The Mrises-Blue Fairy

**An Blue Fairy** is a major character in the 1940 Disney animated feature film, *Pinocchio*. She is a magical being who, fulfilling Geppetto's wish, transforms Pinocchio into a living being. With the power to take multiple forms (including a wishing star and a white dove), the Blue Fairy aids Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket throughout their adventures to fulfill the puppet’s goal of becoming a real boy.

## Background

### Development

#### Design

In a story meeting on January 12, 1939, Walt Disney specified that the Blue Fairy was to 'give the appearance of loveliness... (but not look like) a glamour girl'. Early model sheets and inspirational sketches reflect this concept, depicting the character as an ethereal beauty with swirling, billowing clothes and loose, unkempt hair (to reflect the fact that the fairy has literally flown in). At some point in development, this design changed to a less ethereal figure, with human proportions. This final version of the character, with her glittery dress, solid hair, and more human proportions, suggests the inspiration of Jean Harlow and thus ultimately resembled the 'glamour girl' Disney had initially been anxious to avoid; however, Disney seemed pleased with this version of the character, whose newly-found sexual allure worked on both Jiminy Cricket and the men working on the film, who reportedly whistled on first seeing a color test of the Blue Fairy.

#### Animation

Jack Campbell's animation of the Blue Fairy closely followed live-action footage of Marge Champion (who was also the performance model for Snow White) under the direction of Hamilton Luske. Oskar Fischinger, a famous abstract filmmaker from Germany who had been hired by Disney primarily to help with *Fantasia*'s abstract Toccata and Fugue in D Minor segment, was responsible for the animation of the Blue Fairy's magic, including the effects surrounding her when she first enters the workshop and the beams of light emanating from her wand.

## Appearances

### *Pinocchio*

The wishing star is first referred to in the film's opening song (with the Blue Fairy herself perhaps referred to in the song as *"Fate herself"*). When Jiminy Cricket begins his story, the wishing star is looking over Pinocchio's village, and it and the other stars are 'shining like diamonds'. It is not mentioned again in the film until inside Geppetto's Workshop. After Figaro has opened the window, Geppetto notices the Wishing Star and wishes that the marionette Pinocchio becomes a real boy. Everyone in the workshop falls asleep; soon, however, Jiminy is woken by an ethereal glow caused by the star as it moves closer and closer to the window. Eventually, the Blue Fairy herself appears in the workshop, stating that Geppetto deserves his wish after the happiness he has brought to others. She walks to Pinocchio and, tapping the puppet with her wand, grants him life but his body is still made of wood. She tells him that he must learn the difference between right and wrong in order to become a real boy. When Pinocchio appears not to understand, Jiminy interrupts to explain, and the Blue Fairy offers him the position of conscience to Pinocchio. Somewhat dumbstruck by her beauty, he agrees and is granted a new suit befitting his status. The Blue Fairy then leaves, reminding Pinocchio to "be a good boy, and always let your conscience be your guide." **The Blue Fairy next appears after Stromboli has locked Pinocchio in a cage; the showman intends to use the wooden boy to make an enormous amount of money. Ashamed of doing the wrong thing, Pinocchio attempts to hide when he sees the wishing star approaching the caravan, though both he and Jiminy are spotted. The Blue Fairy asks Pinocchio why he did not attend school that day; lying, he concocts a ridiculous story that he was kidnapped by two monsters, who put him into a sack and threatened to chop him into firewood. As his lie grows, his nose becomes longer until it resembles a tree limb, complete with a bird's nest. The Blue Fairy informs him that "a lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face". When Pinocchio promises to tell the truth from then on, the Blue Fairy returns his nose to normal and frees him from the cage with a tap of her wand.** She does not appear in person for the rest of the film - in keeping with her 'warning' as she frees Pinocchio from the cage that this is the last time she can help him - although she offers some indirect assistance. When Pinocchio is on Pleasure Island, while other boys were being turned into donkeys and then sold to salt mines by the Coachman, Jiminy warns Pinocchio to follow his lead to prevent the curse from taking a foothold, with his role as the Fairy's proxy allowing Pinocchio to escape his own transformation. **After the two return home and see Geppetto's abandoned workshop, the Blue Fairy, in the form of a dove, drops a message that Geppetto learned about Pleasure Island and set sail in order to rescue Pinocchio, but his boat was swallowed by Monstro the Whale. Presumably, this "bonus help" was due to the fact that Pinocchio had gotten back on track by listening to Jiminy (as well as ceasing his bad-boy behavior unlike Lampwick) and that Jiminy would not have realized that Geppetto had been attacked by Monstro as they were making their way back to the village. Pinocchio's dangerous decision to try and rescue Geppetto (even over Jiminy's objections) was the final test in order to see whether or not he had what it takes to become a real boy.** Pinocchio's selflessness in rescuing Geppetto from Monstro costs him his life, as he drowns from the violent wave that washed him and Geppetto on shore. As Geppetto, Jiminy, Figaro, and Cleo mourn Pinocchio's death, the Blue Fairy appears, saying that Pinocchio has proven his heroism and rewards him by returning him to life, reversing the Coachman's donkey curse, and ultimately changing him into a real human boy. She also gives Jiminy a golden badge, declaring him Pinocchio's official conscience.

## Gallery

***The 2D-Animated wiki*** has a collection of images and media related to ***Blue Fairy***.

## Trivia

* The Blue Fairy is the opposite in the appearance of the Fairy in Carlo Collodi's original story. In the story, the Fairy has turquoise hair, giving her the name, but wears normal clothing; she lives at first in a cottage in the woods and later in a house on Busy Bee Island, and has no connection to a wishing star. Additionally, she is mostly depicted as youthful and childlike and Pinocchio considered her to be his mother.
* In the original story, the Blue Fairy has no role in Pinocchio coming to life: his own wood was already magical and capable of speaking and moving. She still retains her role of giving him a human body.
* The Blue Fairy is the only major female character in the movie other than Cleo, but the latter has no speaking parts.
* The Blue Fairy appears as a statue at the end of the film *A.I. Artificial Intelligence*.
* Although not part of the Disney Princess franchise, she was present in an early image of the franchise, along with the Disney Princesses.
* Most of her facial expressions are very similar to Snow White's, no doubt because she shared the same live model for the animators, Marge Champion. Some of her facial expressions were also used as an inspiration for Cinderella.
* Unlike all of the other characters in the film, the Blue Fairy was animated via rotoscoping rather than by freehand.
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