Oh boy!

Pinocchio (1940)

Rated: G

Runtime: 88 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Blue Fairy

Prince/Hero: Pinocchio

Sidekicks: Jiminy Cricket, Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo

Villain: The Coachman, Honest John, and Stromboli

Music: “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor’s Life For Me)”, “I’ve Got No Strings”, “When You Wish Upon A Star”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ½ ears. 1 for Pinocchio, ½ for Jiminy Cricket/Geppetto/Figaro/Cleo, ½ for The Coachman/Honest John/Stromboli, and 1 ½ for “When You Wish upon A Star”.

No traditional princess in this movie. The Blue Fairy is the only female character. I like Pinocchio, he does the “Sloppy Swish”, but he gets himself into a lot of trouble, which Jiminy Cricket is supposed to be keeping him out of. Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo are fun; The Coachman, Honest John, and Stromboli are evil. None of them really stand out though. The real treat is the song “When You Wish Upon A Star”, arguably the greatest Disney song ever.

There is a lot going on in this movie and it is all done well. Geppetto’s collection of clocks reminds me of Doc Brown’s in Back to the Future, so I recommend watching it just for that. This movie will do well in the bracket, even without the help of a princess.

The firstest of them all

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Rated: G

Runtime: 84 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Snow White

Prince/Hero: Prince

Sidekicks: Doc, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Dopey

Villain: The Queen

Music: “Heigh-Ho”, “Some Day My Prince Will Come”, “Whistle While You Work”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ½ ears. ½ for Snow White, 1 for the Dwarfs, 1 for the Queen, and 1 for the music.

Snow White is ok as the princess. She spends most of her time singing and cleaning. The Prince doesn’t really have a big part in the movie. He stalks Snow White in the beginning and then shows up at the end after she is “dead”. The music is good. I really like “Heigh-Ho”, and Dopey does the “Sloppy Swish”. But The Queen is the reason why this movie is cool. She is super scary and she has an extremely dark side.

The movie scores huge points for being the first of its kind, so I highly recommend watching it. It will probably be one of the favorites in my bracket. And it has a princess in it, so I will be able to discuss it at length with my friend Nate.