"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are...when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." How many of us heard this every week when the Walt Disney Show came on the air? The TV show has been a hit for family entertainment for over fifty years, with this as its theme song for much of that time.
In the 1940 Disney animated film Pinocchio, Jiminy Crickett (played by Cliff Edwards) sings "When You Wish Upon a Star" as the introduction to the story of the woodcarver Geppetto who wishes that his carving of a little puppet, Pinocchio, could be a real boy. Pinocchio does come to life and sets off on a series of adventures. He learns valuable lessons (Don't lie or your nose will grow) and eventually is turned into a real boy after saving Geppetto from inside a whale.
The story is based on the book "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. The song (and full score) by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington won both Best Original Song and Best Score Academy Awards. This video clip uses a jazzy version by Louis Armstrong; the tune has become a great jazz standard.
