Pinocchio: The Original (Unabridged‪)‬

"Pinocchio, the Original," is "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi from 1883, with updated comments by Steven Ritz-Barr—a professional Puppeteer for over 4 decades in Paris, Los Angeles and Berlin. It is a darker, more profound version than the popular Pinocchio by Disney, who made the story world-famous with the 1940 animated film. It is filled with absurd puppet-humor and abstract slap-stick—and it is the real version. It is not politically correct (the policemen are all corrupt) and very likely will not be available in Florida or Texas (USA) schools.

It is a coming of age story of a wooden puppet who was promised that he could become a real boy, if he could only behave well—go to school and study hard. He constantly is harassed by two charming con men, Fox and Cat, who attempt to steal his gold coins many times. Over and over, he gets redeemed by a Blue Fairy, who substitutes as his sister, then as his mother. Along the way he is thrown in jail, unjustly, by a Judge who is a Gorilla. He gets caught in a fox-trap while picking berries and is forced to spend a night as a guard dog, and he is saved because of his loud bark. He is almost hung to death, but is saved because he is indeed a marionette made from wood, which cannot really die, (because he is not really alive). Later, one of his classmates lures him away from his goal to finish school and he goes to a place of pure "fun," where he can play all day and never go to school. But soon, he and his friend are turned into donkeys and sold on the market as beasts of burden. The donkey, Pinocchio, lands in a circus, but while jumping through a hoop he injures his leg and is sold for his hide for 4 cents. It is then he dives into the sea to save himself and discovers a huge terrible “shark”—the exact one that has swallowed his father, Geppetto. Through his cunning and caring he finds a way out and saves himself and Geppetto, and finally this absurdly dark, yet humorous tale ends.