Pinocchio (/pɪˈnoʊkioʊ/; Italian: [piˈnɔkkjo]), the name a variant of common pinolo ("pine seed"), or "pine's eye" ("occhio", the Italian word for eye), is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi. Carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a village near Florence, he was created as a wooden puppet but dreamed of becoming a real boy. He lies often. Pinocchio is a cultural icon. As one of the most reimagined characters in children's literature, his story has been adapted into other media.
Pinocchio's characterization varies across interpretations, but some aspects of his character are consistent across all adaptations. He is consistently shown to be a creation as a puppet by Geppetto, and the size of his nose changing due to his lies or stress. Pinocchio is known for having a short nose that becomes longer when he is under stress, especially while lying. In the original tale, Collodi describes him as a "rascal," "imp," "scapegrace," "disgrace," "ragamuffin," and "confirmed rogue," with even his father, carpenter Geppetto, referring to him as a "wretched boy." Upon being born, Pinocchio immediately laughs derisively in his creator's face, whereupon he steals the old man's wig. Pinocchio's bad behavior, rather than being charming or endearing, is meant to serve as a warning. Collodi originally intended the story, which was first published in 1881, to be a tragedy. It concluded with the puppet’s execution. Pinocchio’s enemies, the Fox and the Cat, bind his arms, pass a noose around his throat, and hang him from the branch of an oak tree. Pinocchio's nose is his best-known characteristic. It grows in length when he tells a lie: this appears in chapter XVI. It should be noted how Collodi himself, in Note gaie claims how "to hide the truth of a speculum animae (mirror of the soul) face [ ... ] is added to the true nose another papier-mache nose". There is an inconsistency, however, because his nose grows when it is first carved by Geppetto, without Pinocchio ever lying. The nose only appears a couple of times in the story, but it reveals the Blue Fairy's power over Pinocchio when he acts disobediently. After struggling and weeping over his deformed nose, the Blue Fairy summons woodpeckers to peck it back to normal. The plot of the film involves an old wood-carver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. The puppet is brought to life by a blue fairy, who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be "brave, truthful, and unselfish". Pinocchio's efforts to become a real boy involve encounters with a host of unsavory characters. The film was adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith from Collodi's book. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and the film's sequences were directed by Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, and Bill Roberts. Pinocchio was a groundbreaking achievement in the area of effects animation, giving realistic movement to vehicles, machinery and natural elements such as rain, lightning, smoke, shadows and water. The film was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 7, 1940.
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