WHEN Walt Disney brought "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to the screen, he not only unreeled the world's first full-length cartoon feature, he also exploded a bombshell in the character of "Dopey," the slap-happy dwarf who stole the hearts of the world.
Dopey was so popular he could have become the hero of a whole series of short subjects, or even full-length pictures. Disney toyed seriously with the idea of making him a star, then finally decided he should return forever to the fertile imagination of his creators. Over two years have passed since Dopey first scampered across the screen. Now for the first time his supremacy as the most interesting character of the decade is threatened. But threatened it is, and by what? A cricket!
His name is Jiminy Cricket, to be exact, and in the new Disney full-length feature, "Pinocchio," Jiminy is said to steal the show. Steal it Jiminy may, from Pinocehio, his little-boy charge, from Stromboli, the puppet-master, Figaro, the kitten, Cleo, the goldfish, even from Geppetto, the old woodcarver who actually created Pinocchio — for whom Jiminy Cricket is only a conscience.
But — will Jiminy Cricket be able to creep into audiences' imaginations as Dopey did? Will he become an international favorite, a household gag?
These are questions which cannot be answered yet, although one thing is certain: There'll be more arguments pitting the relative talents of Jiminy and Dopey against each other than there are movie houses in which the picture will be shown. The picture eventually will play every country in the world, at that!
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