The Adventures of Piccolino
Encyclopedia
is a 52 episode anime
series by Nippon Animation
first aired in 1976. The story is based on the novel "Pinocchio
" by Italian author Carlo Collodi
.
The plot, which is set in a small village in the Tuscany
district in Italy
, starts with a poor old carpenter named Geppetto
, who lives alone. One day, Geppetto finds a mysterious wooden log, from which, he carves a marionette
which comes to life and becomes the child he never had. Geppetto decides to call him "Pinocchio".
Later on, Geppetto convinces Pinocchio to start going to the local school. Pinocchio sets out towards the school, but on his way, he meets the Fox (who is pretending to be limping) and the cat (who is pretending to be blind), who manage to persuade him to join them in a walk to the theater to watch a puppet show. Pinocchio decides to join the puppet theater in order to save up money, which he would be able to give to the poor Geppetto. Pinocchio performs in the theater in different cities and, after he manages to save enough gold coins, he decides to escape from the theater and return back home with the gold coins he earned.
On the way home, Pinocchio meets the fox and the cat again, who have decided to trick Pinocchio. They tell him that if he plants the coins in the fields of wonder, they would rapidly grow into a large tree which would produce thousands of new golden coins. Pinocchio doesn’t understand that they are trying to trick him, even though Pinocchio’s companion, Bella the duckling, tries to warn him. Pinocchio, who believes their lies, follows the fox and the cat towards the fields of wonder. They stop at an inn, where the cat and fox eat a full meal on Pinocchio’s expense. During the night, the inn keeper wakens Pinocchio, notifying him that the fox and cat had to leave urgently, but they would meet Pinocchio at the fields of wonder. Pinocchio sets out immediately towards the fields of wonder. When he passes through the forest, the fox and cat, who are dressed up as robbers, surprise attack him and try to rob Pinocchio. Pinocchio manages to run away into the forest. While running into the forest, Pinocchio meets the fairy with turquoise hair. Later on, the cat and the fox (who are still in disguise) manage to seize Pinocchio, and they hang him on a tree in order to retrieve the golden coins. Pinocchio holds on to the golden coins and, eventually, the fox and the cat decide to leave him hanging on the tree. The fairy with turquoise hair appears later on and rescues Pinocchio.
After Pinocchio continues his journey towards his home, along the way, he meets the Fox and the cat yet again (although he doesn’t know that they were the robbers who tried to steal his golden coins). They remind Pinocchio about the fields of wonder, and he agrees to follow them once again in order to plant the golden coins. When they reach the fields of wonder, Pinocchio plants the golden coins in the soil and, while he goes to get water, the fox and the cat dig up the golden coins and quickly disappear. After Pinocchio discovers that he was a victim of fraud, he goes back to Geppetto.
Later on, Pinocchio, The fox and the cat, and several children join a wanderer
, who leads them towards the land of toys, which consists of amusement facilities and as much candy as they desire. The next morning Pinocchio and his friends wake up and discover that they have transformed into donkeys during the night- the real reason for which they were initially brought to the land of toys by the wanderer. The donkeys are later on taken to the market and sold by the wanderer to a circus. Only after Pinocchio understands that the curse would be removed only after he would change his ways and would start doing good deeds, does he decide to change his ways. After Pinocchio manages to save the circus from burning in a big fire, he transforms back to his former self.
Later on, Geppetto is tricked by the fox and the cat and, therefore, he sets out to search for Pinocchio in the ocean. After Pinocchio discovers that, he decides to search for Geppetto. While searching for Geppetto out in the ocean, Pinocchio gets swallowed by a whale. In the whale's stomach, he meets Geppetto (who had also been swallowed by the whale). Pinocchio manages to find the courage and wisdom needed to get himself and Geppetto out of the whale’s stomach safely.
Eventually, as a token to Pinocchio’s good deeds, the fairy with turquoise hair decides to transform Pinocchio into a real boy.
or through the Japanese Amazon. An English DVD release was never made.
The Afrikaans language DVDs are currently available in South-Africa.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series by Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
first aired in 1976. The story is based on the novel "Pinocchio
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
" by Italian author Carlo Collodi
Carlo Collodi
Carlo Lorenzini , better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian children's writer known for the world-renowned fairy tale novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio.-Biography:...
.
The plot
Although the plot was slightly changed from the original story, the basis of the plot remained like the original story.The plot, which is set in a small village in the Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
district in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, starts with a poor old carpenter named Geppetto
Mister Geppetto
Mister Geppetto is a fictional character in the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. Geppetto is an elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator of Pinocchio...
, who lives alone. One day, Geppetto finds a mysterious wooden log, from which, he carves a marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
which comes to life and becomes the child he never had. Geppetto decides to call him "Pinocchio".
Later on, Geppetto convinces Pinocchio to start going to the local school. Pinocchio sets out towards the school, but on his way, he meets the Fox (who is pretending to be limping) and the cat (who is pretending to be blind), who manage to persuade him to join them in a walk to the theater to watch a puppet show. Pinocchio decides to join the puppet theater in order to save up money, which he would be able to give to the poor Geppetto. Pinocchio performs in the theater in different cities and, after he manages to save enough gold coins, he decides to escape from the theater and return back home with the gold coins he earned.
On the way home, Pinocchio meets the fox and the cat again, who have decided to trick Pinocchio. They tell him that if he plants the coins in the fields of wonder, they would rapidly grow into a large tree which would produce thousands of new golden coins. Pinocchio doesn’t understand that they are trying to trick him, even though Pinocchio’s companion, Bella the duckling, tries to warn him. Pinocchio, who believes their lies, follows the fox and the cat towards the fields of wonder. They stop at an inn, where the cat and fox eat a full meal on Pinocchio’s expense. During the night, the inn keeper wakens Pinocchio, notifying him that the fox and cat had to leave urgently, but they would meet Pinocchio at the fields of wonder. Pinocchio sets out immediately towards the fields of wonder. When he passes through the forest, the fox and cat, who are dressed up as robbers, surprise attack him and try to rob Pinocchio. Pinocchio manages to run away into the forest. While running into the forest, Pinocchio meets the fairy with turquoise hair. Later on, the cat and the fox (who are still in disguise) manage to seize Pinocchio, and they hang him on a tree in order to retrieve the golden coins. Pinocchio holds on to the golden coins and, eventually, the fox and the cat decide to leave him hanging on the tree. The fairy with turquoise hair appears later on and rescues Pinocchio.
After Pinocchio continues his journey towards his home, along the way, he meets the Fox and the cat yet again (although he doesn’t know that they were the robbers who tried to steal his golden coins). They remind Pinocchio about the fields of wonder, and he agrees to follow them once again in order to plant the golden coins. When they reach the fields of wonder, Pinocchio plants the golden coins in the soil and, while he goes to get water, the fox and the cat dig up the golden coins and quickly disappear. After Pinocchio discovers that he was a victim of fraud, he goes back to Geppetto.
Later on, Pinocchio, The fox and the cat, and several children join a wanderer
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
, who leads them towards the land of toys, which consists of amusement facilities and as much candy as they desire. The next morning Pinocchio and his friends wake up and discover that they have transformed into donkeys during the night- the real reason for which they were initially brought to the land of toys by the wanderer. The donkeys are later on taken to the market and sold by the wanderer to a circus. Only after Pinocchio understands that the curse would be removed only after he would change his ways and would start doing good deeds, does he decide to change his ways. After Pinocchio manages to save the circus from burning in a big fire, he transforms back to his former self.
Later on, Geppetto is tricked by the fox and the cat and, therefore, he sets out to search for Pinocchio in the ocean. After Pinocchio discovers that, he decides to search for Geppetto. While searching for Geppetto out in the ocean, Pinocchio gets swallowed by a whale. In the whale's stomach, he meets Geppetto (who had also been swallowed by the whale). Pinocchio manages to find the courage and wisdom needed to get himself and Geppetto out of the whale’s stomach safely.
Eventually, as a token to Pinocchio’s good deeds, the fairy with turquoise hair decides to transform Pinocchio into a real boy.
Comparison with the original story
- The roles of the fox and the blind cat where expanded and transformed into the bad but entertaining figures of the series.
- The role of the Talking Cricket, which represents Pinocchio's conscience, was replaced with a little duckling and a woodpeckerWoodpeckerWoodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
. - The role of the Fairy with Turquoise Hair was also expanded and she gets to rescue Pinocchio from harm several times while she transforms herself into different forms including as giant pigeon.
Characters
- Pinocchio (Masako NozawaMasako Nozawais a Japanese voice actress and actress affiliated with Office Nozawa. Her pet name is Mako. Her husband, Masa'aki Tsukada is also a voice actor....
) - Gina the duck (Kazuko SugiyamaKazuko Sugiyama, born is a voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production.In February 2010, she received a "Merit Awards" from the 4th Seiyū Awards....
) - Boro the fox (Sanji HaseSanji Hase', born ' on January 2, 1936 in Tokyo, Japan, was a seiyū and the father of Macross star Arihiro Hase. He died of lung cancer on March 8, 2002 at the age of 66...
) - Giulietta the cat (Miyoko Asou)
- Geppetto (Junji Chiba)
- Nymph (Mami KoyamaMami KoyamaMami Koyama is a veteran seiyū and J-pop vocalist who was born in Nishio, Aichi. She was once married to fellow seiyū Tōru Furuya, her co-star in Mobile Suit Gundam, Urusei Yatsura, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Casshern Sins...
) - Rocco the bird (Kaneka Hijitsuki, Kaneta KimotsukiKaneta Kimotsukiis a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa , Dracula , Pāyan , Iyami , Tom , Benzou Karino , Horrorman , Conductor and Jiminy Cricket is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa...
) - Dora the cat (Ichirô NagaiIchiro Nagaiis a male seiyū from Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. He was formerly represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, but is now represented by Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Akuma-kun *Bikkuriman...
)
Regional releases
A Japanese DVD Region 2 box set of the series was produced in 2005 and can be bought in in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
or through the Japanese Amazon. An English DVD release was never made.
The Afrikaans language DVDs are currently available in South-Africa.
Alternative Titles
- Bambino Pinocchio (Italian title)
- Pinocchio Yori Piccolino no Boken (Japanese title)
- Pinochio (French title)
- Pinocho (Spanish title)
- Pinokkio (Dutch title)
- The Adventures of Piccolino (English title)
- ピコリーノの冒険 (Japanese title)
- פינוקיו (Hebrew title)
- Pinokio (Polish title)
- Die Avonture van Pinocchio (Afrikaans language title from South-Africa)
- Πινόκιο (Greek title)
- پینوکیو (Persian title)
- ماجد لعبة خشبية (arabic title)