What is the reason behind this musical reference to Pinocchio in the Close Encounters main theme?
Something that has always struck me when watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was this apparent reference in John Williams' main theme (starting at 4:28) to Leigh Harline and Ned Washington's When You Wish upon a Star as used in Walt Disney's Pinocchio.
Does anyone know if this is indeed a homage, and, if so, why this particular motif was used?
My current guess is that it's (early) Spielberg's love for infusing his films with a certain amount of 'fairy-taleness', and naivete (in the purely positive sense), and the obvious reference to space as a benevolent force, but I'm sure Williams could have achieved those things with his own creative force alone.
Some additional trivia:
Richard Dreyfuss's character Roy Neary has a relatively lengthy conversation with his oldest son, Brad, about going to see Pinocchio. Apparently Spielberg, with this seemingly trivial and chaotic scene, is already preparing the audience's subconsciousness in preparation for the theme. (Transcript can be found here).
Best Answer
In an 1998 interview with Ian Lace, John Williams explained
"In this spirit, the idea to incorporate When You Wish Upon A Star was Spielberg's. I think for him, it had something to do with the innocence of childhood and Walt Disney's music, especially Pinocchio, that we all loved as children. He wanted to attach that childhood innocence to a feeling of nostalgia that would effect an audience. So, in a situation that is alien - completely remote from our experience - seeing these creatures and their machines but hearing something very familiar, When You Wish Upon A Star, you feel safe and at home."
Steven Spielberg said
On Close Encounters, I had a very important decision to make: whether or not to use the Walt Disney song, "When You Wish Upon a Star" at the end of the movie, with Jiminy Cricket's actual voice performing it. And the only way I could tell was to have two different previews, on two different nights: one night with the song, one night without it. I then analyzed the preview cards very carefully, interviewed the people who left the theater, and made a determination that the audience wanted to be transported into another world along with Richard Dreyfuss as he walked aboard the mothership. They didn't want to be told the film was a fantasy, and this song seemed to belie some of the authenticity and to bespeak fantasy and fairy tale. And I didn't want Close Encounters to end just in a dream.
Source: Steven Spielberg's Steven Spielberg: Interviews, University of Mississippi Press / Jackson, 2000, pp. 96-97 (possibly with Susan Royal in 1982, interviewer is "Premiere").
Pictures about "What is the reason behind this musical reference to Pinocchio in the Close Encounters main theme?"
What is the theme of Close Encounters?
"Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a 1978 instrumental hit single by composer John Williams. It is the main theme of the soundtrack of the movie of the same name....Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind."Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind"Recorded1977GenrePopLength3:13LabelArista9 more rowsWhat is the Disney theme song?
"When You Wish Upon a Star" is often cited as the signature song of The Walt Disney Company and is used as such in the production logos at the beginning of many Disney films.Which prominent composer and music educator is referenced in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 1977 film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams....Close Encounters of the Third Kind (soundtrack)Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)StudioWarner Bros. Studios, Burbank 20th Century Fox Studios15 more rowsClose Encounters of the Third Kind (6/8) Movie CLIP - Communicating with the Mothership (1977) HD
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Images: WILLIAM SHIPILO, Anna Shvets, Svetlana Romashenko, Pixabay