Pinocchio

Geppetto, a desperately poor, aging Italian carpenter, sees a traveling puppet theater and is inspired to carve a wooden puppet of his own to tour the country and earn a living. He manages to acquire a magical, animated piece of wood and carves "Pinocchio." To Geppetto's shock, the puppet immediately springs to life—and immediately runs away. What follows is a faithful, episodic journey of a remarkably naive and easily distracted wooden boy trying to navigate a dangerous world. Despite Geppetto's sacrifices (including selling his only coat to buy Pinocchio a schoolbook), Pinocchio repeatedly skips school and ignores the warnings of the Talking Cricket. He is continuously swindled by the treacherous Fox and the Cat, gets kidnapped, nearly gets burned alive, is transformed into a donkey in the hedonistic "Land of Toys," and is swallowed by a giant sea monster (a Terrible Dogfish, not a whale). Guided only by his occasional conscience and the maternal protection of the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, Pinocchio must learn the hard lessons of obedience, hard work, and honesty to finally become a real boy.