Disney's Pinocchio LEGO Marionette with Jiminy Cricket LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
This project is a marionette version of the Disney character Pinocchio created by buggyirk and Jimmyc. I am sure many of you are familiar with the story of Pinocchio, but for those who aren't, here is a quick synopsis. Pinocchio was a wooden marionette made by a woodcarver named Geppetto. One night, a fairy comes to remove the marionette strings and make Pinocchio come to life. She promises to make him into a real boy if he proves himself worthy, and chooses Jiminy Cricket to be his conscience. For more information, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
This LEGO marionette is an absolutely marvelous model. It seeks to introduce something (the marionette) that LEGO has never done before while combining this new direction with the classic Disney character Pinocchio, who was a marionette himself. This would be a wonderful set for AFOLs and would even include a nice brick-built display stand. I think this could also be a lot of fun for children to play with, though the difficulty of the build points towards an older fan of LEGO (teen or adult) building the model and then allowing younger fans to play with it.

Speaking of building difficulty, this is largely because of the many wonderful building techniques used throughout the model. There are lovely SNOT methods used in just about every section of this marionette, but my two favorites are both located on Pinocchio's head. The first SNOT method I like is how Pinocchio's hat is attached at what appears to be a 45 degree or so angle on top of his head, while the second technique that stick out to me is the vehicle mudguard piece (98282) used upside down to create Pinocchio's mouth. A couple other creative parts uses that appeal to me are the dish pieces (6256) used as ears, and the claw or horn piece (53451) used as eyebrows.

Another nice touch to this project is the inclusion of Pinocchio's conscience, also known as Jiminy Cricket. Jiminy is designed as a minifigure with the short pants in order to capture the small size of a cricket next to a wooden (or in this case LEGO) boy. In my opinion, this is the perfect scale for the little conscience. Another attractive feature about Jiminy is that he would come with a very nice torso and hat which would be very useful in a number of other builds.

Areas for Improvement
Overall, this is a really nice project, and there is not much that I would change. One thing that might improve this project a little bit though, is a slight change to the design of the arms and legs. In my opinion, either the sleeves and the pant legs are a little bit oversized or the arms and legs are ever so slightly undersized when viewed from the side. The solution might be as simple as adding another 2x4, or possibly a 2x3 plate to the underside of the arms. To me, this does not diminish the appeal of the model, but I do think is should be given a little bit of thought.

Conclusion
This Pinocchio Marionette is an amazing project that would be a fun build as well as a beautiful display piece and engaging toy. I believe this would make a wonderful set if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the official LEGO Ideas Review Process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become a set, you can visit the project on LEGO Ideas here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.

Photos used and review completed with the permission of buggyirk and Jimmyc.