Starring Sandy Duncan, Danny Kaye, Clive Revill, and Flip Wilson
Directed by Ron Field and Sid Smith
Music and Lyrics by Billy Barnes
Women playing young men or boys in male drag go way back on the stage. It was common as late as the 19th century for a young woman to play a boy or young man. This became less frequent as more roles were written with women in mind by the early 20th century, but it still occasionally happens to this day. Stage and TV versions of Peter Pan usually have a young woman in the title role. Duncan, who would later play Peter onstage in the 80's, plays both the wooden boy here and the daughter of an Italian actor (Danny Kaye) who wants to spread her wings and leave his troupe. How well does she do? Let's begin with that father and daughter pair as they quarrel about her leaving, just before the performance of Pinocchio begins, and find out...
The Story: Lonely Geppetto (Kaye) is delighted when his life-sized wooden puppet Pinocchio (Duncan) comes to life right before his eyes. He tries to send the boy to school, but he's easily led astray by anything even mildly tempting that comes across his path. First, he accidentally gets into a puppet show, only for the mean puppeteer Stromboli to try to lock him in a trunk and force him to remain. Pinocchio manages to escape that, only to run into a wily fox (Wilson) and cat (Liz Torres) who convinces him that if he plants the coins he got from his work with Stromboli, he can grow a money tree.
After Geppetto gets his money back and scolds him for lying, Pinocchio is sure he'll make it to school now. This time, however, he's tempted by Candlewick (Gary Morgan), who insists there's a place he can go where he'll never have to attend school and can have nothing but fun. Not only is he away for three months, but it turned out that the "fun" the Coachman (Revill) who brought them there touted has far more sinister intentions. Even after Pinocchio manages to get away from that, he still has to rescue himself and his father from the belly of a whale.
The Song and Dance: Somehow, Duncan and Kaye manage to make this work. Duncan is wholly believable both as the daughter who wants to find a life outside their little troupe and the wooden boy who wants to learn more about everything. Kaye's almost as fun playing the kindly old woodworker who suddenly finds himself with the family he always wanted and the concerned father who wants to hang on to his daughter. Wilson and Torres have some good moments as the scheming fox and cat duo, too. The rainbow costumes, with huge skirts and tight jackets in bold primaries, makes the colorful world of seaside Italy pop off the screen.
Favorite Number: Geppetto opens by admitting he's "Talking to Myself" when he wishes for a real family and someone to talk to. Pinocchio asking "What's That?" leads into a huge ensemble number as Geppetto introduces him to his home, the townspeople, and the world around them. Pinocchio claims "I Like It" when he dances with the marionettes onstage and hears the applause and laughter of the audience as he dances with the real puppets. The fox and the cat encourage Pinocchio to plant his "Money Tree" to get "M-O-R-E," including enough money to buy his father anything he wants.
Geppetto joins the townspeople again as he crows "Look at Me Now" that he's so happy to have a son. The kids going to Pleasure Island sing about all the "Fun, Fun, Fun," they're having, but Pinocchio wonders what would happen "If I Could Start Over." Geppetto tries to encourage him to make the best of life in the whale, but his son wails "I Want to Go Home."
What I Don't Like: While this is a more accurate adaptation of the book than some other versions, it does eliminate the roles of the Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket. They likely couldn't pull off a moving cricket and a fairy on a TV budget, and I suspect they wanted to put the focus on Pinocchio and Geppetto's relationship. Pinocchio has no animal conscience, and the magic that allows him to move is insinuated, rather than seen physically. Also, though the costumes are fairly elaborate, the cheap sets and obvious aquarium background when Pinocchio "swims" are dead giveaways to its small-screen origins.
The Big Finale: Sweet and charming, this is well worth checking out if you have younger children who will enjoy the puppet's antics or are fans of Duncan or Kaye.
Home Media: The DVD is out of print in the US. Check streaming for this one - you can currently find it on Tubi for free with commercials.
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