The New Adventures of Pinocchio is a 1961 American-Canadian-Japanese syndicated stop motion animated television series produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in the United States and made by Dentsu Studios in Japan. Created by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and his partner Jules Bass, it was based on the 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio written by Italian author, Carlo Collodi. The series was Rankin/Bass' first production to be made in "Animagic", a stop motion puppet animation technique which, in association with the company, was done by Tadahito Mochinaga's MOM Productions.
A total of 130 five-minute "chapters" were produced in 1960–61. These segments made up a series of five-chapter, 25-minute episodes. The show was deliberately designed to not emulate Walt Disney's popular 1940 version of Pinocchio in character design or characterization; the puppet wore a T-shirt and shorts instead of a Tyrolean hat, the Cricket (not Jiminy Cricket) had a high-pitched, grating voice, and Geppetto was calm and deliberate, unlike Disney's excitable and absent-minded woodcarver.
The series premiered the week of February 6, 1961 on select local stations. During 1963–64, the series was also aired in Japan on Fuji TV as part of another stop motion TV series, Prince Ciscorn (シスコン王子, lit. Ciscorn Ōji), based on the manga by Fujiko Fujio and also produced by Tadahito Mochinaga for Studio KAI and Dentsu.
Nineteen years later, in 1980, Rankin/Bass produced another stop motion adaptation of the novel for the American Broadcasting Company, a Christmas special called Pinocchio's Christmas, which featured a different voice cast including George S. Irving as Geppetto; Todd Porter as Pinocchio; Alan King as Maestro Fire-Eater; Allen Swift as the Fox; Pat Bright as the Cat; and Diane Leslie as Lady Azura.
Contents
Summary
An old wood carver Geppetto narrates the series, explaining on how he made a magically living puppet named Pinocchio, who can walk, jump, run and do other things without strings. In addition, he is also known to have his nose grow whenever he tell lies on anything be it right or wrong. Displeased with the need to continue living as a puppet, Pinocchio sets off on a journey with his friend Cricket to find the Blue Fairy, hoping that she can transform him into a real boy (in other words, a human) with her magic. But along the way, Pinocchio and Cricket encounter the two anthropomorphic animal cons, Foxy Q. Fibble and Cool S. Cat, as well as the greatest adventures, mishaps, danger and excitement than they would ever imagine.
Character voices
Stan Francis - Geppetto
Larry D. Mann - Foxy Q. Fibble
Paul Kligman - Cool S. Cat
Carl Banas
Claude Ray
Joan Fowler - Pinocchio, Various
Jack Mather - Cricket
Production staff
Writers/Producers/Directors - Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
Animation Director - Tadahito Mochinaga (uncredited)
Puppet Makers - Ichiro Komuro, Kyoko Kita, Reiko Yamagata, Sumiko Hosaka (all uncredited)
Animation - Hiroshi Tabata, Koichi Oikawa, Fumiko Magari, Tadanari Okamoto (all uncredited)
Episodes
It's No Joke Picnic
Ring・a・ding・ding・ding
Sprinkle Sprinkle Little Star
Ten Cents a Glance
Pretty Pussycat Nips
Rocket to Fame
Short Circuit
It's Cool in the Cooler
Back Stage Life
All Down Hill
Too Many Ghosts
Horse Sense
One Little Indian
Cattle Rattle
By Hook or By Crook
Not So Private Eye
Cash and Carry Harry
Dognet
The Gold Brick Trick
Simoro's Last Chance
Romin' in the Glomin'
Flying Bagpipes
Hide and Seek
Stop Gap Sap
Feud for All
Glockenspiel
Peanut Butter Battle
Upside Down Town