Pinocchio Book Report

Pinocchio, by C. Collodi, is a story that everyone probably knows. Everyone is familiar with the little puppet who just wants to become a real boy, his father Geppetto, the Fairy that makes Pinocchio come alive and chides him for lying, Figaro the cat, Clio the fish, Jiminy Cricket, and of course the evil Stromboli, cat, fox, and Monstro. Everyone knows what went on at Paradise Island, everyone was turned into donkeys, except for Pinocchio, who really was a good boy. Then Pinocchio beats the whale, saves his father, goes home, and the Fairy turns him into a real boy. There's no more. But what most people don't know is that the Disney version is a lot different from the real book. Stromboli is Fire-Eater, Monstro is Dog-Fish, and the Fairy actually has blue hair, not blonde. Disney messed it up quite a bit.

    This is basically the real version of Pinocchio. Once there was a man who had a piece of wood. He was about to chop it, when a voice cried out. This man got very scared, so he gave it to his friend, Geppetto. Geppetto carves the piece of wood into a puppet and calls him Pinocchio. Then Pinocchio starts playing all sorts of tricks on his father such as trying to run away, and getting Geppetto in jail. Pinocchio goes home and sees a talking cricket (yes, this is Jiminy). Pinocchio gets mad at the cricket and squashes the poor bug with a hammer. This a lot naughtier than anything in the Disney version. Then he gets so hungry, he promises to be a good puppet. Geppetto comes, gives him food, and sells his coat so that Pinocchio can go to school. Pinocchio sells his books so that he can go to a puppet show. The puppets take him onstage and dance with him. Then Fire-Eater tries to put Pinocchio in the fire, but Pinocchio cries, so Fire-Eater, who really is a good guy, sets him free. He meets a fox and a cat, who tell him to go to the Field of Miracles, where money trees grow. Then they stop at an inn for dinner. (I'd like to stop here to clarify something. This is the point in the Disney version where Pinocchio goes to "Paradise Island". In the real book, a lot more stuff happens before that.)

    Pinocchio goes by himself to The Field of Miracles, but is attacked by assassins. The assassins hang Pinocchio and he almost dies, when a beautiful child with blue hair saves him. Then three doctors come and determine that Pinocchio is still alive. The child gives Pinocchio some medicine, but he won't take it. Then three rabbits come to bury Pinocchio, so he takes his medicine. (Try this at home, it might work.) Then he tells a lie and his nose grows really long. The child tells Pinocchio not to lie and that she is a fairy. Pinocchio's nose becomes normal again and sets out to see his father who is coming to the fairy's house. He meets the fox and cat again, and they take him to the Field of  Miracles. Pinocchio is cheated out of his money, so he is put immediately in jail. (???)After four months, he is set free, so he walks to the fairy's house. On the way, he meets a snake, who laughs at Pinocchio so much, that it dies of a heart attack. Then Pinocchio becomes a watch-dog as punishment for trying to steal some grapes. He is a good watch-dog, so he is set free. When he finally reaches the Fairy's house, he learns that the Fairy died of loneliness. He is extremely sad; a pigeon comes to tell Pinocchio that he saw Geppetto rowing a boat in the water.

    He rides on the pigeon's back, then swims to an island. On this island, he find the Fairy, who really wasn't dead. The Fairy is grown up now, so she becomes his mamma. He goes to school and becomes one of the top students. Some of his friends play a trick on him, and a fight breaks out. Someone gets hurt and Pinocchio gets arrested (again). He escapes, but a dog follows him. The dog almost drowns, but Pinocchio saves him. Then Pinocchio swims away. A fisherman catches Pinocchio and is about to eat him when the dog saves him. Pinocchio goes back to the Fairy and promises to be good. He goes back to school and is the top student, but his friend Lampwick tells Pinocchio to come with him to the Land of the Boobies, where no one ever studies and everyone plays games all day long. He is reluctant, but he agrees. He goes to the Land of the Boobies and has fun. Then everyone is turned into donkeys. Pinocchio gets sold to a circus, then lames himself and finally swims out in the ocean. The ocean turns him into a puppet again, but the monstrous Dog-Fish swallows him. Pinocchio finds Geppetto in the Dog-Fish, and together they escape. They reach an island and Pinocchio works hard to get money for his sick father. Then the Fairy comes, gives Pinocchio a bunch of gold, cures Geppetto, and turns Pinocchio into a real boy. This is the end of the story.

    Now I think the real story is a lot  better than the Disney version. And I think I know why Disney left out so much. First, the story had to have a bad guy, but there wasn't one, so Fire-Eater became the bad guy. Second, they changed everyone's names and added a cat and fish to make it more appealing to little kids. Third, Pinocchio, who is the good guy, can't have been really naughty, so they only made him make a lie, instead of all the other naughty things he did like killing Jiminy Cricket. Fourth, they left out that huge chunk of the story because is was too exciting for little kids and because it wouldn't fit inside the one hour time limit. Lastly, the name of the Land of the Boobies was a bit too inappropriate, so they changed it. One I'm really confused on is why they gave the fairy blonde hair. Anyway, I really truly think that Pinocchio is a good story for young and old. Everyone should really read it.