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jgreer
Reviews
Pinocchio (2002)
Flawed Presentation
How was this movie supposed to work? I saw a dubbed version in the theater; I pray that a sub-titled version will be available on DVD so that I might actually enjoy this film. My wife and I went to see this with high expectations - we are both fans of "Life is Beautiful" - but as I sat down the theater, my apprehension grew. For around us were children. Lots of children. That, in an of itself, is not a bad thing, but it did make me wonder: who is this film for? Children, adults, or both? So then I thought, "Well, if it is for children, it will have to be short and be dubbed, for they can't expect children to like a movie where they have to read the dialogue on the screen." And then they movie started, and I realized there was dubbing, and I thought, "Ok, they want to pitch this as a children's movie" and I was okay with that, too. But, let's face it - Pinocchio has to be the worst dubbing job I've ever seen! So we have all of these kids suddenly giggling and asking questions - not because of the film, mind you, but because they want to know why Pinocchio's voice doesn't match his mouth. And then they want to know why Pinocchio looks like an man, but sounds like a boy. You get the picture... So the movie doesn't work for American children, but, hey, that's okay, too. Well, the problem is that these problems don't go away for adults, either, not to mention other problems as well. The (pardon the pun) wooden acting. The way Pinocchio screams in practically every scene. Perhaps it's me. Perhaps I've been ruined by technically sophisticated films. In Pinocchio, it is clear that they spent time and money on the costumes, which are wonderfu. The Blue Fairy is gorgeous. It is clear that they spent time and money on the scenery. The giant moon is wonderful. But it is also clear that they didn't try that hard to reduce the visual disturbance that results from dubbing, and that, in this day of effects-laden, visually-perfect movies, is a fatal mistake.