A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) is perhaps the most bitterly divisive film in Spielberg’s canon. Critics scoffed in particular at its unapologetically sentimental final act, which some saw as a betrayal of the legacy of Stanley Kubrick, who began developing the project in the 1970s. However, those expecting a chilly sci-fi epic in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) were destined to be disappointed – Kubrick always intended the film as a futuristic spin on the story of Pinocchio. While Carlo Collodi’s rather brutal original novel is referenced and quoted throughout A.I., tonally the film is much closer to Disney’s altogether more charming animated adaptation. This exquisitely rendered tale of a wooden puppet’s quest to become a real boy remains one of the Mouse House’s finest efforts, inspiring wonder and fear in equal measure, and delivering a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human, alongside a spot of occasionally stern moralising.

When I was a kid, Disney was one of my gods. I just loved movies like Snow White and Pinocchio. I remember telling Martin Goodman, "Our books and characters are so popular; if only we could do a movie…we could be another Disney!"