Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
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Pinocchio and the Emperor of The Night is an animated feature film that was released in December 1987. It should not be confused with the acclaimed classic 1940 film Pinocchio by Walt Disney. Running for 87 minutes and created by the now-defunct Filmation Studios, the film has gained mixed reviews from many audiences and movie critics over the years. Some have called it a blatant "rip-off" while others have called it a masterpiece in its own right; albeit perhaps a little too scary for the much younger audience because of the fearsome appearance of the Emperor of the Night.
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[edit] Plot
The movie begins with a prologue. One of the main characters, Lt. Grumblebee, is sleeping on a leaf when he suddenly awakes to a loud noise. Annoyed, he opens his eyes and is shocked to find out that a large wooden ship has moored up the banks of the river. As it docks, a man with a cloak & heavy beard steps out. He is Puppetino, chief henchman of the Emperor of the Night. As he surveys the surrounding area, he remarks, apparently to no one, that it is a perfect place to open ground. In response, an ethereal voice replies its satisfaction. Stakes suddenly fly out of nowhere and pierce the ground. With a red electrical jolt, a carnival-style tent slowly rises up from the ground. Witnessing this, Lt. Grumblebee decides that it would be best to leave. He packs up a bag & leaves, post-haste.
The main story begins where the original story of the 1940 film left off. Shortly after Pinocchio had earned his humanity from the Good Fairy, who pays him a visit and sings a song for both of them (Love Is The Light Inside Your Heart), his father (the marionette-maker Geppetto) sends him on an errand to deliver a jewel box to the town's mayor. As a reward for his undertaking of this task he is given a small wooden carving of a glow worm (which later comes to life and acts as his conscience). Along the way, the carving comes to life and surprises Pinocchio, who duly names it Gee Willikers.
As he is walking along with his new-found conscience, he passes by a carnival where he can hear the shouts & screams of joy coming from the other children. Tempted to take a look for himself, he is sternly reminded by Willikers to deliver the jewel box for his father & return home. Reluctantly he does but as he continues with his errand, he is accosted by a cunning raccoon & his monkey sidekick (named Scalawag and Igor, respectively). Scalawag cons Pinocchio out of the jewel box and in return he gives Pinocchio the "Pharaoh's Ruby".
[edit] Shame & Escape
Upon returning home, Pinocchio is shocked to discover that the ruby is, in fact, a fake. Geppetto angrily scolds Pinocchio for being too trusting and sends him to bed. In his room, confronted with bitter shame, he runs away from home rather than have to face his father. He somehow makes his way to the carnival which was mentioned earlier and there he encounters a pretty blonde marionette, Twinkle. Entranced by her beauty, he stays to watch her "performance" until it ends. When it ends, he is approached by Puppetino, who appears to be the carnival's proprietor. He coaxes Pinocchio to enter a room with him where there are a number of puppets & marionettes hanging on the wall or the ceiling. Putting Twinkle back in her place (whose expression seem to be one of sadness unnoticed before). With that, Pinocchio's hand turns back to wood without him noticing. Puppetino suddenly turns on Pinocchio and starts to play an ornate organ grinder. As he turns the lever, Pinocchio starts to dance uncontrollably, and he begins to turn back into a puppet. His begging falls on deaf ears as Puppetino laughs sadistically & keeps on playing. Puppetino then re-attaches strings to him like a marionette and swings him in the air. Pinocchio desperately tries to utter a word but is fully turned into a puppet before he can do so. He is then hung up beside Twinkle.
The Good Fairy comes and (with the pleadings of Willikers) returns him to life. She then reminds him how important it is to have freedom of choice, saying that it is his greatest power and that he should use it wisely. Before leaving, he makes a promise to the marionette Twinkle, saying that he would return and free her. As he leaves, the head of the marionette seems to bend sideways in response.
[edit] Climax
Pinocchio tracks down the two con-artists Scalawag and Igor and forces them to help him find Geppetto's jewel box, which they say was sold to Puppetino (much to Pinocchio's horror). Returning to the site of the carnival, they discover that it has packed up and moved down the river in the wooden ship mentioned earlier. Using a paddle steam-boat, they pursue the wooden ship. Whilst tailing it, Scalawag experiences a sudden change of heart and tries to convince Pinocchio to turn the boat around. Refusing to do so, he is put in a difficult position when Scalawag tries to wrest control of the boat's wheel from him. They scuffle, and in the process, break the wheel. Angrily rebuking Scalawag for what he did, neither of them notice that they have passed the ship & are actually in its path. When they finally realize it, it is already too late. The ship's steamer (with the suspicious appearance of a whale) opens up and swallows their boat whole, with Pinocchio, Scalawag and Igor in it.
Meanwhile, as these things are taking place, Willikers is desperately trying to find Pinocchio, having gotten separated from him earlier. He then encounters Lt. Grumblebee, who seems to be trapped in a flower and sounds drunk (apparently, of all things, on honey). After coming to his rescue, Willikers asks that Lt. Grumblebee help him find Pinocchio. More than willing to do so, Lt. Grumblebee carries Willikers, who despite being a glowbug is unable to fly. But Lt. Grumblebee's first destination is a town that seems to be for insects. There they meet the mayor of the insect town & find out that the city is being threatened by a large, bug-eating toad. Somehow, Willikers manages to get rid of the toad menace, much to the insect town's relief. Venerated as a hero, he & Lt. Grumblebee then continue their search for Pinocchio.
In the cavernous depths of the ship, Pinocchio & the others awaken to find themselves in a place that vaguely resembles that of an underwater cave. Scalawag chillingly remarks that they have entered the Empire of the Night. No sooner had he said those words, another boat slowly comes out of the infinite blackness. The man steering the boat calls out "All aboard!" & then asks Pinocchio whether he would like a ride. Pinocchio was inclined to agree but Scalawag & Igor, distrusting the evil look on the Boatman's face, begs him not to go. Ignoring them, he takes up the offer & hops aboard the other boat, leaving the other two alone & frightened.
When they arrived at their destination, Pinocchio is delighted to find a funhouse that looks more like a disco (reminiscent of Pleasure Island from the original Walt Disney motion picture). Inside the funhouse, he is taken up by another boy, a sleazy-looking ruffian, who takes up a beer mug & scoops it into the fountain. He then offers Pinocchio the mug, filled with a greenish fluid (presumably alcohol, most likely absinthe). Eventually, Pinocchio finds himself dancing on stage with a girl known as Twinkle (possibly a reference to the song Wish Upon A Star). Afterwards, the Emperor of the Night appears, stating that Pinocchio must sign the contact that will surrender his freedom and make him a puppet again. The Emperor then goes on the explain that everytime a child gives up their freedom, the Good Fairy becomes weaker, while he himself grows stronger. Pinocchio refuses to sign, and is thrown behind bars, along with Scalawag and Igor.
Willikers, after arriving, is stuffed into a bottle and thrown off the ship. Whilst floating in the water, Grumblebee spots him and helps him out by using his stinger to unscrew the cork. As the fog in the sky is too thick to see through, Grumblebee spins his stinger (and the cork) furiously while walking on the water, simulating a speedboat and with Willikers riding along as they travel to the ship.
Back on the ship, Pinocchio still refuses to sign the contract. However, the Emperor decides to let him go with seemingly no catch. He gets to take Twinkle, who has reverted into a puppet, and even receives his jewelbox back. Upon opening it, he finds Geppeto inside, shrunk to Williker's size. The Emperor then states that only Pinocchio may leave, and that his friends will be taken away. Left with no choice, Pinocchio signs the contract, giving up his freedom and reverting back into a puppet. Unfortunately, The Emperor still refuses to let his friends go. Pinocchio asks why The Emperor didn't turn him into a puppet in the first place, and why he had to sign first. The answer he receives is that people decide their own fate. His anger aroused, Pinocchio is suddenly surrounded by a blue aura from the Good Fairy, which the Emperor fears. He yells at Puppetino to stop Pinnochio from approaching him. Puppetino, however, backed away in fear from pinnochio when he turns to give the man an angry glare. In a desperate attempt, the Emperor brings fires energy at the heroes, only to accidentally hit a part of his beloved ship. Red energy eats away at everything. Pinocchio and friends run for their lives. Puppetuino also attempts to escape but his master, the Emperor calls him a worthless coward & strikes the running figure of Puppetino below him with a bolt of red energy. It hits him & he screams in agony as his freedom his taken away & he becomes a puppet.
[edit] Finale
Our heroes first encounter a door that is too high for anyone to reach. Luckily, as he is a puppet, Pinocchio lies to extend his nose and turn the handle. They then run into a room of doors. They eventually find the right door, but it's a rotating one, which Pinocchio's nose cannot fit. He then tells the truth to shrink it to normal. They reach the top of the ship, and Pinocchio's friends jump into the waters below, while he himself confronts the Emperor of the Night one more time, stating that fate cannot be controlled. With the blue aura around him, he runs into the Emperor's body, to which Willikers objects "No Pinocchio! He's fire, you're wood!" (Though it's never explained directly whether the Emperor is a specific substance or not). Not heeding his guardian concsience, he runs toward the Emperor, pell-mell. The Emperor cries out in an unholy voice & with a flash of bright light is destroyed alongst with his ship. Fade to black. the next scene shows Geppetto mourning over the seemingly lifeless body of Pinnochio, with Scalawag & Igor soon joining him in his sorrow. Eventually, the Blue Fairy shows up & awakens Pinnochio. Congratulating him on making the right choice (that is to say, the choice of freedom) she then reminds him of how important freedom is. To the immense joy of both father & son, the Blue Fairy returns to them the jewel box, with Scalawag looking on greedily & his subsequent reprimanding at the hans of Igor (a hard elbow on the stomach) & Twinkle now a real girl. The film ends & credits roll.
[edit] Cast of Characters
Frank Welker as Igor
Jonathan Harris as Lt. Grumblebee
James Earl Jones as The Emperor of the Night
William Windom (actor) as Puppetino
Don Knotts as Gee Willikers
Rickie Lee Jones as The Fairy Godmother/The Blue Fairy
Lana Beeson as Twinkle
[edit] Trivia
- The film is notable for having James Earl Jones (AKA Darth Vader) voice the Emperor of the Night.
