Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio is a classic children's book by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Originally serialized, it was published as a novel in 1883.

The story is about a woodcarver named Geppetto and his marionette, Pinocchio, who magically comes to life. Geppetto becomes a father figure to the little wooden boy, but Pinocchio eventually leaves his home. Over the course of his adventures, he is reunited with Geppetto and eventually turned into a real boy by the Blue Fairy who brought him to life in the first place.

The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted many times, but the version that modern audiences are most familar with is Walt Disney's 1940 animated feature film Pinocchio.

Both the story and its title character have been adapted and referenced in several Muppet and Creature Shop productions.

The Muppets

• In the special Hey Cinderella!, when the Fairy Godmother first comes to Cinderella's aid, she mistakes her for a puppet who wants to be turned into a real boy. The fairy is then reminded that she left the actual wooden boy in a whale.

• In The Muppet Show episode 508, a Muppet Pinocchio sings "Puppet Man" with Pops as Geppetto. Pinocchio also appears in the episode's Veterinarian's Hospital sketch.

• Two songs from the Disney film were performed on The Muppet Show:

• "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" in episode 301 (reused as the UK Spot in episode 305).
• "When You Wish Upon a Star" in episode 417.

• Paul Williams recalls the process of writing music for The Muppet Movie with Kenny Ascher during a segment in The Muppets Go Hollywood. He cites Jiminy Cricket singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" to open Pinocchio, and hoped to create something similar for Kermit.

• The Summer 1985 issue of Muppet Magazine features a comic entitled "Punknocchio" starring Gonzo as the main character.

• In a Twitter posting on January 26, 2012, as part of the Ask Kermit promotion for the United Kingdom premiere of The Muppets, when asked if his favorite Disney movie was The Princess and the Frog, Kermit replied, "Pinnocchio [sic] because I love when Jiminy Cricket sings "When You Wish Upon a Star"."^[1]

Sesame Street

• Kermit interviews a Lavender Anything Muppet version of Pinocchio (performed by Frank Oz) in a Sesame Street News Flash sketch.

• The Sesame Street Storytime Calendar 1982 features Ernie playing Pinocchio for the month of November.

• Ernie plays Pinocchio to Bert's Geppetto in the 1997 calendar A Year of Merry Fairy Tales which was expanded with a story in the 1999 book Fairy Tales.

• Ernie again takes the lead role in a version of the story in the 2004 Sesame Street coloring book, Big Bird's Favorite Fairy Tales, where Big Bird plays the role of Geppetto.

• An episode of Sesame Street features Andrea Martin as a fairy, whom Telly believes is going to turn him from a puppet into a real boy.

• In the Elmo's World episode "Noses," an Anything Muppet version of Geppetto appears alongside Elmo as Pinocchielmo.

• On an episode of Abby's Flying Fairy School, Blögg gets turned into a wooden puppet and must undergo the "Pinocchio Process" to become normal again. (First: Episode 4188)

Muppet Babies

• A photo puppet of Baby Gonzo as Pinocchio (in a costume modeled after the Disney animated version) appears in the Muppet Babies Storybook Calendar 1990. The same photograph appears in the book Muppet Babies' Classic Children's Tales.

• The second season episode "The Great Muppet Cartoon Show" spoofs the Disney version with counterpart versions of Pinocchio (Baby Piggy), the Blue Fairy (Gonzo), and Jiminy Cricket (Kermit).

• The 2020 Muppet Babies episode "Gonzonocchio," features the classic book and several instances during which Gonzo's nose grows longer each time he tells a lie. Animal briefly experiences the same phenomenon.

Henson

• Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the effects and CG animation for the title character and his cricket companion for the 1996 film adaptation The Adventures of Pinocchio.

• Scorpius (or Harvey) appears as Pinocchio in the Farscape episode "John Quixote."

• The Jim Henson Company produced Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio in 2022.

Connections

see Faerie Tale Theatre for more connections

• Mel Blanc provided the vocal effects of Gideon the Cat in the 1940 Disney film and voiced Pinocchio in the 1953 radio adaptation
• John Cleese voiced the Cricket in the 2002 film (English dub)
• Glenn Close voiced the Blue Fairy in the 2002 film (English dub)
• Sandy Duncan played Pinocchio in the 1976 TV adaption
• Whoopi Goldberg voiced Cyberina in Pinocchio 3000
• Lisa Henson produced Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
• Kevin James voiced Mangiafuoco in the English dub of the 2002 Italian film
• Danny Kaye played Geppetto in the 1976 TV adaptation
• Don Knotts voiced Gee Whillikers the cricket in Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987)
• Queen Latifah voiced the Dove in the 2002 film (English dub)
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus played the Blue Fairy in Geppetto (2000)
• Howie Mandel voiced Spencer the Penguin in Pinocchio 3000
• Cheech Marin voiced the Fox in the 2002 film (English dub)
• Regis Philbin voiced the Ringmaster in the 2002 film (English dub)
• Chris Rock voiced Woody the Termite in the 'Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child' episode
• Mickey Rooney played Pinocchio in the 1957 TV adaptation
• Christoph Waltz played Count Volpe in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Sources