Character Analysis
If our favorite stuffed animal gained sentience, we would not react like Geppetto. A song-and-dance number? No thanks. We'd bust out our baseball bat, scream like a police siren, and probably sleep surrounded by garlic cloves and crucifixes for months afterwards.
To be fair, though, it's not like we've ever prayed to a wishing star that Stinky the Bear would come to life. That's something only Geppetto would do. This old woodworker has always desired a family of his own…and now that Pinocchio is walking and talking, that dream might finally have come true.
Read the Fine Print
Even though he's been given life, however, Pinocchio must prove to the Blue Fairy that he's "brave, truthful, and unselfish" before she gives him his full humanity. This is par for the course with her: she only gives Pinocchio life in the first place because Geppetto is such a swell guy. Girl loves her moral tests.
That's going to be tough, however, given that Pinocchio has no idea what morality even is. Take a look at this exchange:
THE BLUE FAIRY: You must learn to choose between right and wrong.
PINOCCHIO: Right and wrong? But how will I know?
THE BLUE FAIRY: Your conscience will tell you.
Granted, it doesn't help things that his so-called "conscience" is giving him opaque, totally confounding advice. Just check out this gem:
JIMINY: But even though the right things may seem wrong sometimes, sometimes the wrong things may be right at the wrong time, or vice versa. Understand?
Yikes. What does a puppet have to do to get some good help these days?
We can't pin all of the blame on Jiminy, however. After all, Pinocchio is basically one day old at this point, which means that he's totally naive and maybe even a bit stupid (shots fired, infants). We're not dissing him or anything, but simply trying to place his obliviousness into context.
One Stromboli with Extra Jackass
Regardless, Pinocchio pays a serious price for his naivete. The first whopper is when he's "hired" as an actor by the Great Stromboli. Although Pinocchio has a great time while he's on stage, he quickly realizes that Stromboli isn't looking out for him in the same way that Geppetto is.
Take a gander:
STROMBOLI: To me, you are belonging. [...] You will make lots of money—for me.
And when you are growing too old, you will make good firewood.
Luckily, the Blue Fairy swoops in to save Pinocchio from his high-temperature predicament. Though he's grateful, Pinocchio is also embarrassed for slipping up so quickly, and he begins lying to the Blue Fairy about how he landed in Stromboli's clutches.
PINOCCHIO: I was going to school till I met somebody.
THE BLUE FAIRY: Met somebody?
PINOCCHIO: Yeah. Two big monsters with big, green eyes.
THE BLUE FAIRY: Monsters? Weren't you afraid?
PINOCCHIO: No, ma'am, but they tied me in a big sack.
As he lies, Pinocchio's nose begins to grow and grow, even sprouting leaves and flowers. This is one of the film many instances of using a character's physical transformation to reflect some aspect of their moral status. The Blue Fairy reverses this nasal elongation, of course, but this is one lesson that's going to stick with Pinocchio.
Still, Pinocchio's time with the Great Stromboli doesn't compare to his experiences on Pleasure Island. It's on Pleasure Island that Pinocchio completely indulges in his vices, drinking, smoking, and destroying hotel rooms like a rock star. The Blue Fairy would not be pleased.
Luckily, he sees the potential consequences of such wanton immorality in the form of the most heavy-handed "jackass" metaphor of all time. To hammer this symbolism home, we see a donkey's ears and tail sprout from Pinocchio's body, representing how he has done immoral things, but managed to restrain himself before the transformation was complete.
The Triforce of Morality
After escaping Pleasure Island, Pinocchio completes his moral growth by rescuing Geppetto from the clutches (and intestines) of Monstro the whale. In fact, Pinocchio manages to fulfill all three of the Blue Fairy's prerequisites though these action-movie-ready hijinks.
Read 'em and weep:
- Bravery: He goes toe-to-fin with the most feared whale in the entire ocean. How else do you describe that but brave?
- Truthfulness: He doesn't lie to Geppetto about the origin of his new ears and tail, even though it would be more convenient to do so.
- Unselfishness: This is the big one. After their raft gets upended, Pinocchio ignores Geppetto's pleas to "save [himself]" and instead drags his dad to shore at the cost of his own life. That's as unselfish as it gets.
Seeing this, the Blue Fairy doesn't just bring Pinocchio back to life—she grants him his much-desired boyhood. We'll count that one as a win. Although he'll still encounter plenty of temptations during his long, flesh-and-blood life, Pinocchio will now be better equipped to identify and avoid them.
In fact, we're guessing that he'll be sending Jiminy into retirement within the week.
Pinocchio's Timeline