Pinocchio: The Series
1972 Japanese anime TV series / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Saban's Adventures of Pinocchio?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Pinocchio: The Series, also known as Saban's The Adventures of Pinocchio and known as Mock of the Oak Tree (樫の木モック, Kashi no Ki Mokku) in Japan, is a 52-episode anime series by Tatsunoko Productions first aired on Fuji Television in 1972, which was edited by Saban in 1990.[1] The story is based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi.
Pinocchio: The Series | |
樫の木モック (Mokku of the Oak Tree) | |
---|---|
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Seitaro Hara |
Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
Original network | Fuji TV |
English network | |
Original run | 4 February 1972 – 26 December 1972[1] |
Episodes | 52 |
Unlike the lighter, more cheerful tones of the Disney film adaptation and Nippon Animation's version Piccolino no Bōken, this series has a distinctly darker, more sadistic theme, and portrays the main character, Pinocchio (Mock), as suffering from constant physical and psychological abuse and freak accidents.[2]
This version tells a story of an extremely gullible, naive and morally confused wooden doll/marionette brought to life by a mystical turquoise-haired fairy.[3] Pinocchio (Mock) is characterized as having many character faults which he must learn to overcome in order to be worthy of being granted humanity. Some of these character faults include selfishness, sarcasm, insensitivity, indolence, obstinacy, dupability, self-pity, over-trusting, gullibility, stupidity, disobedience, compulsive lying, arrogance, greed, cowardice, recklessness, pettiness, cruelty, foolishness and an inability to learn from mistakes.[4]
For example, during the fifth episode, "What is a Heart", Pinocchio actually resorts to committing attempted murder to acquire a child's heart because he thinks it will help him become a real boy.[5] Throughout the entire series Pinocchio (Mock), partly due to his own delinquency and repetitive disobedience, must undergo other costly ordeals of hardship and pain in which he is continuously tormented. In the tenth episode, "When my nose gets longer", Pinocchio is forcefully adopted by a Nobleman and becomes a Prince, whereupon he becomes so corrupted with wealth and privileges that he becomes extremely cruel to his servants and charges about his adopted father's estates on horseback, randomly riding down any person who gets in his way, whilst laughing at the terror, indignity and danger inflicted upon others for his personal amusement. Pinocchio is of course severely punished by the blue fairy for these acts of utter selfishness who makes his nose turn into a small tree. Pinocchio is consequently disowned and cast out naked into the wilderness by his adopted father who can not stop laughing at him as he is dragged away crying out in vain for mercy. The episode ends with a forlorn Pinocchio weeping as he fumbles through the castle's surrounding undergrowth, naked and cold because his ex-adopted father has taken away his expensive attire. There are clearly illustrated scratches etched into the wood of his body from the surrounding vegetation. The subsequent episode sees Pinocchio transform into a small tree with a face and with roots fixed deep into the soil so that he can no longer move. He is eventually found by a wood cutter who chops him down and sells him as a novelty singing tree.
The cultural backdrop of these episodes seem to suggest an alpine region during the mid to late 19th century, only with an added mythical theme which includes creatures such as vampires, fairies, witches, dragons, demons and mermaids as well as talking animals and not to mention of course a living puppet. Such backdrops could include countries in Catholic Europe such as Switzerland, northwestern Dinaric Alps, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy or even the Papal States. But most indicates the story is set in the Alps regions of Northern Italy.
The story begins with an oak tree losing a branch in a storm, which is found by an elderly, childless, woodcarver who carves it into a marionette child to keep him company and names him Pinocchio (Mokku in the Japanese version, derived from the Japanese word "Moku" meaning wood). That night the fairy of the oak tree grants Geppetto's wish by giving Pinocchio life, though she'll only be able to give him humanity once he has earned it. From there Pinocchio goes on a number of adventures in both his village and the surrounding area, typically involving him either ignoring Cricket's advice and getting in trouble as a result or trying to do something good and somebody else (usually a talking animal or one of his classmates, particularly Franko) taking advantage of his naivete. However, with the help of Cricket, the Oak Fairy, and his father he's always able to escape whatever situation he finds himself in, either through direct help or figuring out a solution based on advice he's given, and returns home having learnt an important lesson about life and what it means to be human.
The focus of the story shifts at the end of episode 29 where, after helping to defend his village from bandits, Pinocchio encounters Sneeroff who captures him and later picks up Jack the Fox and Willie the Weasel to tour with him as entertainers. Geppetto heads out in search of him with Charlie the Mouse in tow, though they keep missing each other, and Sneeroff takes the group to Africa to search for diamonds after speaking to a man who made his fortune this way. However the ship they are traveling on is destroyed during a storm and they end up in the wrong part of Africa with Jack and Willie's fates left unknown; from there Pinocchio journeys in search of his father though he often just misses him or has the reunion cut short, during his search he has to rely on his own abilities more than in the past in order to get past the various problems he encounters on his journeys, including Sneeroff. Eventually Pinocchio is able to return to Central Europe where he reunites with Jack and Willie, who become his friends when he helps to free them and a number of other animals from Sneeroff and get the puppeteer arrested for his misdeeds.
Unfortunately when Pinocchio returns to his house he finds that Geppetto has left again to search for him and heads out in search of his father, however, a war is about to break out and a large cedar forest is going to be cleared to make war ships. The trees ask Pinocchio to speak on their behalf as he is half-tree, though nobody listens to him, he is able to put a plan in motion to scare away the soldiers; unfortunately this results in the army branding him as a product of dark magic and putting a bounty on his head, as well as arresting Geppetto and preparing to send him to the inhospitable "Devil's Island". Thus the puppet heads out again, aided by Jack, Willie and Charlie, to try and rescue his father before he can be sent to the island while avoiding both the authorities and those who want to turn him over for the bounty. Eventually all five of them end up on a ship bound for the island where Pinocchio meets Gina, a girl who was brought as a sacrifice for the monster guarding the island, though when the monster appears Pinocchio fights and defeats it with the help of the Oak Fairy.
In the aftermath of the shipwreck Pinocchio, Gina and Geppetto are stranded on Devil's Island where they manage to survive for a time with the two children bonding and vowing to be each other's sibling as they care for Geppetto and magically transform the island into a paradise in the process. The three are then rescued by their animal friends and return to Europe shortly before Christmas, however, Gina suddenly falls ill and while he searches for a way to purchase the medicine needed to save her Pinocchio learns that a number of other children have the same illness but the medicine needed to cure them is too expensive and goes to search for the herb needed to cure them instead. While he succeeds in finding the herb and curing the sick children, he is still believed to be the product of sorcery by the army who catches up to and shoots him. Fortunately, the Oak Fairy is able to save him by scaring away the army and transforming the boy into a fully human child, though this means she will no longer be able to appear to him. At the same time, a great light surrounds the sky and the perverse Colonel and his soldiers fall to the ground in fear. The light turns out to be the Fairy Godmother, who, proud of Pinocchio's courage and kindness, brings him back to life as a real boy. Pinocchio takes leave of the Fairy and the story ends with Pinocchio, Geppetto and all his friends contemplating the sky on Christmas night.
- Executive Producer/Planning: Tatsuo Yoshida
- Producer: Kenji Yoshida, Motoyoshi Maesato
- Chief Writer: Jinzo Toriumi
- Series Director: Seitaro Hara
- Music: Nobuyoshi Koshibe
- Character Design: Yoshitaka Amano
- Chief Animation Directors: Masayuki Hayashi, Sadao Miyamoto
Pinocchio: The Series
- Voice actors
- Pinocchio Voiced by: Hiroko Maruyama (Japanese); Thor Bishopric (English)
- Geppetto Voiced by: Minoru Yada (Japanese); Walter Massey (English)
- Puppetmaster Sneeroff Voiced by: A.J. Henderson
- Dr. Sorrow Voiced by: Arthur Grosser
- Willie Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japanese); Terrence Scammell (English)
- Charlie Voiced by: Hiroko Maruyama (Japanese); Arthur Holden (English)
- Jack Voiced by: Dean Hagopian
- Cricket Voiced by: Rick Jones
- The Blue Fairy Voiced by: Jane Woods
- Narrator Voiced by: Ian Finlay
- Crew
- Music by: Haim Saban & Shuki Levy
- Music orchestrated by: Steve Marston