Pinocchio (1972 film)

Production

The film was directed by Giuliano Cenci with assistance from his brother Renzo. During production, Carlo Collodi's grandchildren Mario and Antonio Lorenzini were consulted. The subtle movements made by fidgeting children whilst speaking or under scrutiny were incorporated into Pinocchios movements, particularly when he lies to the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair over the fate of his gold coins. For the design of the Fairy, Italian portrayals of the Blessed Virgin Mary in art were used as starting points.

Cast

Renato Rascel was chosen to serve as both the singer of the introductory song and as the narrator. He was permitted to occasionally ad lib in order to get the film's message across, and to give it a truly Italian feel.

Design

The characters were animated with unconventional uniform black outlines which contrasted with the complex styles characteristic of usual Italian animations and Disney films. For the design of Pinocchio, the animators took inspiration to illustrations made by Attilio Mussino. The backgrounds were painted by Sicillian artist Alberto D'Angelo and Abramo Scortecci who both used tone styles evocative of early 20th-century Italian art with little focus on surrealism as in the Disney adaptation.

English-dubbed version

In 1978, an English-dubbed version was released in the US by G.G. Communications. The supposed voices are William LeMassena as the narrator, Pamelyn Ferdin as Pinocchio, Dallas McKennon as Gepetto, Martha Scott as the Blue Fairy, Peter Renaday as Mangiafuoco, Paul Kligman as Lucignolo, Alan Sues as the Fox, Don Messick as the Cat and the Talking Cricket, Paul Frees as the Green Fisherman, Tony Pope as the boy at the puppet theatre, John Stephenson as Alidoro, the tuna fish and a townperson, Bob Holt as Harlequin and also Hal Smith as the farmer (Paul Frees was also the voice of the farmer in another dubbed version of the English version of Pinocchio).