Pinocchio (1940 movie) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Pinocchio
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Supervising Directors Ben Sharpsteen Hamilton Luske Sequence Directors Bill Roberts Norman Ferguson Jack Kinney Wilfred Jackson T. Hee
Produced by	Walt Disney
Screenplay by	Ted Sears Otto Englander Webb Smith William Cottrell Joseph Sabo Erdman Penner Aurelius Battaglia
Starring	Cliff Edwards Dickie Jones Christian Rub Mel Blanc Walter Catlett Charles Judels Evelyn Venable Frankie Darro
Music by	Leigh Harline Paul J. Smith
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date(s)	February 7, 1940 (1940-02-07) (Center Theatre) February 23, 1940 (1940-02-23)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,289,247
Money made	$84.2 million

Pinocchio is a classic animated Disney movie. It was made by Walt Disney Productions and first shown in movie theaters on February 7, 1940. The film is based on the famous story Pinocchio: Tale of a Puppet by Carlo Collodi. It was created after the huge success of Disney's first animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The movie tells the exciting story of Pinocchio. He is a wooden puppet made by a kind old man named Geppetto. One night, Geppetto wishes for a son, and a magical Blue fairy brings Pinocchio to life! She tells Pinocchio he can become a real boy if he proves himself "brave, truthful, and unselfish." Pinocchio tries his best to be good, with the help of his friend, Jiminy Cricket. This begins his many adventures, where he meets different characters, some good and some not so good.

The story was written for the screen by several talented people, including Aurelius Battaglia and Ted Sears. The production was overseen by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske. Many different directors worked on parts of the film, like Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson.

Pinocchio features the well-known song, "When You Wish Upon A Star." This song has been used at the start of most Disney movies since 1985. In 2008, the American Film Institute named Pinocchio the second-best animated American movie ever made, right after Snow White.

The Story of Pinocchio
Making the Movie
Main Characters
Songs from the Movie
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Pinocchio

Geppetto's Wish

The story begins with a kind toymaker named Geppetto. He creates a wooden puppet and names him Pinocchio. Geppetto wishes that Pinocchio could be a real boy. That night, the magical Blue Fairy makes Geppetto's wish come true, bringing Pinocchio to life as a living puppet!

Pinocchio's Journey to Be Good

To become a real boy, Pinocchio must prove that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. The Blue Fairy asks a wise cricket named Jiminy Cricket to be Pinocchio's "conscience." Jiminy's job is to guide Pinocchio and help him stay out of trouble. This is a very hard job, as Pinocchio often makes mistakes and gets into tricky situations.

Tricked by Honest John

On his very first day of school, Pinocchio meets two sneaky characters. They are a fox named Honest John and his quiet sidekick, Gideon the cat. These two crooks trick Pinocchio into joining Stromboli's puppet show instead of going to school. Pinocchio becomes very popular in the show, but Stromboli is a cruel puppet master. He locks Pinocchio in a bird cage to keep him from leaving.

The Growing Nose

The Blue Fairy visits Pinocchio in his cage and asks him how he ended up there. Pinocchio tries to lie about what happened. Each time he tells a lie, his wooden nose grows longer! With the help of the Blue Fairy and Jiminy, Pinocchio manages to escape from the cage.

Trouble on Pleasure Island

Later, Honest John and Gideon trick Pinocchio again. They tell him to go to a place called Pleasure Island. There, Pinocchio meets a naughty boy named Lampwick. Lampwick convinces Pinocchio to do many bad things, like playing games and causing mischief. The island has a strange magic: boys who act like "jackasses" (donkeys) actually start to turn into real donkeys! These donkeys are then sold to work in salt mines.

Becoming a Real Boy

Lampwick fully turns into a donkey, but Pinocchio only changes partly, growing donkey ears and a tail. He manages to escape from Pleasure Island and rushes back to Geppetto's house. But Geppetto is not there! He has gone out to sea, searching for Pinocchio.

Pinocchio and Jiminy go looking for Geppetto. They are all swallowed by a giant whale named Monstro! Monstro had also swallowed Geppetto earlier. Pinocchio bravely builds a fire inside the whale to make Monstro sneeze them all out. They escape, but are lost in the ocean. Geppetto is drowning, and tells Pinocchio to save himself. But Pinocchio bravely grabs Geppetto and carries him to shore. Geppetto survives, but Pinocchio appears to be dead.

Geppetto and Jiminy are very sad and return home with Pinocchio's body. The Blue Fairy sees how brave and unselfish Pinocchio was. She decides he has proven himself good enough. She brings him back to life and turns him into a real boy! Everyone is overjoyed and celebrates. The movie ends with Jiminy Cricket receiving a special badge of solid gold. A chorus sings a beautiful version of "When You Wish Upon A Star".

Making the Movie

Early Ideas

The first ideas for the Pinocchio movie were quite different from the final film. Many characters and events from the original book were planned for early versions. However, producer Walt Disney was not happy with these early plans. He asked his team to change a lot of the story and the characters.

Pinocchio's Look

At first, Pinocchio was going to look more like a real wooden puppet. He would have a long pointed nose, a pointed hat, and bare wooden hands. He was also going to act more grown-up and do bad things on purpose. But Walt Disney thought that audiences might not like this version of the character. So, they changed his appearance and how he acted. They made him look more like a real boy, with a smaller nose, a child's hat, and regular hands with gloves. Only his arms and legs still looked like a puppet.

Jiminy Cricket's Role

Jiminy Cricket, voiced by Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, became a much more important character in the story. He was not even in the very first version of the movie. When they added him, he first looked like a real cricket. But Walt Disney wanted people to like him even more. So, Ward Kimball changed him into a "little man with no ears." This made him look less like an insect and more friendly.

Main Characters

Jiminy Cricket, voiced by Cliff Edwards, is a cricket. He acts as Pinocchio's "conscience" and helps tell the story. He is a main good guy in the film.
Pinocchio, voiced by Dickie Jones, is a wooden puppet made by Geppetto. He is brought to life by the Blue Fairy and dreams of becoming a real boy.
Geppetto, voiced by Christian Rub, is a kind toymaker. He creates Pinocchio and wishes for him to become a real boy.
Figaro and Cleo are Geppetto's sweet black and white housecat and his lovely goldfish.
J. Worthington "Honest John" Foulfellow, voiced by Walter Catlett, is a sly talking fox. He tricks Pinocchio more than once in the movie.
Gideon is Honest John's silly, quiet, talking cat sidekick. He was meant to talk, but his lines were removed. Only his hiccups, voiced by Mel Blanc, remain.
Stromboli, voiced by Charles Judels, is a large, mean puppet master. He forces Pinocchio to perform on stage to make money.
The Blue Fairy, voiced by Evelyn Venable, is a beautiful fairy. She brings Pinocchio to life and helps him become a real boy at the end.
The Coachman, voiced by Charles Judels. He is a bad man who runs Pleasure Island, where boys turn into donkeys.
Lampwick, voiced by Frankie Darro, is a naughty boy Pinocchio meets on Pleasure Island. He turns into a donkey because of his bad behavior.
Monstro is a giant whale that swallows Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo while they are searching for Pinocchio.

Songs from the Movie

The songs in Pinocchio were written by Leigh Harline, Ned Washington, and Frank Churchill. Paul J. Smith created the background music.

"When You Wish upon a Star" - Sung by Jiminy Cricket and a Chorus.
"Little Wooden Head" - Sung by Geppetto.
"Give a Little Whistle" - Sung by Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio.
"Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" - Sung by J. Worthington Foulfellow.
"I've Got No Strings" - Sung by Pinocchio.
"When You Wish upon a Star (reprise)" - Sung again by Jiminy Cricket and a Chorus.

Images for kids

Dickie Jones (right, as an adult) voices Pinocchio in the film.
Pinocchio is seen as a story about how children were raised in America in the mid-1900s.
Geppetto and Pinocchio at Magic Kingdom theme park.
Pinocchio's village at Disneyland, inspired by paintings by Gustaf Tenggren.