Today, whenever the name Pinocchio is mentioned most people immediately think of the wide-eyed puppet with a curious spirit and ever-growing nose. But the 1940 Disney animated film is not how this story was originally told.
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is an Italian classic story that was first published in serial form in 1881 as The Story of a Puppet in the children’s newspaper, Giornale per i bambini.
In February 1883 it appeared in a single book and went on to become the first Italian children’s story to gain international fame.
Collodi’s original story is quite dark, with moments of real peril and serious moral weight. In it, Pinocchio is selfish, unreliable and rebellious, and lying is just one aspect of his mischief. He runs away from Geppetto the moment he is carved out of the enchanted block of wood and refuses to return home. He has encounters with thieves and several near disasters, all while dreaming of becoming a real boy – he even causes a series of events that result in Geppetto’s arrest. Pinocchio’s encounters shape his development, taking readers on a moral journey where he learns that fulfilling his dream of becoming human requires inner transformation, not just a magical wish.
Disney’s 1940 animated film softened some of the darker elements of Collodi’s tale and made Pinocchio a lasting cultural icon. Here, Pinocchio is a more innocent character, whose curious spirit leads him astray, but not in the same calculating way as Collodi’s puppet. While the novel leaves Pinocchio to face a harsher reality for his mistakes, Disney presents a more forgiving and enchanted world, where Pinocchio’s quest for self-improvement is rewarded more swiftly and gently than in the novel.
There are at least 14 English-language films based on the story, and Italian, French, Russian, German, Japanese and other versions for the big screen and for television, and several musical adaptations.
The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1911 is an Italian live-action silent film directed by Giulio Antamoro and starring Ferdinand Guillaume. It is the first movie based on Collodi’s novel and one of the first ever Italian feature films.
Pinocchio, 1940, is the well known American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Only loosely based on Collodi’s novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was the studio’s second animated feature film,
The song When You Wish Upon a Star, featured in Disney’s 1940 adaptation. Written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington specifically for the movie, it was performed by Cliff Edwards, who voiced Jiminy Cricket. First heard during the opening credits and as a musical theme throughout, it weaves magic and possibilities before returning in the final scene.
The song won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song and was the first Disney song to win an Oscar. It is now the signature song of The Walt Disney Company and is often used in the production logos at the beginning of Disney films since the 1980s, becoming a symbol of hope and enchantment.
Have you read Carlo Collodi’s book? It’s easy to find free online. I’d love to hear what you think, so let me know by leaving a comment.
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