It's Pinocchio's first Christmas, and it promises to be one he nor anybody else will soon forget. It all began one snowy afternoon, while wood carver Geppetto told his little wooden boy about Christmas, they were spied on by those two dastardly criminals, The Fox and The Cat. They've hatched an evil scheme to kidnap Pinocchio and sell him as a toy to the highest bidder. So Geppetto sends Pinocchio off to school, while he tries to ponder what gifts he should buy for the people on his list. It doesn't make a difference since he doesn't have any money anyway. He only manages to get a few coins when he pawns his boots, and he uses that money to buy Pinocchio his first Christmas gift: a math book. The little wooden boy with a heart of gold returns the book behind Geppetto's back and gets $5.00 for it, which he will use to buy his father a gift. Suddenly, those weasels Fox and Cat literally drop in. They convince Pinocchio to plant his gold coins in the snow, and that a money tree will grow. So Pinocchio buys this and buries the dough, and then goes on a song and dance about how he'll be rich and famous. Local entertainer Maestro Fire Eater is aghast at seeing a walking, talking (and singing) marionette dancing in the streets and tries to sign him up for his show, promising fame and fortune. Pinocchio declines, saying he's already got wealth. Unfortunately, Fox and Cat have already dug up the coins he planted, so with no other alternative, Pinocchio takes Fire Eater up on his offer and joins his show. Meanwhile, Geppetto searches the town for his lost wooden boy. He sees an ad for Fire Eater's show with Pinocchio's picture on it, but when he's listed as Sir Larry Olivetree, Geppetto assumes it's some OTHER living marionette. Idiot.
The show is a hit, and Pinocchio befriends a non-living marionette named Julietta. Unfortunately, Fire Eater plans to change her appearance for the Christmas pageant, so to save his new friend, Pinocchio takes off with her. They evade police by hiding in the Forest of Enchantment, which is said to be haunted. Once they're safe, Pinocchio tells her of how he came to be: once a log right in that very forest. He got passed around by several woodcutters and ended up in the shop of old Geppetto, who nearly has a heart attack when the piece of wood talks to him. He carves him into a marionette and the rest is history. Meanwhile, Fox and Cat strike a deal with a sleigh driver whose client would pay big bucks to put Pinocchio under his tree, and when they overhear that he's lost in the Forest of Enchantment, they shoot down there to find him. Fox tells him he can bring Julietta to life by sending Pinocchio on a quest to find a magical formula, and tells him to board a sleigh. The little twerp believes him, again, but thankfully Lady Azora, Pinocchio's biological mother, shows up to set things right. Naturally he tries to lie about the situation, but fesses up when his nose grows across the room. Azora hears of his plight and suggests giving Geppetto a heartfelt gift as opposed to a store-bought one. Just as Pinocchio heads home, he runs into Fox and Cat again, and again, they try to get him to go on some wild goose chase. This time to the North Pole to teach the other toys how to dance. Having learned NOTHING from this experience, Pinocchio believes them and gets on the sleigh. The wicked driver takes him to the Duke's house as a Christmas present for his two children. And is the Duke ever Father of the Year material: he's always away from home, but graciously allows 3 minutes to spend with his children on Christmas Eve. So the kids open their present (Pinocchio) as their father the Duke watches, impatiently. They're not too thrilled with it and the Duke starts to head off, just as Pinocchio shames him for his actions and tells him it's not what a present costs that matters, it's the love! The Duke is touched, and upgrades his three minutes' visitation to an entire day. He's a good man after all. So Pinocchio and the cricket, having made amends, catch a ride home from Santa Claus, and really give Geppetto a Christmas Day surprise! Joining them for breakfast is Lady Azora and her coach-dogs. Pinocchio asks her if he'll be good from hereon out, and since she can see into the future, she tells him about other misadventures he'll have in the sequels that will never happen. But they'll jump that bridge when they come to it. For now, it's Christmas!
To find out more about Pinocchio, watch the Disney movie. Oh, and I think there was a book about him too. As far as Rankin-Bass Christmas specials go, this one was pretty good. Not as good as some of their others, it lacks in a few places, namely the villains. Fox and Cat came across as very shallow villains, though I will give them credit for making the idiot sidekick a female, probably broke new ground. The cat kind of reminded me of Harley Quinn. Maybe it was the "Joisey" accent. Fire Eater wasn't much of a villain either, but lack of heavy villains aside, the message is really good. I liked the scene at the Duke's house. He comes off as a stuffy bureaucratic jerk who won't make time for his kids, until Pinocchio manages to dig beneath the surface and show him that his kids love him, and he loves them. The songs are good too, and darn catchy! You'll be humming "Knock on Wood" and "Dancin'" for hours after watching this.
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