*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I first saw this Golden Films production back when it was originally released in 1992 and quickly fell in love with it. This version of the classic Carlo Collodi "Pinocchio" story is very warm and does a very nice job of sticking to the original book. Even though Disney's 1940 production was just as heartwarming, the story did not resemble the original work as well as this one.

The story begins when a spark of magic escapes from the home of the Blue Fairy and lands on Gepetto the toymaker's fireplace. The spark of magic blends into one of the logs in the fire, it is this very log that Gepetto then turns into a toy all for his own. He creates a little puppet which immediately comes alive, for it had been blessed with the Blue Fairy's magic. Gepetto sends his boy to school, but being a puppet just learning about the world, he decides to instead follow temptation and turn to see a puppet play instead. Pinocchio lives through a number of adventures like this, being trusty of unkind strangers and lying to get out of trouble, but when he becomes the scare that threatens the very Blue Fairy's life, he promises to be a good boy and is given his heart's greatest desire.

I am so sick of people comparing GoodTimes films with Disney films and even more sick of adults expecting to be pleased with a film that is meant for smaller children. Many of my friends have seen this wonderful animated tale when they were *children* and they all love it. Adults have a harder time appreciating simple beauty and are too judgmental, these films should be reviewed by children, not grown-ups. This was the review of an open-minded teen-ager.

• The first of two of Golden Films' second line of "animated classics" to be inspired by a novel, Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio", as opposed to a classic fairy or folk tale; the second was The Three Musketeers (1993) (V).
• Part of Golden Films' second wave of "Animated Classics", which included Aladdin (1993) (V), Pinocchio (1993) (V), The Three Musketeers (1993) (V), Sinbad (1993) (V), Thumbelina (1993) (V), Beauty and the Beast (1993) (V) and The Little Mermaid (1993) (V).
• SPOILER: In the original Carlo Collodi story, Gepetto and Pinocchio are swallowed by a great big shark, in this version, they're both swallowed by a whale.