Monday, March 15, 2010
The original story appeared in 1883 in Italian. Written by Carlo Collodi, the adventures of a little wooden puppet have charmed children and their parents ever since. Adapted many times over, perhaps the best known in my world is the Disney Classic, made the same year as Fantasia: 1940.
These were heady years for Hollywood filmmakers. The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were color extravaganzas that mesmerized audiences in unparalleled ways, well, that is, until Avatar hit the Imax screen in 3-D just this year.
These had to be extraordinary times for Walt Disney. There were rumblings of war. But the nation seemed to be emerging from a decade of economic strife. The New Deal appeared to be working. New whiz-bang technologies opened creative doors. Fantasia brought otherwise dull classical music to a broad appreciative audience. Pinocchio would be a morality play – teaching young children strong values with thinly veiled biblical imagery.
The dazzling color and full symphonic sound track filling the darkened theater with thunderous roars and crashes and waves rolling over the screen; a sound track to set the mood from fear to courage; from sorrow and loss to joy and celebration. The animators, too, with action sequences and rich facial expression. An industry was born.
I want my grandchildren to know this story. Sure, the DVD will be great. Probably best in Blu Ray. But I want them to hear me read the original – translated, of course, in English.
So, thanks to both public domain and Google, I found the complete original text. I’m compiling it in a file of my own, from which I intend to read in its entirety to my grandkids (assuming they will sit still that long). I’m not quite sure what I’ll discover in the original story – I’ll learn how much liberty Walt Disney took in the adaptation.
Geppetto wanted a real boy.
So he fashions a puppet from some wood he acquired. He had been told the wood had magical properties. The puppet comes to life – but still on strings, still made of wood. Geppetto sends him off to school, where he is exposed to influences beyond home and hearth. Before long, innocent and naïve, Pinocchio falls under the spell of a pack of ruffians. They pull his strings.
Disney inserted an unforgettable character who played the role of conscience for the young wooden boy – Jiminy Cricket (J.C. – get it?). I’ll check the original to see if this is a Disney invention. Soon his pals convince him to run away to a place called Pleasure Island – where boys can have whatever they want whenever they want. It is the ultimate indulgence. Candy. Ice cream. Cigars. Roller coasters. Ferris wheels. Sideshows. No admission. No limits. All you want. No one to say no.
Pinocchio believes he has arrived. But it doesn’t take long. The stomachache signals that gluttony has a downside. Dizziness blurs the vision of paradise. And when Pinocchio looks in the mirror, he sees long fuzzy ears sprouting and then checks his backside. A tail.
Pleasure Island is turning him into a jackass.
He looks around. They are all becoming donkeys.
It is one of those striking moments of self-realization. Pinocchio determines to make his escape. Along the way home, he is swallowed by a whale (get it?).
And finally, back in the loving, joyful arms of his creator-father, Geppetto, he (the Prodigal) becomes a real boy.
I want my grandchildren to become real, too. They will encounter ruffians who will tell them all about Pleasure Island. They may even give it a visit.
But I want them to know in advance – there is more. Way more.
Copyright Kenneth E Kemp 2010
I’d forgotten the real deal here with mr. Long Nose. Thanx! Let’s connect this week. Vance
While “Field of Dreams” is my favorite movie in spite of some questionable theology, one should also read the original book by W. P. Kinsella called “Shoeless Joe.” It probably develops a theme even more deeply. Dads – play catch with your sons. Sons – play catch with your dads!!
Hi, Ken. The creator of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” although a secular book, associated “being real” with compassion and love: “‘What is real?’ asked the Rabbit one day. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inaide you and a stick-out handle?’ ‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you . When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. Generally, once you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to those people who don’t understand.’”
It is possible that Margery Williams, the author, read The Sermon on the Mount?
I had never thought of Pinocchio as a parable beyond the consequences of lying. When you parrael it with God’s Word it says so much more.
So often we think of ourselves as puppets of God, who pulls our strings… This is nothing but an excuse, irresponsibility and not using the brain God gave us. When we think this way we, too, get ourselves into trouble because of our naivity. When we realize what we have done, God, as the good, loving Father, takes us back and creates a “real,” authentic person with a heavenly soul.
Thank you for reminding us of this wonderful story and analogy to God’s Truth.
God Bless You.
Hi, Ken. I’ve had the original book since I was a kid–different from the Disney version in many ways. Children’s books (especially the ones written many years ago) provide a wealth of guidance for all of us, young and not so young. Enjoy!
Hi Ken! Bert turned me on to read this after we both listened online to an old song. Pinocchio seems to be a great redemption story, which I had not realized before. This song we listened to seems to me to be a great (based on biblical warnings) “warning” song. You are no doubt too young to remember the old western tune sung by Vaughn Monroe, called “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” It warns a wandering cowboy of the result of his mispent ways, that it will result in his riding eternally in vain pursuit of the “ghost herd in the sky.” It is the fact that what we pursue in our lifetime, disregarding the God who calls us, will be pursued eternally with no hope of success. Pinocchio learns that endless pleasure with no strings attached is really the strings of the enemy promising eveything and delivering only satiety and disgust. Both are not what we need or want, and only God is able to satisfy to the point of complete wholeness of our personhood. Thanks for your good work. Come visit us soon! Lynne
Ken, thanks for your Monday morning “boosts”.
I love your reminders to keep on track on not follow the cultural flow that so easily drags us under.
Hi Ken, wish i had known the real version when I was a college student at Westmont in the early 60′s..Someone started a Pinnochio club for those who had big noses. Even though my Armenian nose is smaller than most Armenians, neverteless, I was drafted into the club.
No morality theme at all in our club; just an occasion for our fellow classmates to have a good laught (I think all in fun).
Should anyne doubt the veracity of my story, you can find a picture of the Pinnochio club in the 1962 or 1963 Westmont Yearbook !