En dannelsesreise i animasjonens landskap – Didaktikk og etikk i Disneys Pinocchio

Abstract

This article presents Disney’s Pinocchio as a journey into maturity, where development of virtue is put on the agenda. The intention is to show how the film can illustrate ethical and Christian values, and relate these values to children’s self-development. Thus, it may contribute to realizing the idea of self-formation emphasized in documents of reference for schools and kindergartens in Norway. The authors use main features of the film to demonstrate that it dramatizes a development from classic virtue ethics towards a more Christian ethics. The analysis is informed by                                              virtue ethics, both as it was developed in antiquity, and as it was Christianized by philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard. In the authors’ reading, Disney’s Pinocchio demonstrates that self-development in this respect requires an ability to recognize evil and choose the good. The article also points to how the artistic use of animation techniques contribute to illustrating the thematic structure, connecting to forms of storytelling that children are already familiar with.