The Adventures of Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio was an Italian animated film directed by Raoul Verdini and Umberto Spano. Created and produced by Cartoni Animati Italiani Roma (CAIR) and distributed by De Vecchi, this cartoon was based on the famous 1883 children's book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It was intended to be the first animated feature film from Italy, but was never completed, as The Dynamite Brothers eventually became one in 1949. It also would have been the first cel animated feature film ever, beating Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the first animated film adaptation based on Collodi's novel. It is now considered lost; only the original script and some surviving still frames are all that survived of the film. Production In January 1935, the politician Alfredo Rocco decided to commission the first Italian animated film at the newly formed CAIR. The studio chose to faithfully adapt the Collodi novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, and began work after buying the rights from its publisher, R. Bemporad & Figlio. To date, it is not clear who directed the film; some sources cite Umberto Spano and Raul Verdini, while others cite Romolo Bacchini and his son Carlo, who were also the photographers.