Pinocchio (1940)

Walt Disney has waved his magic wand over Collodi's world-famous fairy story, "Pinocchio," and presto! he has changed it into the most enchanting film ever brought to the screen.

Although it may lack the heart-tugging appeal of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the consensus among animation fans is that 1940's Pinocchio remains the most perfect animated feature Walt Disney produced.

Pinocchio is a substantial piece of entertainment for young and old.

The charm, humor and loving care with which it treats its inanimate characters puts it in a class by itself.

It still is the best thing Mr. Disney has done and therefore the best cartoon ever made.

Probably shows Disney's virtues and vices more clearly than any other cartoon.

With its marvelous mixture of an engaging story, beautiful animation, loveable characters, and unforgettable music, Pinocchio remains a grand adventure that both kids and adults can still enjoy today.

Expertly balances whimsy, adventure, terrifying perils, music, comedy, and warmth on the way to a reassuring worldview of moral order, of virtue rewarded and the bosom embrace of familial figures. [Blu-ray]

Pinocchio is the greatest, most terrifying film in the Walt Disney Animation Studios canon.

Some films you think you know well, until you revisit them, and are struck all over again by that sense of wonder that moved you in the first place.

Even in our cynical age, it still manages to impress.

At the heart of this art is the thrill of the then-new: when Pinocchio hits sea-base and gushes "Gee! What a big place!", we share a sense of joy at the filmmakers' creative adventures.