56 Fun Facts About Pinocchio

Which Italian author wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio?

Collodi was a pen name; Carlo Lorenzini took it from the Tuscan town where his mother was born.

In the novel, what nickname do the neighbourhood children give Geppetto because of his yellow wig?

It refers to polenta, the cornmeal mush his wig resembles, and it annoys him greatly.

What happens to Pinocchio's nose when he lies?

Pinocchio's nose grows longer with every lie; Disney made it his signature gag, and in Collodi's novel it first sprouts in Chapter 17 when he lies to the Fairy about his gold coins.

Along with his blue top hat, what does Disney's Jiminy Cricket characteristically carry?

Jiminy Cricket carries an umbrella, which doubles as a cane and a parachute; he is drawn as a dapper 19th-century gentleman with top hat, spats and white gloves.

What job does the Blue Fairy give Jiminy Cricket?

At the end of the film she rewards him with a solid gold badge certifying him as an official conscience.

What three qualities must Disney's Pinocchio prove to become a real boy?

The Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio to prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish; he does so by braving the whale to rescue Geppetto, dying in the attempt before she revives him.

In Disney's Pinocchio, what are the names of Geppetto's pet cat and goldfish?

Figaro and Cleo were invented by Disney's team, and neither exists in the novel; Figaro went on to become Minnie Mouse's cat.

In Disney's Pinocchio, what is the name of the con-artist fox who leads Pinocchio astray?

Honest John's full name is J. Worthington Foulfellow, and his silent partner Gideon the Cat was meant to be voiced by Mel Blanc.

Which puppeteer locks Pinocchio in a birdcage after making him the star of his show?

Stromboli cages Pinocchio after his stage debut, planning to chop him into firewood once he stops drawing crowds; Charles Judels voiced both Stromboli and the Coachman.

What is the name of the place where naughty boys are turned into donkeys in the Disney film?

Pleasure Island is where the Coachman's boys turn into donkeys; in Collodi's original it is the Land of Toys, where Pinocchio spends five months before sprouting ears.

What is the name of the delinquent boy Pinocchio befriends on the way to the island?

Lampwick is the cocky boy who turns fully into a donkey while shooting pool on the island; Collodi's original calls him Lucignolo, usually rendered Candlewick in English.

What is the name of the whale that swallows Geppetto?

Monstro is the sperm whale that swallows Geppetto in the Disney film; his roars came from Thurl Ravenscroft, who later became the voice of Tony the Tiger.

In Disney's Pinocchio, how does Pinocchio get himself and Geppetto out of the whale Monstro?

He makes it sneeze, but Monstro then smashes their raft and chases them to a cove, where Pinocchio seemingly drowns saving his father.

In what year was Disney's animated Pinocchio released?

Disney's Pinocchio premiered in New York on February 7, 1940, and went into general release on February 23, 1940, as the studio's second animated feature after Snow White (1937).

Which Oscar-winning song from the film became the Walt Disney Company's signature tune?

"When You Wish Upon a Star", sung by Jiminy Cricket over the opening credits, won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song; Disney Cruise Line ships sound its first seven notes as their horn.

How many competitive Academy Awards did Pinocchio win, the first for any animated feature?

Best Original Score and Best Original Song; Snow White had only received an honorary award.

Why was Pinocchio a box-office disappointment on its first release?

It cost $2.6 million, twice as much as Snow White, and only turned a profit after the 1945 reissue.

Which singer, known as "Ukulele Ike", voiced Jiminy Cricket?

Pinocchio was the first animated film to use celebrity voice actors, and Edwards kept voicing Jiminy into the 1960s.

How old was Dickie Jones, the boy Walt Disney cast to voice Pinocchio?

Dickie Jones was 12 when he recorded Pinocchio; Walt Disney wanted a real child's voice rather than an adult's, and Jones also played a Senate page in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939).

Which animator designed Jiminy Cricket after nearly quitting Disney when his Snow White scenes were cut?

Ward Kimball designed Jiminy Cricket after his Snow White sequences were cut and he nearly quit the studio; he described the result as a little man with an egg head and no ears.

In Collodi's original novel, what does Pinocchio do to the Talking Cricket?

Pinocchio kills the Talking Cricket with a wooden hammer in Chapter 4 of Collodi's novel; the cricket returns as a ghost to keep nagging him, a long way from Disney's top-hatted sidekick.

In the novel, what does Pinocchio sell to buy a ticket to the marionette theatre?

Geppetto had sold his only coat to buy that spelling book, which is the point.

In the book, the Fox and the Cat convince Pinocchio to bury his gold coins where?

The Fox and the Cat send Pinocchio to the Field of Miracles near the town of Catchfools, where buried coins supposedly grow into a money tree; they dig the coins up themselves while he waits.

What colour is the Fairy's hair in Collodi's novel?

Collodi's Fairy has turquoise hair, la Fata dai capelli turchini; Disney made her the Blue Fairy, and in the novel she also appears as a little goat with the same coloured coat.

What kind of sea creature swallows Geppetto in the original book?

Collodi's monster is a giant dogfish, il Terribile Pescecane; pescecane literally means dogfish but is the everyday Italian word for shark, and a dolphin describes it as over a kilometre long.

How was the story originally published between 1881 and 1883?

It ran as a serial in the Giornale per i bambini, a children's newspaper, under the title The Story of a Puppet from 1881, before the 1883 book edition.

How did Collodi originally end the serial at Chapter 15, before readers demanded more?

The Fox and the Cat leave him hanging from the Great Oak; the editor's request brought him back with the Fairy's rescue.

The name Pinocchio is thought to come from a Tuscan word for what?

Pinocchio is a Tuscan word for pine nut; an alternative reading builds it from pino (pine) and occhio (eye), and del Toro's film has the Wood Sprite name him for his pine wood.

In the novel, what does Master Antonio intend to make from the talking log?

Master Antonio, nicknamed Cherry for his red nose, planned to turn the log into a table leg; when it cries "Don't hit me so hard!" he is terrified and gladly hands it to Geppetto.

In the book, what happens to Pinocchio's feet when he falls asleep by the stove?

Pinocchio falls asleep with his feet on the brazier and they burn off; Geppetto, just released from prison, carves him a new pair and gives up his own breakfast of three pears.

In the novel, what animal is the judge who sentences Pinocchio to prison in Catchfools?

The judge in Catchfools is a gorilla, an old ape with a white beard and gold spectacles without lenses; he jails Pinocchio for being foolish enough to get robbed.

Guillermo del Toro's 2022 stop-motion Pinocchio is set in which period?

Pinocchio ends up performing a song mocking Mussolini to his face and is sent to a military youth camp.

In del Toro's film, Geppetto carves Pinocchio from wood grown where?

Carlo is killed in a World War I bombing raid and is named after Carlo Collodi.

Which actor voices Sebastian J. Cricket in del Toro's Pinocchio?

Ewan McGregor voices Sebastian J. Cricket, the film's narrator; David Bradley is Geppetto, Christoph Waltz the villainous Count Volpe and Ron Perlman the Fascist Podestà.

Which actress voices Spazzatura, Count Volpe's monkey, in del Toro's Pinocchio?

Cate Blanchett voices Spazzatura, Count Volpe's abused monkey, who can only speak through the puppets he operates; the name means "trash" in Italian.

Tilda Swinton voices two sisters in del Toro's film: the Wood Sprite and who?

Death explains that Pinocchio is immortal and returns to life each time an hourglass runs out.

Del Toro's Pinocchio won which Academy Award?

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio won Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Academy Awards, having already taken the same category at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards.

Which streaming service released del Toro's Pinocchio in December 2022?

Netflix released del Toro's Pinocchio on 9 December 2022 after a short cinema run; the project had been announced in 2008 and stalled for a decade because no studio would finance it.

Who plays Geppetto in Disney's 2022 live-action remake?

Tom Hanks plays Geppetto and sings the new song "When He Was Here With Me" about his lost son; he had turned the role down once before signing on in 2020.

Who directed the 2022 live-action Disney remake?

Sam Mendes and Paul King were both considered before Zemeckis signed on in January 2020.

Who plays the Blue Fairy in the 2022 live-action remake?

She also performs the film's version of the famous wishing song.

Which actor voices Jiminy Cricket in the 2022 live-action film?

Keegan-Michael Key voices Honest John and Luke Evans plays the Coachman on screen.

How was the 2022 live-action Pinocchio released?

It went out on Disney+ Day and later won the Razzie for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.

In which country has the Pinocchio wishing song become a Christmas carol about the Bethlehem star?

In Sweden the song carries Christmas lyrics, "Ser du stjärnan i det blå", addressed to the Star of Bethlehem; Disney's 1958 special From All of Us to All of You has aired there every Christmas Eve since 1960.

Where did the AFI rank the Pinocchio wishing song on its list of the 100 greatest film songs?

It was the highest of only four Disney animated songs on the list, ahead of Someday My Prince Will Come at 19.

Which composer quoted the Pinocchio wishing song in his score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

Spielberg has said the melody shaped the whole tone of his 1977 film.

Which Italian actor-director played Pinocchio himself in a 2002 film version?

Roberto Benigni, then 50, directed and starred as Pinocchio in his 2002 film; the US release dubbed him with Breckin Meyer's voice, and Benigni won the Razzie for Worst Actor.

In which animated film franchise is Pinocchio a recurring supporting character voiced by Cody Cameron?

Cody Cameron voices Pinocchio throughout the Shrek series, from the 2001 original onward, and the character also cameos in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

In the novel, what does the Fairy give Pinocchio the morning he wakes up as a real boy?

He wakes to find a new suit, boots and a purse holding 40 gold coins; he had given his 40 pennies to the Snail for the sick Fairy, and sees his old puppet body slumped on a chair.

In 1994 Disney's Pinocchio was selected for preservation by which body?

The Library of Congress added Pinocchio to the US National Film Registry in 1994 as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant; Snow White had joined in the registry's first class in 1989.

Jiminy Cricket returned in 1947 as the host of which Disney package film?

Jiminy Cricket hosts Fun and Fancy Free (1947), linking its Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk segments; he fronted I'm No Fool shorts on The Mickey Mouse Club and played the Ghost of Christmas Past in Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Which studio distributed Disney's 1940 Pinocchio in cinemas?

RKO Radio Pictures also handled the film's first two reissues, in 1945 and 1954.

Who wrote the lyrics to the songs in Disney's Pinocchio, including 'When You Wish Upon a Star', with music by Leigh Harline?

Ned Washington wrote the words; Harline and Paul J. Smith composed the incidental score, with Edward H. Plumb co-writing the Whale Chase.

At which New York venue did Disney's Pinocchio premiere on February 7, 1940?

General release followed on February 23, 1940.

In the novel, what does the buyer of donkey Pinocchio plan to make from his skin?

The buyer wants a drum; he pays twenty pennies for the lamed donkey and tries to drown him to strip the hide, but fish eat the donkey flesh away and leave the wooden puppet.

In Collodi's original Pinocchio novel, how does the Fairy fix Pinocchio's lie-lengthened nose?

She summons woodpeckers to peck it back to normal; the nose actually grows only a couple of times in the book, far less than in the Disney film.