybe spends a lot of time in his head. He jumps up on the unfinished puppet and argues about its name with his pets. ![]() Based on the 1883 childrens story by Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio is in spirit a classical European fairy tale, full. Like many other Tuscan fairy tales, Pinocchio visited many fantastical places, like the. Fairy-tale scariness and frightening images. As the movie opens, Jiminy Cricket takes us around Geppetto's shop, marveling at all the cool stuff. The story is set in the Tuscany, Italy in the late 1800s, where Pinocchio lives with his father, Geppetto. OK, “Pinocchio” has a bit more artistry than that. Geppetto is a little old to be a single dad. Putting a preschooler in front of this is sort of like putting a troublesome teen in front of “Scared Straight!”, the 1978 documentary in which convicts shared the terrors of prison life with delinquent kids. After smoking, drinking and playing pool on Pleasure Island, for instance, he and his fellow young truants begin to turn into donkeys. Pinocchio’s moral failure in the face of each of these challenges comes with a heavy price. As Pinocchio, the marionette come to life, tries to follow the Blue Fairy’s command to be “brave, truthful and unselfish,” his fortitude is challenged by the likes of a sly, flattering fox a greedy puppeteer and the temptations of Pleasure Island. ![]() ![]() Released in 1940 – it was the studio’s second animated feature, after “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” – “Pinocchio” still works as a harrowing exercise in moral instruction for children. As has also been a theme of Pinocchio's story, the idea of what it means to be 'real' goes deeper than flesh in Pinocchio, and reminds us all that love, selflessness, and acceptance are not merely. ![]()
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