I've seen the Disney animated version a good number of times, it is a masterpiece, I watched this 1996 live-action version once or twice in my childhood, I'm glad I watched it again when I grew up to see what I thought properly, directed by Steve Barron (Sheena Easton: "For Your Eyes Only", Toto: "Africa", The Human League: "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", a-ha: "Take on Me", Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Mike Bassett: England Manager). Basically, in the forest, a woodcarver carves a heart into a pine tree, expressing his secret love for a woman named Leona. Years later, lightning strikes the trunk of this tree, and the same woodcarver, Geppetto (Martin Landau), takes it home and uses it to carve a marionette, which he names Pinocchio. The lightning strike ignites a magic that brings the puppet to life. Geppetto is shocked to see the wooden boy come to life, and more that Pinocchio (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) refers to him as his "papa". Pinocchio winds up going out into the street after chasing a pigeon. On the way, he meets Leona (Geneviève Bujold), Geppetto's secret love. He also encounters a pair of thieves, Felinet (Bebe Neuwirth) and Volpe (Rob Schneider), who work for Lorenzini (Udo Kier), a sinister theatre director and puppet master, informing him of Pinocchio's existence, being a living wooden puppet without strings. Lorenzini tries to purchase Pinocchio, but Geppetto refuses to sell his son. After being given clothing, Pinocchio again wanders off, joining a group of boys in school. He gets into a fight with the rowdy Lampwick (Corey Carrier), and when questioned by the class Professor (John Sessions), he lies, resulting in his nose growing, and being thrown out of class. Pinocchio is sad, but comes across a bakery, and cannot help but eat many of the delicious cakes, angering the pastry shop baker (Marcello Magni) and his wife (Dawn French). Geppetto is arrested as a result of the damage caused. While fleeing, Pinocchio meets talking cricket Pepe (voiced by David Doyle), who gives him advice to behave and stay out of trouble, and one day he will become a real boy. The next day, Pinocchio and Geppetto are put on trial at court. Geppetto must pay a fine or he will be imprisoned. Lorenzini enters, offering to pay off the debt if Geppetto gives Pinocchio over to him, to which Geppetto reluctantly agrees. Pinocchio becomes the star of Lorenzini's puppet productions and is given gold coins as payment. But Pepe makes him realise that Lorenzini does not truly love him. Pinocchio rescues several of Geppetto's puppets from being deliberately burnt by Lorenzini, unintentionally setting the theatre on fire. He jumps into a river and escapes to the forest, where he decides to live. There he is found by Felinet and Volpe, who swindle him out of his gold coins. Pinocchio spots a stagecoach passing by, carrying Lampwick and other boys, travelling to Terra Magica, a hidden funfair for boys to do whatever they want. Meanwhile, Geppetto and Leona have been tracking down Pinocchio. Finding Pinocchio's hat on a beach, Geppetto assumes he is out at sea, so he rows a boat to go out and find him. At the funfair, Pinocchio, Lampwick, and other boys go on a roller-coaster, but drinking the magical water, they are turned into donkeys. Pinocchio got bullet holes in his body, so the water drains out, and he only grows donkey ears. The owner of the funfair is Lorenzini, who plans to sell off the boys turned into donkeys to circuses and farms. Pinocchio has Lampwick kick Lorenzini into the cursed water, transforming him into a sea monster and forcing him to flee into the ocean. The boys and donkeys escape the funfair. Pinocchio finds Leona at the beach and goes out in a boat to find his father. Pinocchio and Pepe are swallowed by the giant whale-like sea monster the feral Lorenzini has become. He is reunited in Geppetto inside the monster's stomach. They try to escape up its throat, and Pinocchio lies to extend his nose to make the passage, causing the monster to choke. Geppetto and Pinocchio are spat out and the monster is left to choke in the ocean depths. On land, Pinocchio and Geppetto embrace, and the woodcarver finally acknowledge the puppet as his son. Pinocchio sheds a tear, which lands on the heart carving, and the same magic force transforms him into a real boy (also Jonathan Taylor Thomas). On the way home back to the village, Pinocchio runs into Felinet and Volpe, and tricks them into going to Terra Magica to drinking the cursed water to gain a great fortune. The donkeys all transform back into boys by reforming, Geppetto and Leona marry, and Pinocchio gives his father a log he found, to carve into a girlfriend for him. Also starring Griff Rhys Jones as Tino, Richard Claxton as Saleo, Jean-Claude Drouot as Magistrate, Jean-Claude Dreyfus as Foreman, and EastEnders' Joe Swash (young) as Fighting boy. Landau is well cast as Geppetto who slowly comes to love his creation, Taylor Thomas does well as the voice (and later real boy transformation) as the leading puppet made of pine, Kier is a reasonably sinister villain, and there is likeable support from comedians and well-known British stars. I will agree that it is not as magical or enchanting as other versions of the story by Carlo Collodi, but Jim Henson Creature Workshop do an impressive job, there is still fun and laughs to be had, e.g. The cake shop sequence, a reasonable family adventure fantasy. Okay!
Review of The Adventures of Pinocchio
