(2013-06-19 02:56:50)

for OLDER viewers

Contrary to the initial review by Rochelle O'Gorman, this film is NOT for the SIMPLE-MINDED, nor is it appropriate for YOUNG viewers!!! It is for OLDER viewers and interesting only because of the ANIMATION techniques,filming in Prague, costumes, scenery, acting, etc. DISNEY is the only true,traditional Pinocchio---with special music, Christian theme with angels, a real friend in Jiminy Cricket, the gold fish, the cat--much more imaginative and suitable for very young children AND adults!!!

(2013-06-18 10:26:18)

Good movie.

This review is from: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Amazon Instant Video) I somewhat enjoyed this movie but thought the story was a little boring because it didn't exactly mimmic the animated version.

(2013-06-02 06:36:45)

Bootleg copy?

This review is from: The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996) [VHS] (VHS Tape) I got a used copy from a seller on Amazon, How can I tell if it's a bootleg copy? The one disc is shiney on both sides. Has only a little ring on both sides with the name and some information, including the numbers N4438.1.B Region 1. I've nver seen or bought a dvd like this. The packaging is cardboard and plastic- has all the picture and movie information....

(2013-06-02 01:05:24)

Very Bad Movie

This movie is totally unlike all of the other Pinocchio movies I have ever seen. It didn't follow the Pinocchio theme and wasn't really about honesty. If you like the story of Pinocchio, the original version is the best.

soranno

(2013-05-16 20:35:09)

This version is flawed and that's no lie

The world famous fairy tale, "Pinocchio" is a story that is better suitedfor animation formats when it comes to film adaptations. This 1996 NewLineCinema version makes its first mistake by casting "Home Improvement"costarJonathan Taylor Thomas in the title role and it makes more mistakes by notentirely sticking to the true storyline much of the time. However, MartinLandau makes a believable Gepetto and his performance prevents this filmfrom being a complete waste of time.

TxMike

(2013-05-16 10:40:58)

Interesting portrayal of the old fable.

Saw it on DVD, pretty good transfer from film. I can't give it a very highrating as a film, it was a bit muddled at times in exactly what it wastrying to convey. But the wooden puppet looked very life-like, his"education" was handled very well, and in the end the message of wherelifereally comes from is very clear. My favorite part, however, was listeningtoStevie Wonder sing the songs he wrote for the film.I bought the DVD to give to my grandchildren, 7 and 10. It will beinteresting to see how they react to it.

3DSpecs

(2013-05-05 14:17:06)

Had it been made in Hollywood, it would have circled the world

Had this version of Pinnochio been made by a major Hollywood studio wewould have had adverts on TV, all the major cinemas would have run itfor weeks and we would never have heard the end of it. I saw thispremiered at the Edinburgh Festival where the running time was listedas 180 minutes (so far as I can recall) and I thought we were half waythrough when in fact there were just 15 minutes to go. After thepremier, it vanished from sight and I never heard nor saw any sign ofit again. What a terrible waste. The film deserves better. My onlydisappointment was when the puppet turned into a chubby little boy but,after the excellent blending of animation with live action, this was aminor niggle. I found the film entertaining on several levels andstrongly recommend it to film clubs and people with large screens - Isuspect this is a film that does not work nearly so well on an averagetelevision set - a full-sized cinema or large Home Cinema system withsurround sound is what it needs to do it justice.

(2013-05-05 01:31:11)

Nice-Looking, Nicely Done Pinocchio

This is one of the better "family films" that adults would still enjoy, and I don' mean to use that as a clich?. Suffice to say it's a fast-moving story, is creatively done and looks super on DVD. This was a stunner, visually-speaking.The creativity - especially for a film 10 years old - involves the wonderful special-effects that make the famous wooden puppet so lifelike. I haven't seen it in eight or nine years but when this came out first on VHS I remember being shocked at the visuals and how real things looked. The DVD enhances it another notch.This is not an animated film, and the story is a bit different from other versions. How faithful this is to the original story, I cannot tell you, because I never was a big fan of the story. I can tell you, however, that Martin Landau is very good playing Pinochhio's creator "Geppetto." I found it interesting that the cricket in this story was called "Pepe," not Jiminy Cricket. At any rate, this is a nicely-done version of the famous kids' story.

angl15

(2013-04-29 22:37:32)

Good Picture

I loved it! It was funny yet sad. I like the story of Pinocchio. this is a goodfilm for younger kids and adults to enjoy together. JTT was so fine as thePinocchio. He provided a good strong voice for the spunkyPinocchio.

(2013-04-29 08:40:24)

Good movie, but not the same as the animated classic

I asked for this movie in 1996 because I was a HUGE Jonathan Taylor Thomas fan.When I first watched it, I was expecting it to be a lot like the animated Disney version. To a certain extent it is, but there are a lot of scenes in this movie that aren't in the animated version.What I Didn't Like About the Movie: With live action and JTT's likeness as a puppet, I got a "Toystory" / "Who Framed Roger Rabbit Feel". It just didn't look right. This is minor considering the overall quality of the story.I did enjoy this movie. It doesn't have content that you have to worry about little ones seeing. Though it isn't destined to be a Disney classic, this is a good movie for the whole family.

(2013-04-12 13:54:27)

Stick with the Disney version

When I watched the version with Paul Ruebens as the title character, I liked it so I decided to watch this with my little brother, I did not like this movie at all, I feel bad for feeling that way cause Jonathan Taylor-Thomas was great in The Lion King, Man of the House and Home Improvement but this movie is not enjoyable or watchable at all.

(2013-04-12 05:29:37)

good

This review is from: The Adventures Of Pinocchio (DVD) it was a good product. The quality was good. the dust cover was not scratched nor the disc. very impressed.

(2013-04-11 18:49:43)

Sicko Pinocchio

I watched most of this movie with a Kindergarten class as a substitute teacher. I found it totally inappropriate for children and was shocked to see that it was rated G. It has many very dark scenes and a considerable amount of violence as well as several sexually suggestive scenes. I'm sure many of the kids had nightmares after watching it. Any parent should consider this a PG-13 film and then be cautious about kids seeing it. For the little ones the Disney version is the way to go.

(2013-04-10 21:56:06)

Good little movie...

This review is from: The Adventures Of Pinocchio (DVD) I sat with my 6 year old son and enjoyed this movie as much as he did.

Jackson Booth-Millard

(2013-03-27 08:32:49)

The Adventures of Pinocchio

If you have seen the original Disney cartoon based on an Italian storyabout a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy, then you'll probably knowthe story already. This is basically the same story again but just afew special effects and a few extra things. Martin Landau as Geppettois quite a nice guy, although you don't exactly see him a lot. The kidwho plays Pinocchio is just weird and idiotic, I mean first he doesn'tknow what's going on, and then suddenly he has ideas of his own aboutthings. Also starring Dawn French as Baker's wife, Griff Rhys Jones asTino and David Doyle as the voice of Pepe the Cricket, what was wrongwith the name Jiminey. Aqequate, although it is okay for kids!

Arlis Fuson

(2013-03-26 14:08:13)

Liked him better as a flute

So a man loves a woman and she loves the mans brother, he is hurt bythis but will forever love her and even carved their initials in atree. Many years later this hopeless romantic has grown old and nowcarves dummy puppets out of trees to keep him company. He carves a boyout of this log which bared his initialed heart and has no idea thetree was magical. The dummy he carves comes to life and starts causinginnocent trouble all over town. The old man loves the boy, but he cantcontrol it. There is a man in town who does puppet shows and wants thisamazing puppet for his act and blackmails the old man to get it. Thepuppet runs away and soon finds the evil theater man is turning youngboys into donkeys, and he almost gets turned himself in his quest tobecome a real boy. He has a cricket companion named Pepe and Pepe triesto teach the boy what real love is and convinces him that his creatoris the one person who loves him, real or not. He goes off to find theold man and even more adventures occur as they are swallowed into thebelly of a whale. Soon Pinnochios flaws help them escape and a lessonis learned and eventually the love between these two make Pinocchip areal boy.I have actually never seen any version of this film before to myknowledge. It is possible that I have watched the cartoon, butforgotten. This movie was way too cheesy for me. I hated the cheesymusic, I thought the villain was not mean enough. I didn't like theC.G.I. cricket and thought that was a bit too much. The effects lookedbad and I just wasn't impressed. I like Martin Landou and he's aboutall I tolerated. I don't like Jonathan Taylor Thomas and hate RobSchneider so casting was bad.Maybe kids would like it, but I just thought it was boring, notcolorful or exciting and way too sappy and slow. 2/10 stars

(2013-03-26 17:28:50)

Enchanting little tale, but...

This movie, i.e., VHS The Adventures of Pinocchio, is fairly well done, but doesnt really exhibit the charm and fantasy that the other film adaptations have given. The main reason is because I saw this in the cinema and was hoping for a fairy, and there was none. People who can sit through a movie without magic may up this a star, but I look for enchantment.

(2013-03-26 06:57:27)

Well made fanatsy film.

A lonely puppetmaker (Oscar-Winner:Martin Landau in a Impressive Role), who made a Puppet, the shape of a Little Boy. He wishes one night, that his Puppet would become a Real Boy (Voiced by Jonathan Talyor Thomas) and it came true but in the form of a Puppet.Directed by Steve Barron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Coneheads) made a good entertaining film, based on a novel by Carlo Collod`s Fable. Good Supporting Cast including:Genevieve Bujold, Udo Kier, Bebe Neuwirth and Rob Schnieder. This was a Box Office Disappointment in Theaters but it did better on Video. Walt Disney`s animated version is much better but this is bit different from Disney`s Version. Great Special Effects done by Jim Henson`s Creature Shop. Panavision. Grade:B+.

CJ

(2013-03-23 03:51:53)

Walt Disney did a better job

I saw this movie with my kids, and frankly, they could not stay focused onit. The movie jumped around a lot. I tended to get lost. I did however,like Rob Schneider, I felt he did a pretty good job. All in all mysummaryis if you have seen the Walt Disney version, DON'T see this one! Theanimated version is much more better. Although they did it 90's style,forinstance in the Disney version the boys going to the island smoked cigars;this version, they drank the water and you know the rest.

Electrified_Voltage

(2013-03-22 17:02:20)

A seemingly rushed and somewhat annoying version of the story

I remember back around the time this 1996 version of "Pinocchio" wasreleased (not sure whether it was around the time of its theatricalrelease or its home video release). I saw the promotional image of awooden Pinocchio looking at a real version of himself like a reflectionin the water, and later saw a trailer for this adaptation of CarloCollodi's story on TV. Even though I was very familiar with the classic1940 Disney version, I never actually saw this movie when it was new,not that I was missing much. Well over a decade later, I finally saw itjust last night. By this point, I knew it wasn't a very popular film,so my expectations weren't very high, and it's a good thing theyweren't, since I found "The Adventures of Pinocchio" to be belowaverage! Pinocchio is a wooden puppet carved by a woodcutter and puppet makernamed Geppetto. Soon after he finishes making this puppet figure of aboy, it magically comes to life! Even though Pinocchio is still wooden,he can now move and talk, but doesn't know much about the world aroundhim. He wants to be a real boy, but has a lot to learn before that canhappen. While walking out with Geppetto, he meets some schoolchildrenand wants to go to school himself. He also catches the attention of twocriminals named Felinet and Volpe, and is soon wanted by the evilLorenzini! At school, Pinocchio punches a classmate and lies to theteacher about it, causing his nose to grow longer with each lie, andafter he finally confesses, he is kicked out of class. He then goes toa bakery, where he causes chaos, and for this, he and Geppetto are bothtaken to court! They will both be sent to prison unless Gepetto can payfor the damages, which he can't, so Lorenzini offers to pay, but onlyif Pinocchio is given to him. Eventually, Geppetto reluctantly gives inand Lorenzini gets the puppet, but it turns out Pinocchio is not safewith him! The living wooden puppet finds himself on an adventure fullof danger, with a wise cricket named Pepe often appearing to give himadvice! This film adaptation begins with a poor opening narration from DavidDoyle, which turns out to be the voice of Pepe the Cricket. Thischaracter is supposed to be funny, but he fails. The same goes for therest of the film's humour in general, in scenes such as the havocPinocchio wreaks in the bakery. It's not funny when it tries to be.Also, it seems Felinet and Volpe are supposed to be funny, but theyalso fail miserably, unlike Honest John and Gideon in the 1940 version.Some of the characters in this 1996 version may get a little annoyingat times, including the title one, and I think this is when they'retrying to be funny. The poor humour isn't the only problem here. "TheAdventures of Pinocchio" seems rushed, going too fast and seeming tojust throw in characters without taking enough time to introduce them,making them seem very insignificant. Geppetto certainly doesn't seemvery surprised when he sees Pinocchio alive for the first time. Thelack of focus even makes the story seem almost meaningless, even thoughit does include the morals of the story, but in a very ineffectivemanner! The film fails both at trying to be funny AND trying to betouching, except maybe near the end. I also didn't care for the designof the wooden Pinocchio's face and his facial expressions.I have never read the 19th century book, "The Adventures of Pinocchio",by Carlo Collodi, but have been familiar with the animated 1940 Disneyflick from a very early age, so it's obviously hard for me not tocompare these two films. I can't forget the times I saw the 1940version as a kid, and I still thought that film was great when Iwatched it again a couple times in 2007, my first viewings of theclassic piece of Disney animation since my childhood in the 90's. Ithas excitement, poignancy, and some good humour, and all this is morethan I can say about the 1996 version. This movie does have some nicevisuals, but that's the only positive thing I can think of to say aboutit, and that's certainly not enough to make it worthwhile. Some moviescan improve with a second viewing, but I can't imagine how I could everwarm up to this mess of a live action adaptation of Collodi's story, soI don't intend to watch it again. If the screenplay had been betterwritten, it could have made a really good family movie, but due to itspoor quality and lack of focus, the film's results were disappointing.