Pinocchio (2002 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pinocchio
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roberto Benigni
Produced by	Gianluigi Braschi
Screenplay by	Vincenzo Cerami Roberto Benigni
Starring	Roberto Benigni Nicoletta Braschi Mino Bellei Carlo Giuffrè Peppe Barra Franco Javarone Max Cavallari Bruno Arena Corrado Pani Kim Rossi Stuart Luis Molteni Alessandro Bergonzoni
Music by	Nicola Piovani
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Simona Paggi
Distributed by	Medusa Distribuzione
Release date(s)	11 October 2002 (2002-10-11) (Italy)
Running time	107 minutes (original version) 100 minutes (US version)
Country	Italy
Language	Italian
Budget	$40–45 million
Money made	$41.3 million

Pinocchio is a fantasy comedy-drama film from Italy, released in 2002. It was written, directed by, and stars Roberto Benigni. The movie is based on the famous 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. In the film, Roberto Benigni plays the main character, Pinocchio.

The movie was filmed in Italy and also in Kalkara, Malta. It was made to honor Danilo Donati, who designed the costumes and sets for the film but sadly passed away before it was released.

Pinocchio first came out in Italy on October 11, 2002. People had mixed feelings about it. Later, in December 2002, an English version was released in the United States by Miramax. This version got a lot of negative reviews. Even so, the Italian version of Pinocchio was chosen to represent Italy at the 75th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it didn't get nominated.

Story of Pinocchio

The film begins when a magical log falls from a wagon and causes a bit of chaos in an Italian town. It stops right in front of Geppetto's house. Geppetto is a poor wood carver. He decides to carve a puppet from the log and names him Pinocchio. To Geppetto's surprise, the puppet comes to life!

Pinocchio is very mischievous. He runs away from home and causes a big mess in the town. Geppetto gets blamed for the trouble and is taken to prison. Pinocchio goes back home and finds a Talking Cricket. The cricket tries to tell Pinocchio to be good, but Pinocchio doesn't listen and throws a hammer at him.

Later, Pinocchio falls asleep with his feet too close to the fire. Geppetto returns home and saves him. Pinocchio feels bad and promises to be good and go to school. Geppetto sells his only coat to buy schoolbooks for Pinocchio. But Pinocchio, being a curious puppet, still finds himself on many adventures, often trying to avoid school.

Pinocchio joins a puppet show and almost gets eaten by the giant puppet master, Mangiafuoco. Pinocchio tells a lie to get out of trouble, and Mangiafuoco gives him five gold coins. Soon after, he meets The Fox and the Cat, two sneaky characters. They trick Pinocchio into burying his coins in a place called the 'Meadow of Miracles,' telling him a money tree will grow.

A kind and watchful Blue Fairy tries to help Pinocchio. She saves him from the Fox and the Cat, who were trying to hang him. She gives Pinocchio medicine, but he doesn't want to take it. When coffin-carrying rabbits appear, Pinocchio quickly takes the medicine, lying that he wanted it all along.

The Blue Fairy asks Pinocchio about his gold coins. Pinocchio lies again, saying he lost them. His nose starts to grow! The Blue Fairy explains that lies either have "short legs" (meaning they don't go far) or "long noses." Pinocchio promises to try his best to be good from then on.

Pinocchio meets the Fox and the Cat again. They remind him to dig up his coins in the Meadow of Miracles. While Pinocchio waits for his "money tree," the Fox and the Cat dig up the coins and run away. Pinocchio realizes he's been tricked. He tells a gorilla judge about the Fox and Cat's crime, but Pinocchio is sentenced to five years in jail for being foolish.

In jail, Pinocchio meets Lucignolo, another boy who skips school and gets into trouble. Geppetto keeps searching for Pinocchio. Four months later, Pinocchio is set free from jail during a celebration. A dove tells Pinocchio that his father went to sea looking for him. Pinocchio rushes to the shore and sees Geppetto on his ship.

Pinocchio tries to save his father but almost drowns. He washes up on a beach and helps a lady carry her water pitchers. When they reach her house, Pinocchio discovers she is the Blue Fairy in disguise! She tells him she faked her death to see if he would change.

Pinocchio tries to go to school again, but he gets into a fight. A book meant for him hits another boy, Eugenio, who falls unconscious. Everyone else runs away, leaving Pinocchio alone. Police arrive and arrest Pinocchio. He escapes near the Blue Fairy's house and falls into a trap set by a farmer. The farmer makes Pinocchio his new guard dog.

Lucignolo later frees Pinocchio. Pinocchio returns to the Blue Fairy's house and has to admit he didn't go to school. The Blue Fairy forgives him. The next day, Pinocchio leaves a party at the school to find Lucignolo.

Lucignolo tells Pinocchio about 'Fun Forever Land,' a place where boys only play and never work or go to school. Pinocchio and Lucignolo sneak onto a coach heading there. In Fun Forever Land, Pinocchio has a lot of fun. The Talking Cricket tries to warn the boys that they will turn into donkeys if they don't leave.

The next morning, Pinocchio wakes up with donkey ears! He finds Lucignolo, who also has ears. The Talking Cricket explains that boys who don't work turn into donkeys and are sold for hard labor. Pinocchio soon turns into a full donkey. He is sold to a circus. During a performance, Pinocchio gets hurt. The ringmaster's clowns throw him into the sea.

The Blue Fairy appears on the shore as Pinocchio emerges from the water, back in his puppet form. He promises to be good. The Blue Fairy warns him that a giant shark is chasing him. Pinocchio swims but is swallowed by the shark. Inside the shark, he finds Geppetto! Pinocchio apologizes to his father, and they work together to escape.

Pinocchio takes Geppetto to a farm owned by Farmer George so his father can get better. While working on the farm, Pinocchio finds Lucignolo, who has also turned into a donkey and is dying. Pinocchio is very sad. That night, the Blue Fairy, Medoro, and the Talking Cricket visit Pinocchio. As a reward for his efforts to be good, the Blue Fairy finally turns Pinocchio into a real boy! The film ends with Pinocchio finally going to school.

Main Actors

Roberto Benigni and his wife Nicoletta Braschi starred as Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy. Benigni also directed and wrote the film.

Differences from the Book

Roberto Benigni tried to make the film very similar to Carlo Collodi's original book. However, there are a few differences:

• In the film, Geppetto finds the magical piece of wood on the street. In the book, another character, Master Ciliegia, gives it to him. The film also says the wood is pine, but the book doesn't say what kind of tree it came from.
• In the movie, Mangiafuoco wants to eat Pinocchio for lunch because he's angry. In the book, he plans to use Pinocchio as firewood to cook a meal.
• The Fox and the Cat don't have disabilities in the film. In the book, the Fox pretends to be lame, and the Cat pretends to be blind.
• The book describes Pinocchio biting off a hand from one of the attackers, only to find it's a cat's paw. This detail is not in the film.
• Pinocchio meets Lucignolo for the first time in prison in the film. In the book, they meet at school.
• In the film, the King frees prisoners to celebrate his son's birth. In the book, it's for a military victory.
• When Pinocchio is arrested for supposedly hitting Eugenio, he escapes and ends up working as a guard dog for a farmer. In the book, he tries to steal grapes from the farmer. Also, in the film, Lucignolo helps Pinocchio escape from the farmer.
• After his adventure with the farmer, Pinocchio returns home chained and ashamed in the film. His nose grows when he lies to the Blue Fairy about his day. In the book, after escaping a fisherman, Pinocchio is left outside in the cold all night because a snail takes too long to open the door.
• When Pinocchio and Lucignolo realize they are turning into donkeys, the Talking Cricket warns Pinocchio in the film. In the book, a dormouse warns him. The Talking Cricket also takes the place of a Parrot, who warns Pinocchio about the Fox and Cat stealing his coins.
• When Pinocchio becomes a donkey, he's sold to a circus. He breaks his leg jumping through a fire hoop, and the circus director's clowns drown him. In the book, the director sells Pinocchio to a drum seller, who drowns him.
• When Pinocchio turns back into a puppet, the Blue Fairy keeps her human form in the film, even though a giant shark is chasing him. In the book, she turns into a goat.
• Inside the shark, Pinocchio helps Geppetto escape by annoying the shark and taking its wig. In the book, they escape on the back of a tuna fish while the shark is sleeping.

Awards and Nominations

The original Italian version of Pinocchio received several awards and nominations:

• It was nominated for six David di Donatello Awards, which are like the Italian Oscars. It won two:
  • Best Sets and Decorations (for Danilo Donati's amazing work)
  • Best Costumes (also for Danilo Donati)
• It was also nominated for three Nastro d'Argento awards, another important Italian film award. It won one:
  • Best Score (for Nicola Piovani's music)

The English version of the film was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, which are given to the worst films. This was the first time a foreign-language film was nominated for so many Razzies. It won one:

• Worst Actor (for Roberto Benigni, specifically for his dubbed performance by Breckin Meyer)

See also

In Spanish: Pinocho (película de 2002) para niños