For it's second full length animated feature, Walt Disney Studios picked the Carlo Collodi children's classic Pinocchio. The wooden puppet boy who turns into flesh and blood because of a heroic deed has been done a few times on screen, but the Disney version remains the standard.

In some of the animated features of recent years we've come full circle in the fact that a lot of well known Hollywood figures have sought to lend their voices to animated productions. Coming to mind immediately are Mel Gibson as Captain John Smith and Eddie Murphy as the donkey in the Shrek movies. It wasn't as chic a thing to do back in Disney's day, still Walt came up with several good ones like young Dickie Jones as Pinocchio, Walter Catlett as J. Worthington Foulfellow, Frankie Darro as Lampwick, and most important Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket.

These folks lend their voices to one of Disney's best musical scores with Catlett making immortal the thespians ballad An Actor's Life For Me, Jones celebrating the fact he's been liberated from all manner of restraint with I've Got No Strings and Cliff Edwards talking about his new responsibilities as the puppet boy's conscience in Give A Little Whistle.

Most important though is the Academy Award given to that most plaintive song of yearning When You Wish Upon A Star as introduced by Cliff Edwards. Edwards was a major performer in the Twenties and early Thirties with his ukulele Ike character and introduced many popular songs like It's Only A Paper Moon and Singing In The Rain. But he had come up on hard times with a lot of substance abuse problems when Walt Disney offered him the part of Jiminy Cricket's voice. The movie Pinocchio and the songs he sang there resurrected his career and even when down and out, Edwards could always get work at the Disney Studio because of Jiminy Cricket's enduring popularity.

Animation never really dates and the best animation in the world was pioneered at Disney Studio. People can see Pinocchio on the same bill as Shrek even today and I daresay the audience would be equally responsive.

And you can appreciate Pinocchio today as much as your grandparents and great grandparents did through the magic of YouTube or Amazon. If not wish upon a star and fate will step in and see you through.

This is a beautiful movie, not as good as Snow white and Bambi, but it is right up there with the classics. The animation is flawless, and I loved how they animated the Blue Fairy. She was beautiful! The songs are absolutely magnificent, the best being "When You Wish Upon a Star", which strangely reminds me of Christmas and never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The characters are unforgettable, and what a talented voice cast to bring Carlo Collodi's characters to life. Pinocchio is appealing enough, and Geopetto was inspiring. Figaro was really funny, although he never speaks,but his facial expressions are priceless, and Jiminy Cricket is my favourite character. Honest John and his feline sidekick were also great fun, as well as the cruel Stromboli. And I mustn't forget the terrifying Monstro the whale-and the coachman(prepare for nightmares)- who reminds me of a larger version of Jaws the Shark. Another scene that scared me was the donkey transformation. Watch this movie, because it is so relaxing to watch and a timeless Disney masterpiece. 10/10 Bethany Cox

While I would not place "Pinocchio" among the very best feature- length films by Disney, it's sure close. The only reason I don't score this one a 10 is that around the same time, the Disney Studio made a few better films during this era--particularly "Bambi".

So why am I so high on this film? Well, it's truly an artistic triumph. The backgrounds are gorgeous--with lots of detail that show that this was a labor of love. And, the animation of the characters is about as good as you can find. Together, they show that the studio had learned and progressed quite a bit since their first feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". And, the film also is possibly the best looking Disney film. But the story itself is the weakest part of the film. It's good but not great. Some of this is due to difficult to like characters (Pinocchio himself is an idiot when you think about it and Jimminy Cricket is a lousy conscience and does nothing to keep the puppet out of trouble) and a story that just doesn't reach your heart the way some of their other films would do. Exceptional nonetheless.