Movie review - "Pinocchio" (1941) ****

Classic Disney cartoon made with love evident in every frame and contains two of the scariest sequences in cinema: the scene on Pleasure Island where boys turn into donkeys, and the bit inside the whale. Talk about an intense film - when people poo-poo kiddies films they should watch this. Just because a film is rated G doesn't mean it can't be a rollercoaster - this is a world where foxes lure little boys away to slavery, where actor managers kidnap their stars, where boys turn into donkeys and whales are really mean. Pinocchio has to save his father from drowning and he even drowns himself at the end. Some people find Pinocchio not that likeable - I didn't mind him but admit he's a bit dim and not given the chance to really earn Gipetto's devotion (Gipetto is a very sympathetic character), and it was probably a mistake to have Honest John waylay him twice.