Pinocchio is a 2012 Italian animated film directed by Enzo D'Alò. It is based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. The film had a budget of about €8 million. It was screened out of competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival.

The original score was composed by Lucio Dalla, and includes songs performed by Leda Battisti and Nada. The vocal cast of the film includes Rocco Papaleo, Maurizio Micheli, Paolo Ruffini, Andy Luotto, and Lucio Dalla.

An English dub was made in Canada the same year, and it was released in the United Kingdom by Koch Media on 4 November 2013 (as Pinocchio - The Adventures of Pinocchio) and in Australia and New Zealand by Rialto Distribution. It was released in the United States by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on 10 April 2018, with some characters re-dubbed by celebrities.

Plot

In a small village in Tuscany, the poor carpenter Geppetto decides to forge a wooden puppet naming it Pinocchio. Pinocchio, however, starts running all over the city, sowing weeds between one street and another, until he is stopped by two carabinieri. When Pinocchio refuses to go home, the carabinieri, hearing people think that Geppetto is probably violent with the puppet, arrest him and let go of Pinocchio. Ignoring warnings from a talking cricket, who Pinocchio silences with a hammer, Pinocchio goes home, and dreams of his life as a vagabond who he intends to do. When Geppetto returns, the next morning, Pinocchio, having burned off his feet, agrees to behave well and to start going to school.

To allow him to study, Geppetto sells his tunic for the abbey, but Pinocchio, instead of going to school, sells the book to attend a puppet show. Also living, the puppets invite Pinocchio to the stage, angering Fire-Eater, who first intends to burn him but then changes his mind and gives him gold coins, after learning about Geppetto, and sends him home escorted by his employees, the Fox and the Cat, who trick him into taking the money, telling him about the Fields of Miracles, where coins sprout in trees of money.

After a night at an inn, Pinocchio strolls out, again ignoring the Cricket, only to be pursued by the Cat and the Fox posing as bandits who hang him for his money. A fairy with blue hair shows compassion on him and gets her servants to set him free. After some firm but fair words from the Cricket and encouragement from the Fairy, Pinocchio goes on his way to his father. But the Fox and the Cat mislead him into going with them to the Field of Mircales. After he plants them, he learns from a parrot the Fox and the Cat conned him and stole his money. He tells a gorilla chairman, only to be locked up in a prison cell. Eventually he is released by the dog guard. After that, Pinocchio decides to be a good boy and go to school the next day, but he is stop by some bullies who take him to the seaside. As Pinocchio gets caught by some police, he starts to run away from them until a dog named Alidoro falls into the sea. Showing compassion for him, Pinocchio decides to save the dog's life and swim to shore but is caught by a green fisherman who wants to eat him. However, Alidoro, showing gratefulness, saves the puppet's life. After a talk with a dove a while later, she helps him to return home, so Pinocchio climbs onto the dove's back bidding Alidoro farewell, and soon they fly off.

Pinocchio thanks the dove when they land, but soon, it starts to rain. He runs off into a warehouse where he meets Wickley, a lazy boy who's going to Amusement World. Having the urge to go, the puppets joins him and some other kids on a boat that's going to Amusement World. When they arrive, the kids have lots of fun, and on the next day, Pinocchio and Wickley accidentally lose the group and decide to follow them. But soon, they go to a floor where they soon discover that all of the kids have turned to donkeys to make the place work. As the 2 boys find themselves turn to donkeys, Wickley is dragged off by one clown, while Pinocchio is forced to work at the circus. However, things go horribly wrong as the ringmaster finds him no use, so he orders the 2 clowns to throw him into the sea.

In the ocean, as if by magic, Pinocchio turns back into a puppet while being released from the sack but is swallowed by a sea monster swimming by. In the belly of the fish, there he finds Geppetto. He tells him that he was swallowed by the same fish while he was looking for him, because there was a bad storm. And so, the 2 escape from the fish while it is sleeping with its mouth open. As the 2 see the sunrise, Pinocchio realizes that his father can't swim, so Geppetto climbs on his back. The puppet, now losing consciousness, tells his father to persevere. As soon as they reach the shore, the fairy with blue hair appears and kisses him on the head and disappears just as the policemen and the father arrive to same him.

The next day, Pinocchio wakes up in bed to realize that he is now a real boy instead of a puppet. As he and his father laugh and sing together, they go for a walk in the village while his shirt turns back into the kite that Geppetto had when he was young. The father and son that go to the village while the kite soars into the sky, ending the film.

Voice cast
 Gabriele Caprio - Pinocchio
 Mino Caprio - Geppetto
 Carlo Valli - Grillo Parlante
 Maricla Affatato - La Volpe
 Maurizio Micheli - Il Gatto
 Rocco Papaleo - Mangiafuoco
 Lucrezia Marricchi - La Fata dai Capelli Turchini
 Paolo Ruffini - Lucignolo

English dub cast
 Robert Naylor - Pinocchio
 Michael Rudder - Geppetto
 Arthur Grosser - Talking Cricket
 Sonja Ball - The Fox, Soprano, Teacher
 Thor Bishopric - The Cat, Curious Man
 Vlasta Vrána - Fire-Eater, The Jailer
 Jennifer Suliteneau - The Fairy with Turquoise Hair
 Noah Bernett - Wickley
 Maria Bircher - Curious Woman, The Dove
 Raphael Cohen - Gervaso, Young Geppetto
 Julian D'Addario - Arturo
 Richard Dumont - Punch
 A.J. Henderson - Alidoro, Seller
 Arthur Holden - Policeman #1, The Owl, Town Crier
 Rick Jones - Harlequin, Parrot, The Judge, The Ringmaster
 Richard Jutras - The Butterman
 Ranee Lee - Singer at Inn
 Michel Perron - Clown #1, The Innkeeper
 Donovan Reiter - Clown #2, Fisherman
 Terrence Scammell - Busker, Citizen, Policeman #2, Principal
 Harry Standjofski - The Crow, The Green Fisherman

2018 American release:
 Johnny Orlando - Pinocchio
 Ambyr Childers - Trixie the Fox 
 Jon Heder - Leo the Cat

Reception
Common Sense Media gave the show 3 out of 5 stars, praising the animation, characters and familiar messages.

References

External links
 

2012 films
2012 animated films
2010s French animated films
Italian animated films
Belgian animated films
French animated feature films
2010s children's fantasy films
Animated Pinocchio films
Italian fantasy films
Films directed by Enzo D'Alò
Animated films set in Italy