You know all the Pinocchio jokes in the book. You still remember all the lyrics to "When You Wish Upon A Star"…even though the last time you sang it you were eight years old. You could sketch Jiminy Cricket from memory.

And you've never even seen Pinocchio.

Disney's second animated feature film shines as brightly in our collective imagination as the Blue Fairy's magic wand. But, surprisingly, its enduring fame isn't the only reason that this movie is something you should care about.

Instead, it's because this movie gives us a pretty magnificent lesson about growing up and becoming a real, good (and real good) person.

No, we're not talking about Pinocchio. We're talking about Jiminy Cricket. Because although the story centers on Pinocchio's transformation from literal blockhead to flesh-and-blood boy…the real character development happens within the heart and mind of an insect.

Sure—for youngsters, it's all about Pinocchio. He's a hugely relatable character. We've all been naive at some point in our lives and we've all definitely made some bad decisions because we've been crazy-innocent.

For anyone older than ten, however, the real story is Jiminy's. Unlike Pinocchio, Jiminy acts worldly and cynical, initially making him seem a lot more grown-up than Lil' P. But Jiminy screws up as much—if not more—than his puppet buddy.

After all, he fails to take his job as Pinocchio's conscience seriously…and that's what lands Pinocchio in trouble. Again and again. And again.

The real trouble in life doesn't stem from being totally naïve as much as it comes from:

• showing up late for work (like Jiminy does on his first day on the job)
• hitting a minor bump along the road to success and giving up (like Jiminy does when Pinocchio becomes a theater puppet)
• giving up on a task because you think the people you work for are being ungrateful (like Jiminy does when Pinocchio sasses him on Pleasure Island)

Ugh. That sounds like our experience working our first summer job. Or our first time working on a group project. Or, or, or…

Yeah. We've screwed up a lot. After all, we're only human—we're learning as we go along. And weirdly, in this film, the guy who exhibits the most human (and humanly fallible) traits is a dang cricket. But we're betting that once Pinocchio settles into his new human form (and passes the fifth grade), he'll start messing up in similar ways.

Luckily for him, he'll have Jiminy as his guide…because this little bug has become way older and way, way wiser during the course of this movie.