

Pinocchio is rescued from the tree by the Good fairy. The editor of journal that was serialising Pinocchio begged for more.

Is not the Good Fairy like rather like Mary? At one point Pinocchio is hanged from a tree - not exactly executed between two bandits like Jesus - but certainly strung up by two thieves, the Fox and the Cat.Ĭarlo Collodi intended to end his story after 15 episodes with Pinocchio dead on the tree. Our all too human puppet has a kind and merciful mother too.
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God allows Adam to have his own will - just as Pinocchio the puppet is free to do right or wrong

In the Bible, God fashioned Adam out of clay, just as Geppetto makes Pinocchio out of wood. This is surely parallel to the relationship between mankind and God. Throughout the book we constantly feel that Pinocchio is a lovable sinner who is failing to live up to the expectations of his kind and forgiving father. Pinocchio even meets his father inside the Shark, just as Jonah came close to God during his ordeal inside the Whale. (See Matthew 12: 39-41 for the explicit parallel between Jesus and Jonah ). The sinful character suffers an experience that would normally be fatal, but after three days and nights he lives again. Is this not the story of Pinocchio too?Ī character who spends time inside the belly of a giant sea-creature reminds us of the Old Testament story of Jonah and the Whale (The Book of Jonah).

It's an allegory for the relationship between the merciful God and sinning mankind. A profligate boy who disobeys his father is surely a version of the Prodigal Son? The famous parable ( (Luke 15:11-32) tells the story of a son who leaves his father and throws away money on an easy life, before eventually returning home with his tail between his legs. The influence of the Bible is everywhere in Pinocchio. Italy was and still is a thoroughly Catholic country. There are clear influences that place it in the mainstream of art. There is nothing shallow about the way it is conceived. If the exhuberant violence comes as a surprise, so too does the depth and resonance of the story. Only half way through the book, it seems that our puppet has been left dangling, and is dead : a not entirely unjust punishment for disobeying his loving, generous and good father at every possible turn. He falls in with some ruthless bandits who hang him from a tree. Pinocchio is very nearly burned on the fire by a cruel puppet master. After a handful of chapters, Pinocchio's father, Geppetto, has been arrested and carted off to jail, and Pinocchio himself has killed the Talking Cricket by throwing a hammer at him. The action keeps on coming thick and fast. Then and there they gave each other a sound thrashing. On hearing himself called Polendina for the third time, Geppetto lost his head with rage and threw himself upon the carpenter. “Geppetto, do not insult me or I shall call you Polendina.” Near the beginning two old men almost come to blows. In actual fact, if we do turn to the original text by Carlo Collodi (published between 18), we are in for some surprises - shocks even. It was all very well to watch it when we were four years old, but we probably are not going to pick up the book. But the impression we get from Disney's Pinocchio is of a cute story for little children. People enjoy the movies but still turn to the original texts. Other children's classics, such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, seem to have survived the Hollywood treatment. But has it done any favours to the original Pinocchio, the character in the book? Pinocchio was the master animator's second feature-length film, and is widely seen as a technical triumph and a landmark in the history of cinema. In short, Pinocchio has become synonymous with Disney's creation released in 1940. Like all kids, he is charmingly naughty, but unlike real children, his nose has a tendency to grow whenever he tells a childish fib. He has friend, the avuncular Jiminy Cricket, who plays the part of his conscience, and who sings a schmaltzy song about wishing upon a star. He looks a lot like a cute child, and only a little like a wooden puppet. What image does the name Pinocchio conjure up in our minds? We can't help but think of the little boy-puppet drawn by Disney. Storynory's audio narration of all the chapters of Pinocchio can be found here. The Real Pinocchio and the Disney Pinocchio
