J On The Spectrum - Disney's 100th Anniversary - When You Wish Upon A Star

Disney's 100th anniversary is this year, and to celebrate, I'm going to tell the story of this legendary animation company over a yearlong period.

After the success of Snow White, Disney started production on a project called Bambi, but eventually put it on hold so he could work on Pinocchio, based on an Italian magazine serial by Carlo Collodi, about a wooden marionette puppet boy who strives to become a real boy.

Eventually Walt Disney and his team would morph Pinocchio into a likeable character, and a brief moment in the serial where a cricket tells Pinocchio what's the right thing to do, before Pinocchio squishes the cricket, they took the cricket, and made him into Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio's conscience. Originally Pleasure Island was called Boobyland (???). Glad they changed the name.

In house songwriters Leigh Harline and Ned Washington wrote When You Wish Upon a Star, then presented it to the story team, and they felt it should play a crucial role in the film's story, and Walt felt it would be good for music cues in the film. When You Wish Upon a Star has since become synonymous with not only Pinocchio, but also the Walt Disney Company in general.

Pinocchio, originally scheduled for Christmas 1939, was eventually released in February 1940. Attendance was lower than that of Snow White, despite critical acclaim, mainly due to the horrific situation happening with a war in Europe at that time, which would eventually become unavoidable. Despite these losses, Walt was passionate about what he was creating. He is noted to have said once, "We're not making cartoons, we're making art." Art was something Walt was truly after and would definitely play a part in his passion project.

Next week, Walt Disney crafts the first ever movie in immersive stereo sound.