Walt Disney released its second full-length animated film Pinocchio February 23, 1940, after premieres in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, and Washington DC in the weeks before. It was based on a children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is a story about a woodcarver Gepetto who cares a wooden puppet and hope that it might become a real boy.
I understand the novel is a bit darker than the movie. One example is Pinocchio killing Jiminy Cricket in the book, but not the movie.
It received critical acclaim, garnering a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it won two Academy Awards: Best Music, Original Score; and Best Music, Original Song for When You Wish Upon a Star. However, it was a box office bomb when it was released mainly due to the outbreak of WWII (which didn't start for the US until another year and a half?)
Eventually, it made a profit when it was re-released in 1945. It is considered on of the greatest animated films ever and in 1994, it was added to the National Film Registry.
