Pinocchio
(aka TURLIS ABENTEUER)
With: Martin Florchinger (Papa Gepetto), Alfred Muller (Stromboli), Martin Hellberg (Arturo), Vera Oelschlegel (the Fox), Peter Pollatschek (the Cat), Marianne Wunscher (the Good Fairy), Detlev Wolf (Pippifax), Uwe Thielisch (Pinocchio as a boy)
English-Language version:
Plot Outline: A master carpenter creates a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. The toy is so lifelike, it comes to life, and has a mind of its own! Pinocchio goes to school with the other children, but is kidnapped and sold into slavery along with his friend Pippifax. Pinocchio rescues his friends and himself from the clutches of the evil Stromboli, and rescues his "father", Papa Gepetto, from the belly of a giant fish. In the end, Pinocchio turns into a flesh-and-blood boy!
***
PINOCCHIO is a well-scrubbed German fantasy, given new life with a marvelous score by Joseph Scott, and new script and dubbing by Ron Merk and Ellen Prince.
Ellen Prince's vocal reading of Pinocchio is impressive. Prince manages to imbue Pin's voice with both the mechanistic puzzlement of a non-human, and the overwrought emotions of a child on the very cusp of the age of reason. It's an amazing job, which adds significant dimension to the character, and the film.
Joseph Scott's all-new score is entirely pleasant, as are the songs, "A Boy Named Pinocchio", "Die Dum Deedle Dum Day", "I Wait for My Lady Fair", and "I Have a Love".
The only added U.S. footage appears to be a brief insert shot of a hand-out, in English, inviting the schoolchildren to Stromboli's evil Playland.
The source film, Walter Beck's TURLIS ABENTEUER, is an effective fantasy with relatively large-scale production design, enacted entirely on fanciful studio sets, like Hubert Schongers' HANSEL AND GRETEL. Exterior landscapes are constructed via vaguely expressionistic sets, to good effect.
The spare, barren studio-bound forest settings suggest a world both artificial and organic, both sinister and friendly, entirely in keeping with the fairy tale in question and
its protagonist.
The acting is all fine. There is elaborate costuming, especially for the children. Stromboli, his Cat and Fox assistants, make interesting villains, as do Euphrosina, the Good fairy, and a very strange "poodle girl".
The puppets are all quite fetching. The Pinocchio puppet, first seen nude (!), is excellent. And then there is the enchanting, somewhat surreal, quality of seeing puppet Pinocchio as an animated character, interacting with live actors, while Pin's strings reach up to... where? Heaven? This is a lovely metaphor for children, illustrating how us human "puppets" are likewise manipulated by the whimsies of the gods or the fates (although our "strings" aren't as obvious...).
When Pinocchio attends a well-mounted puppet show with some errant schoolchildren, his reaction is curious, if understandable; he thinks the puppet play is real! This makes sense, as animated wooden sculptures are his reality. Pinocchio interrupts the program, being an astute critic of his own kind.
What is even odder about this weird scene is that the puppets react to Pinocchio in character as well! They are insulted, angered and confused, bickering back and forth as if they had minds of their own! A court jester puppet befriends Pinocchio, and comforts him as they watch the puppet play draw to its conclusion. This wonderful subversion of reality adds a nice little metaphysical touch to the playful scenario.
Later, in a brief but marvelous underwater scene utilizing fine miniatures, poor Papa Gepetto rows out to sea in search of his lost son, and is swallowed by a very cool giant fish. We'll take accomplished modelwork over CGI crap any day, and this is a fine example.
The scenes in Playland, including some wonderful montage work, are both fun and gripping, as the cheery place turns sinister right before the little naifs' eyes. Particularly, the children-to-donkey transformation is done via simple lap-dissolve but is effective, even somewhat spooky, conveying well the notion of losing your self (or soul) from indulging in conscious sin. Another somewhat disturbing shot shows a cart being drawn by anguished donkey-children. The climax, replete with a bared knife, is exciting.
Playland, of course, is an idiot's paradise, where there is no learning or growing required for anyone, and meaningless frolic is revered; sort of like contemporary America!
Being a sensitive creature, Pinocchio has difficulty adjusting to the family of man, but learns that human beings must learn, foremost, to get along with their peers, even though they be idiots and thugs. No easy lesson!
Of course, as Carlo Collodi's timeless the story dictates, Pinocchio successfully graduates from adolescent self-absorption to humanistic compassion, and becomes truly alive. He (and we) also learn that constant personal evolution through service, education, and hard work are the golden keys to maturity and happiness.
TURLIS ABENTEUER is a fun children's fantasy, and Ron Merk's PINOCCHIO is a fine example of an exceptional source film further enhanced by a faithful, accomplished English-language transformation, resulting in a memorable Kiddie Matinee experience, and a fantasy classic to boot. We want to see this film released on Home Video and DVD!
PINOCCHIO did boffo boxoffice in its initial Childhood Productions release, and in two subsequent re-releases. Ron Merk's Omega Productions went on to release another Kiddie Matinee hit, RUMPELSTILTSKIN AND THE GOLDEN SECRET. For the real skinny on PINOCCHIO, read our exclusive interview with filmmaker Ron Merk!
From Ron Merk: "One minute of footage was edited from the film at the request of Childhood Productions. This included a very slow moving scene of the children in playland just sitting around doing nothing. Pippifax was playing a hand organ, and everyone looked very bored. Another little snippet was removed when Stromboli grabs Pinocchio and throws him to the ground. It was considered too violent."
Video/DVD availability: (unavailable)
Links of related interest:
Collodi Foundation Pinocchio history
International gallery of illustrations (French site)
Pippifax and Pinocchio realize to their horror that they have been turned into donkeys!
Pinocchio rescues his "father" from the giant fish.
original poster artwork for PINOCCHIO.
(1967, West Germany) color 75 minutes
DEFA-Studio fur Spielfilme
Story: Carlo Collodi
Screenplay: Walter Beck, Margot Beichler, Gudron Rammler, William Pach
Music: Gerhard Wohlgemuth
Cinematography: Wolfgang Braumann, Gunter Haubold
"Puppets under the supervision of the Prague Marionette Theatre 'Spejl and Hurvinek' "
Directed by: Walter Beck
Copyright 1969 Omega Productions Inc.
Released in 1969 by Childhood Productions (February release)
Running time: 74 minutes
National Screen Service Poster #69-94
Original Running time: 75 minutes
Music: Joseph Scott
Songs: Ron Merk, Ellen Prince
"A Boy Named Pinocchio" sung by Jason Cane
Screenplay: Ron Merk, Ellen Prince
Produced by Ron Merk
Directed by Ron Merk
Voices: Ellen Prince (Pinocchio)
original book text
