MOVIE REVIEWS Kids: Pinocchio Parents: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

A Wish Unfulfilled

BY BONNIE L. HARRIS

PINOCCHIO 2022 PULLS OUT all the stops in the live-action remake of the 1940 classic Disney film. But despite the talented actors, the lavish sets, the very-familiar songs, Robert Zemeckis directing, and the voice cast breathing life into the animated characters, this new version never grasps the sentimental charm that would make it a hit. Everything is there: the same plot, the same scenes, the same struggle of a naïve little boy faced with temptation. Pinocchio travels the same path to prove to the Blue Fairy that he’s brave, truthful, and unselfish in order to become a real boy. Geppetto, the loving father, searches for his wayward son and they both end up in the belly of the whale. Disney added a seagull character to patch some of the missing narrative logic and a young ballerina, Fabiana, to help rescue Pinocchio from the clutches of Stromboli. She’s sweet and lovely, but she replaces the Blue Fairy who only appears once to offer Pinocchio the gift of life. Too bad because actress Cynthia Erivo, in that single scene as Blue Fairy extraordinaire, proves that she could have carried this film single-handedly! But Tom Hanks does his best as Geppetto and Luke Evans as the Coachman is devilishly evil. Parents should be careful with young viewers because the Pleasure Island scenes become dark & quite disturbing. Honestly, I liked the film until the last three minutes despite its ornate imagery and over-explained story. Filmmakers often underestimate a child’s ability to comprehend narrative action. Nonetheless, it was cute and entertaining, but Disney completely botched the ending. An audience expects an ending that’s imaginative, emotional, inspirational, and satisfying. Good films give you three out of four; great films give you all four. Pinocchio 2022 barely gives us one and a shaky one at that. ✦

PINOCCHIO

Walt Disney Pictures Rated: PG Streaming on Disney Plus First day of school

FOR the PARENTS

Your Lucky Day

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS Focus Features, Rated: PG Streaming on Amazon

THEY SAY THAT “clothes make the man” and in the charming new feature, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, the dress certainly makes the woman. Overlooked and underappreciated, the widowed Mrs. Harris brings hope to everyone she meets. From her cleaning-women friends to her blue-collar chums at the local pub, Mrs. H never turns down a cry for help. And she always knows when someone is in need. That’s both a blessing and blemish when she’s whisked off to Paris through a series of lucky mishaps. At the stuffy House of Dior, Mrs. Harris brings her English sensibility, genuine kindness, and perfect comedic timing to turn haute couture upside-down. She helps Andre, a lonely accountant, find true love with Natasha, a beautiful model, while she waits for the creation of her perfect dress. She also successfully enchants a handsome Marquis and fights boldly for the Dior workers, who are threatened with unemployment. Finally back at home, Mrs. Harris helps another young friend who accidentally ruins her one-of-a-kind dress. Distraught, with her dreams in tatters, Mrs. H almost abandons hope, but in a lovely heart-melting twist, her new friends in Paris pay her back in the most marvelous way. A dreamy Dior dress.