This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Pinocchio and the emperor of the night is a film I am sure would have repelled more 4-year olds than draw them in with its horrifying imagery for a G rating. But as a film for anyone over 9 years old, I think it is a movie that holds up very well, and is often forgotten. I think it even trumps the Disney film! But why? Well, here we go! This was made by filmation, who also created He-man and all the Archiecomics cartoons. The animation is stunning and you can tell a lot of effort was put into it. The characters are believable and fun to watch. Especially the main villain, the emperor of the night, which has that whole Shiva thing going on with more than two arms. This movie is an alternate time line to the original fairytale, in which the event where the blue fairy changed pinocchio happened, but nothing else. At least I think it is. Everyone else I run into thinks it is a direct sequel, but I personally think it has to be an alternate time line, but the film doesn't explain very well, mystifying most people. However, the songs are mostly bland and forgettable. They are okay at best, except for the blue fairy song, which is horrendous. But, this movie has great voice acting and a very ambient and well- defined tone to it. It has great action, and can be suspenseful and fun, especially near the end when Pinocchio and the emperor of the night are battling over buying Pinocchio's soul. The character designs are really cool. I especially love Pinocchio and Gee willikers, the movie's replacement of Jimminy cricket. I also liked their design of the blue fairy over the one from the Disney version. This is a very well done movie with plenty of good things going for it. I recommend to check it out if you are deep into obscure animated movies with an edge that time forgot.

a good Pinocchio sequel although the new characters are quite different but cool i guess i have this one on video the whole movie was pretty good and had some scary moments for example the "Scary Transformation Sequence'' that was really wrong but anyway the whole movie was OK for a sequel and plus this movie has new characters like Lt. Grumblebee, Puppetino, The Emperor of the Night, Scalawag, Igor, Twinkle, and Gee Wilikers. i like the new people it fits good for a sequel. so the movie starts as Pinocchio has been a real boy for one whole year and is celebrating his first human birthday but things go wrong when a carnival comes to town and two bums trade Pinocchio's jewel box for a pharaoh's ruby and the plot darkens when he returns home and his father is upset when he finds out Pinocchio traded something for something fake and grounds him for that and Pinocchio believes he was too untrusted to be his real father and runs away from home and ends up at the carnival looking for a job and he goes sees twinkle's performance of "Do what makes you Happy'' after that's done, Puppetino comes out and lures Pinocchio backstage and tells him what it takes to be a performer he shyly admits it and knows what is really going on after seeing his hand and that's when it starts the scary transformation sequence and Pinocchio starts to dance uncontrollably against his will and Puppetino reattaches strings to him Legs and Feet Pinocchio does try to escape however and he gets pulled back to his will and Pinocchio says "i didn't know that i *click* *click*'' and Puppetino swings him around not to mention scary puppet faces in the background and twinkle's face turning sad and Pinocchio has been completely changed back into a puppet and is now the carnival's "only'' attraction. now that's something you should not see in a cartoon.

Produced at a time when animation was in a serious slump, this rather curious feature, produced by Filmation Studios, attempts to make a sequel out of a now famous fairy tale, Carlo Collidi's PINOCCHIO. Walt Disney had made the story popular in his lavishly animated and emotionally powerful motion picture, and to this day it remains a masterpiece. Based on that, there is no way that this 1987 continuation could ever compare. Regrettably, the artistry in this movie doesn't live up to the original either. For a production made by 400 animators in three years at a cost of $8 million, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT looks pretty shabby, no better than an average Saturday morning cartoon.There are also many instances where this movie attempts to steal thunder from the legendary Disney masterpiece, too. In place of Jiminy Cricket, we have a wooden-carved glowbug named Gee Willickers (voice of Don Knotts); a con artist raccoon named Scalawag (Ed Asner) and his pet monkey Igor (Frank Welker) in place of Honest John and Gideon (these characters shift into true allies in the movie); standing in for Lampwick is a pretty blonde named Twinkle (Lana Beeson) who serves as a sort of love interest for our hero. Finally, in the roles of the nasty puppeteer and nasty Coachman we have the shady-looking Puppetino as well as the titular villain, a sort of titanic, nightmarish robed demon with multiple arms and the booming tones of James Earl Jones. Unfortunately, these stand-ins could never hope to hold a candle to their predecessors or emerge as particularly memorable creations on their own. There's even a half-man half bumblebee who attempts to provide comic relief, but comes across as nothing more than a "buzzing" nuisance.Set one year after Pinocchio has become a real boy, this second chapter begins when a scary looking carnival comes into town. Our not so wooden hero runs away to the carnival after bungling a special errand for his father, Geppetto (he had been conned into giving up a precious jeweled box to Scalawag and Igor). In a rather frightening sequence -- one of the few that actually emerges as truly effective -- Pinocchio is transformed into a puppet again after being seduced to the carnival by the mustache-twirling Puppetino. Rather predictably, the Fairy Godmother (lamely voiced by Billie Lee Jones) rescues him, and the usual adventures ensue which lead up to the obligatory final showdown with the main villain.In addition to providing a rather uninspired plot, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT unwisely also recycles concepts from the first movie; Pinocchio lies to his Fairy Godmother again and his nose grows, Geppetto sets off to find his missing boy, Pinocchio is still gullible enough to trust ne'er-do-wells Scalawag and Igor after they deceive him one time, and everybody ends up at an amusement park where naughty boys can do whatever they please. All are routinely and lifelessly presented, although the latter sequence is trippy and creepy enough to stand on its own; Pinocchio gets drunk in this scene, too. The scene where Pinocchio dances and sings with glittery showgirls is also pretty schizophrenic, but again, it brings up reminders about a similar and more believably executed scene from Disney's film. The movie is also handicapped with a rather dreary synthesizer-driven soundtrack and unmemorable songs; the Fairy Godmother's song is acknowledgingly nice, but nowhere near the same caliber of "When You Wish Upon A Star." Furthermore, of the vocal performances, only Scott Grimes as Pinocchio himself stands out, but a majority of the remaining cast are pretty much run of the mill (as mentioned, the Fairy Godmother is the worst offender--sounding totally lifeless and boring throughout). Even James Earl Jones, awesome a voice though he may have, doesn't have much to do with his scanty role of the Emperor of the Night.Taken on its own, this PINOCCHIO sequel is passable fare, although some sequences do come across as too frightening for youngsters (particularly the appearance of the central villain), and others ineptly silly for grown-ups. There are some creepy sequences and moments of genuine terror, but all in all, children and parents aren't likely find much magic within its 95 minute running time. In all fairness, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT is not as disastrous as Roberto Benigni's travesty, but it lacks that certain special magic to achieve anything close to classic status. As it stands, it's only so-so.

Don't be put off by those who would label this little gem a Disney ripoff. In a time when very few animated features were being produced, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a surprisingly nice little animated film. From the opening moments, you can see that this was intended to be something special. There is some great animation, such as the ending on the Emperor of the Night's ship. There are some dark, genuinely frightening moments such as James Earl Jones as the titular Emperor and his macabre carnival, or a scene which has Pinocchio transformed back into a lifeless puppet. There are comical moments with Gee Willikers the wooden glowbug and Grumblebee. There are also bizarre, surreal scenes, notably a sequence where Pinocchio is tempted in a dream-like land by the Emperor and his minions. The song in this scene, "The Neon Cabaret", is jazzy and upbeat, and it enhances strange mood. Don Knotts, James Earl Jones, Ed Asner, and Jonathan Harris all give wonderful voice performances to their respective characters. Rickie Lee Jones as the Fairy Godmother tends to grate though.The overall impression is that of a very ambitious production. The film moves along at a good pace and boils to a great climactic finish. Definitely worth a look!