Pinocchio (1940) **Overall Synopsis**

Hmm, where to start with this...? Honestly, I don't know. After pouring out paragraphs with reviewing Snow White, which could easily make the Top Ten list of any Disney fan, Pinocchio in many ways might seem like a step down in all basic Disney elements. Well, let's just go with what we have, first of all.
The story follows the adventures of a little wooden puppet named Pinocchio, brought to life by a Blue Fairy, after his father wished upon a star for him to become a "real boy". Now, in itself, this is a strange wish for the father, Geppetto to make. Why on earth would anyone wish for a puppet to become real? If you think about it, it's actually a creepy prospect.

In Geppetto's case though, it does sort of make sense since we can see that he's lonely and unmarried, living only with his cat Figaro, and his fish Cleo. It would only be natural that he'd want a son, so of course the Blue Fairy grants his wish and brings Pinocchio to life.
Dancing around he edges of this main plot, we see a character called Jiminy Cricket, literally a cricket who acts as a conscience to the newly-born puppet. So what happens? Soon after being brought to life--the very next morning in fact--Geppetto sends Pinocchio to school, looking forward to a bright future ahead of them. In many ways, this doesn't make sense. Why would he send Pinocchio out into the world so soon? Is Pinocchio even old enough for school? Does Geppetto honestly expect the outside world to accept Pinocchio as their equal even though he's clearly as a phenomenon even to a life-size fox and cat whom he later encounters? Well, the audience can clearly define this as the mistake that started it all.
If not for two sketchy characters--a large fox named Honest John and his sidekick, Kitty--things could have gone as smoothly as planned, although we never know for sure. Pinocchio gets convinced into going the theatre, despite useless warnings by Jiminy to go back to school. Honestly, what kid would want to go back to school as opposed to becoming actors?  Well, acting turns out to be Pinocchio's downfall when Stromboli, the money-hungry puppet master, reveals his true nature and locks Pinocchio in a cage, outlining his future abused-life before him in just a few sentences.

The Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket--separately--then show up just on time and free Pinocchio, but not before the famous lying scene when his nose grows. And so thus, with a lesson learned, Pinocchio heads home, only to be caught by Honest John and Kitty once again. More forcefully this time, they encourage him on another reckless adventure, this time to a place called "Pleasure Island" with many other school bad-boys who usually skip. Here Pinocchio makes a friend, a delinquent who of course is anything but a good influence. Jiminy Cricket follows along, still trying to stop Pinocchio from doing bad things. We're given some pretty disturbing images of all the bad things boys can do, all leading up to a scene at a pool table where Jiminy makes his last desperate attempt to get Pinocchio to cooperate.
After Jiminy leaves in a huff, he finds out that the boys were actually brought to the island to be turned into donkeys for being bad boys. There are really dark messages that can be interpreted with this, but I won't get into those. Instead, I'll focus on the aspect of how Pinocchio discovers this for himself, and just narrowly escapes being turned into a donkey himself thanks to Jiminy's last minute return. They then escape the island and go back to Pinocchio's home, only to discover that Geppetto left earlier in search of Pinocchio. Like a ray of hope from heaven, a dove arrives with a letter explaining everything, and Pinocchio takes off in search of his father. The search leads him to the bottom of the ocean, where we get amazing 1940s' effects of being underwater. Considering the difference in years between The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio, one can't help but be impressed by this.

Pinocchio finally finds his father in the belly of a whale named Monstro, alive and well, and luckily not starving since Monstro's just opened up his mouth to eat several hundred fish. Geppetto insists that there's no way out of their current situation, but Pinocchio disagrees and rapidly starts a fire in hopes of making the whale sneeze. His plan is successful, but he's also successfully managed to get Monstro mad, which leads to a life-threatening climax in the ocean. Geppetto near the end is close to drowning, and so Pinocchio saves him, later crashing into some rocks and somehow dying.
Along with Jiminy and his pets, Geppetto goes back home and then cries at the loss of his only son. For some people this may be a tear-jerker, for others it might not be. But then we hear the Blue Fairy's voice repeating the lesson she meant for Pinocchio to learn from the beginning, and then as her gift to him for his courage, she brings him back to life and turns him into a real boy.

A joyful reunion and celebration follows, all ending with Jiminy singing the famous song "When You Wish Upon A Star", which is basically how the entire movie came to pass.
So, what do I have to say about Pinocchio overall? Well, it's definitely not bad, but at the same time, now that I look back on it, it's also not as innocent as I first perceived as a child. I don't really find it one of those movies you can go back on and enjoy, because as you get older you can just read into the darker elements of it and wonder how you didn't pick up on them as children.
For overall movie stats, I think:

Pinocchio Movie Stats

Animation: 9/10 impressive underwater effects considering the year, and a decent follow-up to Snow White
Story-line: 6/10 Not all that impressive overall, in that in some parts it can just get plain disturbing (the entire idea of "Pleasure Island")
Timing: 9/10; decent, just like Snow White
Characters: 7/10; not as great as Snow White; character analysis-es and relationship links below
Soundtrack & Details: 2/10 sorry, but not impressive at all in my opinion

Overall Total (/10): 6.6
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Further Movie Information Links

Prince and Huntsman **Character Analyses**

The reason I'm combining these two analyses is because each of these characters hold such little-to-no importance or impact on the film, that the individual character analyses wouldn't be long enough.

First let's start off with the Huntsman, a man with no name except as stated later by DisneyWikia, Humbert.

Alright, so let's start off with what we know about him. Well, we know that he's kinder than he looks, and that he wants to help Snow White escape and that he cares about Snow White as "the little princess", but what else do we really know about him?
In all honesty, if it wasn't Snow White's story, then I think that this guy could have gotten a bigger role. There's so much for what we could've found out about him. I mean, did anyone ever pose any questions like: How long has he been around the palace? Where's he from? How good is he at hunting? Did he have some loyalty to Snow White's late parents and does that make up part of the reason why he can't kill her and ends up betraying the Queen, at possibly the cost of his life? If he escapes from the Queen, what does he do afterwards? Could he possibly have gone to the Prince's kingdom and told him about Snow White was? Are there any other circumstances revolving around him?
My point is, that there's a lot that could have been revealed about him that just wasn't, but nor did it need to be since it was Snow White's story.

Next we have the Prince, who in some ways is even more unimportant than the Huntsman, especially considering that he isn't even given a name.

Would anyone like to know a secret? This guy was actually originally planned to be the film's deuteragonist but ended up only having a minor role because he was the toughest character to animate. Now, this comes off as a surprise after the brilliant designs we got with the Seven Dwarfs and the Evil Queen, but it isn't hard to believe when you look at it from a different standpoint. Being the general love-interest of our first Disney heroine, it's automatically implied that he's attractive, strong-looking, etc. Seeing as it was Disney's first movie, maybe he found it hard to animate such a man and still make him look, well, manly. The Prince is also not given a name, probably because his appearance doesn't cause much of an impact other than serenading Snow White and getting her to fall in love with him. He serves a purpose in the film by bringing Snow White back to life in the only possible way, but take that away and all you've got is a decently good guy who's just...there. Not a memorable character because he didn't get the chance to be, but on the bright side he is ideal for Snow White as a character.

Prince and Huntsman Character Scores

Design: 5/10 decently good I guess, but of no importance
Personality: 1/10 they barely get any!
Actions: 7/10 both serving decent importance in the movie
Lovability: 4/10 the Prince gets to be the love interest and the Huntsman might have some angst going on, but what else is there?
Realistic-ness: 10/10 we have no reason to argue otherwise. They just have some basic human characteristics corresponding to a situation, so there's literally nothing un-realistic about them

Overall Score (/10): 5.4

The Evil Queen **Character Analysis**

The Evil Queen: Easily one of Disney's scariest villains by design. Especially considering that she was Disney's first villain, she's pretty impressive as villains go.
Ok, so what is she basically? A vain woman who wants to make sure that no one--especially her stepdaughter--surpasses her in beauty, and will go to literally any lengths to ensure that her title is kept. It is both her design and her actions throughout the film that make her evil rather than her specific personality or motivation. Unlike the usual Disney characters, villains have to be judged in an entirely different way because they're not meant to be lovable, they're not meant to be too relatable, because the movie is just supposed to make us want to hate them.
So, what do I think of the Evil Queen? Well, as a child she ruined the movie for me because in her Hag form, she was literally my only fear, so I could never watch Disney's masterpiece properly. As I got older--and slightly more used to her appearance--though, I began to see her for what she was.
Her motivation isn't great at all, in that she can actually reflect the vanity of many women who just want to stay on top. In this sense, there's nothing noticeable about her. But in her actions however, they are nothing but evil and intimidating! Take a look at the scene when she commands the Huntsman to take Snow White to the forest and kill her, you can just tell that she's serious and that she hopes that he'll succeed. In some ways Disney didn't make it as gruesome as the original story when the Queen actually wanted to eat Snow White's heart, but just the fact that she wants it to be "doubly sure" is scary enough.

Her turning into the Old Hag and then coming up with the poisoned apple idea is more scary in the way it is presented to us through her design. What gets really creepy is when she talks to herself and actually visualizes what will happen if she succeeds: Snow White getting buried alive and whatnot. The fact that she relishes in some thoughts is enough to make anyone quiver.
So, why is she so great as a villain? Her design, as some argue, makes up the majority of what makes her bad, but I disagree against this. Her design is one of her biggest assets, but as more and more of her evil personality comes out, it also proves her to be evil. So while her motivation is her weakest point, it does show just how much of an extremist she can be. All in all, scary stuff to deal with and a great villain for Disney's first movie.

Evil Queen Villain Scores

Design: 10/10 professionally done and enough to scare anyone
Motivation: 3/10 one of the worst ones and somewhat controversial considering she makes herself ugly in order to obtain the title of being the most beautiful
Actions: 9/10 sinister and goosebumps worthy. The only problem I find in her actions is that she didn't choose to kill Snow White in a more gruesome way than with a poison apple
Success-Rate: 10/10 because she did actually manage to kill Snow White before she herself died, so technically she realized her goal
Realistic-ness: 8.5/10 not the most realistic in what she does, but realistic in that a lot of women deal with vanity and jealousy on a daily basis (the media doesn't help much)

Overall Score (/10): 8.1

The Seven Dwarfs **Characters Analysis**

Ah, the Seven Dwarfs! We all know them; we all love them! And, as stated by the Nostalgia Critic, without them, Disney could not have made as strong a movie as he did. They're the characters we remember, and the characters we've grown to love. For those of you who've read my analysis on Snow White, you'll see that I didn't give her much points for personality, because purely and simply she's somewhat of a bland character by herself. But the Dwarfs on the other hand, create entirely new opportunities for the plot, and Disney's used them magnificently to his advantage.

Ok, so let's take a look at the Dwarfs individually. First we have Doc, the leader of the dwarfs.

So, out of all the dwarfs it's clear that Doc isn't the funniest one among them, but rather he is the responsible, elder (brother? leader? dwarf?) who is there to hold things together and give the others instructions when they're unsure of something. He is definitely the most sensible one among them, as well as the spokesperson for the lot of them--minus Grumpy in some cases. His only comedic quality may be from the fact that he stutters when trying to say some things, and the fact that even when the dwarves around him are clearly causing trouble, he's still trying to hold it together.

Next, let's take a look at Happy, the third in line.

Despite Doc being the most responsible one from the lot, it's easy to see Happy as the most father-like, happy-go-lucky one. He doesn't have much of a role or impact in the movie with Snow White in my opinion, however at the end when we see him crying, we can just tell that it's unnatural and that he shouldn't be crying. There's not much to say about Happy except that his happiness can be contagious, and that if Snow White was ever in a tough spot, he'd be one of the ones who'd have more success with cheering her up.

Up next is Sleepy, the dwarf who sleeps all the time, yet is still ahead of Dopey in line.

Ok, now I'll be honest, even as a child Sleepy didn't make much of an impact on me, and for the obvious reason: he's asleep through most of what's happening and when he's not asleep, he's either just in the background with barely any dialogue, or fooling around with that fly that's always around him. He's definitely the dwarf with the least screen time, but Disney was fair and decided to give him a slight impact by making him be the first one to realize what the animals are trying to tell the dwarves when they come to fetch them to save Snow White. He stays out of the principle actions as just the observer, but even with just one line we see how this works to his advantage. In other words, he's wiser than he seems.

Just ahead of Sleepy, we have Bashful, whom I always thought to be his identical twin brother--because of their hats.

Out of all the dwarves--besides Dopey of course--I always thought Bashful to be the sweetest. He's shy a lot of the time, but provides a lot of funny aspects about him. He's always blushing red and tying up his beard to show how nervous he is, but he also knows when to be serious. The most timid of the dwarves, you'd thing that he'd have less lines than he did, but it's clear that despite his entire being, he's able to make friends with others and then be comfortable around them. Out of all the dwarves, I find him the most relatable because a lot of people are shy at first in real life and then have to fight through their shyness.

Another favourite of mine, Sneezy.

I've always loved this guy and his sneezes. They just brought laughs to the screen and so I found him almost as sweet as Dopey. He and Dopey could be best friends--since they became taller together--and so maybe Dopey's childish demeanor might've had an impact on him since you can see some of it reflected in how Sneezy reacts to his sneezes. He knows that he sneezes a lot--and often too--but he accepts this and tries to give out warnings to when he feels a sneeze coming on. His sneezes literally blow people away, and give all the characters on-screen laughs as well. Me personally, I just love him!

Now for one of the favourite, Grumpy.

His scowl has become a Disney trademark, and everyone recognizes Grumpy out of all the dwarves. He's in some cases one of the most lovable dwarves, because he undergoes the most change by the end of the movie towards Snow White. He's the stuck up one, the one that's always getting himself in trouble by not just admitting that he's wrong, the one who doesn't like the "feminine touch", and the one who's just plain tough. Throughout the movie we all want him to love Snow White and be on her side, and by the end of the movie we see that he really loved her as well, and he just loses his tough demeanor and cries at one point, something that got teary reactions from all of us as well. I think the guys can relate to him the most because he's the most "manly" one per say, or trying to be. A sourpuss and a grouch at first, Grumpy's change is an unforgettable one.

And last but not least, the world's favourite, Dopey.

Out of all the dwarves, this one made the most impact on the world and also became Snow White's favourite in a way. He loved her the most, he was attached to her the most, and in some cases it's clear that he needed affection the most. He's the youngest of the dwarves, and the most childlike and innocent one. He's even more innocent than Snow White, but this works more to his advantage than hers because he's the one always messing up by accident, the one who's always picked to go the dirty work, and the fact that he can't talk just makes him even funnier. His crying at the end is the only time we hear a sound from him and just tell me, how does that not summon up a paternal instinct in us, particularly a motherly one for the women? We just want to protect him, we feel bad for him if things don't work out ok for him. But, from the dwarves, he's the funniest one and the screen time is gets is just never enough for us!

Ok, so now I think it's time to conclude with:

Seven Dwarfs Character Scores

Design: 8/10; while they all have trademark expressions and qualities, they do look somewhat similar in attire and with beards--for the most part--and whatnot, so that's why I can't give them a higher score
Personality: 10/10; reflected perfectly in their names, and fun to watch. They summon up so many different emotions in us and just want to make us see what they do next.
Actions: 7.5/10; good for comedy, but not much else. Can you imagine them in an action movie or a mystery movie?
Lovability: 10/10; completely lovable and memorable!
Realistic-ness: 3.5/10; How many dwarves have you seen in your life?

Overall Score (/10): 7.8

Snow White **Character Analysis**

Snow White, the fairest one of all, and the first ever Disney Princess. So what do I think about her? Admittedly, she is not the best Disney Princess around.
Now, I know a lot of people might really love Snow White and I do too, it's just that I don't see anything particularly great about her, at least not compared to some of the future Disney Princesses that we'll see. So, what is it that's bad about her?
Well, as mentioned by some people--I forget who, but just to be clear, this is not my original idea--Snow White`s character is a bit bland per say, because what do we have? A cute, childlike-character of a princess who, after some other princesses that Disney dishes out, isn't really the fairest one of all.

Not to say that she isn't beautiful at all, but even on the DisneyWikia it states that she's actually only 14 years old, so she can't exactly be called "womanly" in this sense. What I somewhat disagree with is her design which reflects the fashion sense of the 20s and 30s with short, somewhat boyish hair. Besides Snow White, what other princesses have you heard of with short hair? Cinderella appears to have short hair, when actually it's just past shoulder-length, and Mulan of course barely counts since she cut her hair from its original length. So Snow White's character design in this sense was kept onto to reflect those times, while giving her longer hair would have reflected centuries of the norm. Given the fact that Disney is emphasizing Snow White's childishness though, her Shirley-Temple-like looks suit her well.
Personality-wise, not much is given to us about her except that she's kind, innocent, caring, and extremely gullible. She only has a bit of spunk or daring with the way she teases Grumpy just a bit, but other than that we just get the "goody-goody-princess" feel about her. It's a perfectly acceptable personality for the first Disney Princess that's ever been made, but at the same time the time this movie was released must also be kept in mind since back then women weren't respected as they are today.
Her dress is beautiful of course, though not the most glamorous dress that Disney has designed, and nor should it be.
Snow White is a simple, kindhearted, beauty and although all this seems--and in some senses is--a bit bland, it ties in perfectly with the movie where so many other memorable personalities are shown. All in all, her score is:

Snow White Character Scores

Design: 7/10; reflecting only 20s & 30s
Personality: 6/10; a bit dull and bland
Actions: 7/10; she is easily gullible and this turns out to be her downfall with the poisoned apple
Lovability: 10/10; maybe it's because she summons up the parental instinct in us all, but overall we want her to win and we're all definitely on her side. There's just a really lovable quality about her.
Realistic-ness: 4/10; you won't find people as kind as her around much anymore. And even if they are kind, not kind and childishly innocent.

Overall Score (/10): 6.8

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) **Overall Synopsis**

Ah, the very first animated movie ever made! What better way to start off the world on full-length animated movies, than with an innocent fairy tale? Produced by Walt Disney--a genius at work--the film introduced a whole new form of entertainment to the world that brightened up the end of the depressing 30s. While in the character design of Snow White herself we see a hairstyle taken right out of the 20s, at the same time we can also relate to the childhood innocence that is the very being of this first Disney princess! But, before we get into specifics with characters, let's take a look at the general plot.
So, plot-wise, we start off with the centuries-old fairy tale of beautiful princess Snow White, forced to work harshly because of the jealousy of her evil stepmother, the Queen. The Queen of course has an eerie Magic Mirror,

which daily tells her the name of the "fairest one of all". The movie is brilliant in explaining this simple aspect the way it was intended: simply and without any complicated back-story involving Snow White's real mother or father. She has a stepmother; she's being mistreated; that's it and that's all children should understand out of it. Any unnecessary back-story might've confused the younger ones altogether.
We see the Queen's reaction at finding out that the stepdaughter she's worked so hard to keep hidden is actually the fairest one of all, and then the scene reverts to Snow White working innocently in the courtyard. She meets a Prince--who has no mentioned name--and they fall in love, which only further provides proof to the Queen that Snow White is a "danger" to her.
The jealous Queen commands her royal huntsman to kill Snow White, however he is unable to do it due to Snow White's innocence. He tells the girl to flee, which she does into a forest of seeming nightmares.

Now, I don't know what Disney had in mind when making such a creepy forest, but I can guarantee that it gave plenty of children nightmares. Personally, I never found it as scary as the Old Hag, but we'll get to that later.
The movie has perfect timing, and uses it to drastically change the tone from something scary, lonely, and helpless, to something calm, friendly, and happy when Snow White makes new animal friends. The images you get of her being surrounding by innocent--and cutely designed--animals just emphasize more on how much of a "good guy" she is and how she's the victim throughout the movie--both points that need to be emphasized. Some people--I'm not sure who--might not see the point in bringing the animals to the picture, but they do have their uses as they lead Snow White to the Dwarf's cottage, and then help her clean it up afterwards.
And to introduce our lovable seven characters--on which the movie is also focused--what better way than through the song "Heigh Ho" and a cheerful representation of their workplace in the mines?

The dwarfs: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy, and Dopey, are all lovable characters whose names represent their personalities, but only to a limited amount. Of course they find Snow White in their house and are surprised--but not before getting frightened and bringing more than a few laughs to the screen--however they all--give or take Grumpy--agree to let her stay after hearing her story and smelling her delicious soup.
A hilarious scene follows when Snow White sends the dwarfs to wash up for dinner--for the first time "recently"--during which time Grumpy continuously refuses to be accepting.
The bigger horror finally comes when we're taken back to the eerie palace where once again the Queen asks her Magic Mirror the question, only to find out that she's been tricked by the huntsman and find out that Snow White is still alive. Outraged, she hurries down to a secret laboratory of potions and there transforms herself into a fearsome and ugly old hag.

She then finds a spell for a poison apple and, contented, she gives a wicked smile before fading out.
We hear cheerful music come from the dwarfs' house in the next scene, and we see that almost in commemoration of Snow White's visit to them, they throw a party and simply enjoy themselves together. After yet several more laughs, they settle down and Snow White sings to them the story of her love for the Prince. Bedtime comes and we see the last of them for the day.
The next scene yet again revolves around the Queen, now an old hag, as she poisons the apple and then makes her way out of the palace in a cautious way so that no one can see her or find out what she intends to do. A creepy and shiver-worthy scene, it shows us the real gruesomeness of what is on her mind.
One again--as a clever break between the creepiness--we cut to the cheerful dwarfs' cottage where Snow White bids them all farewell as they go to work. They all advise her to beware of strangers, but we all know too well how cunning and crafty the wicked Queen is. Snow White is baking for the dwarfs when the Queen appears, an evil look on her face so as to scare Snow White.

It does not take her long to coax Snow White into taking a bite of the apple, meanwhile the animals have realized what is happening and have brought the dwarfs back to the cottage. But it is too late as the evil deed is done, yet luckily fate punishes the evil Queen, and her fate I will leave as a surprise for those who haven't watched the movie yet.
A tear-jerking scene follows, and then finally the ending we've all been waiting for. Singing a song of love, the Prince comes into the forest, and seeing Snow White dead is reduced to tears, but not before he plants a simple kiss--love's first kiss--on her lips.

As the story goes, Snow White awakens and the dwarfs happily celebrate. She is then taken away by the Prince, and then Disney ends the movie in a perfectly fairy-tale-like way with a castle in the clouds.
What makes Snow White a great movie is just in how Disney presents it. It's funny, it's epic, it's childish, it's even scary at times, and it's romantic with Snow White and the Prince. All in all, here are its overall movie stats in my opinion:

Snow White Movie Stats

Animation: 9/10; even though it was old animation, there's just a quality about it that no one can deny
Story-line: 10/10; it lacks nothing and has perfect breaks inbetween the scenes
Timing: 9/10; not too long, not too short, just enjoyable
Characters: 8.5/10; character analysis-es and relationship links below
Soundtrack & Details: 8.5/10 not all of the songs ("With A Smile and A Song") are as memorable as others ("One Song"), but they are catchy and the details are quite good

Overall Total (/10): 9
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Further Movie Information Links

Snow White Character Analysis
Seven Dwarfs Characters Analysis
The Evil Queen Character Analysis