Last updated June 20, 2020
I've always liked Pinocchio, even before I became a puppeteer. The Disney Pinocchio movie was one of the first incarnations of Pinocchio that I recall watching or reading about. There is also the stop-motion Rankin-Bass TV show "The New Adventures of Pinocchio" that I enjoyed as a kid.
However, I didn't start collecting Pinocchio toys and books until I was in my late 20's so this collection isn't as crazy as my Muppet memorabilia collection, or my Mego doll collection, but I have managed to find a few neat things which I think are worthy of being featured on a blog. Eventually I'll post pictures of all of my Pinocchio collectibles here, but for now I've posted a few items just to get things started...
Pinocchio, Walt Disney Productions, animated movie, 1940
The animated Pinocchio movie by Walt Disney established what has arguably become the most well known version of Pinocchio in modern pop culture. It's quite remarkable actually, that 75 plus years after it's debut the Disney film is still so well known. There are many, many versions of Pinocchio that have come and gone in that time, however Disney's Pinocchio is such a well done film that it has remained relevant for generations.
Below are some Disney Pinocchio items from my collection:
Pinocchio 5 inch bendy figure (Above left) I bought this at a flea market in 2013. It looks like it says PAI MFG Co. Ltd. on the back but the letters are quite small so I can't quite make them out. Unfortunately there's no date. Based on the way it's painted this toy looks like it could have been made between 1970 and 2013.
The matching Jiminy Cricket push puppet from this set has a Caucasian face instead of a green face, which is a bit odd, especially as he's standing on a green base which proves that they had green plastic available. Pinocchio's shorts are also green. Regardless, these are awesome vintage push puppets and I'm glad to have them in my collection.
These toy cars were made by Matchbox in 1979. The cars are die cast metal while the figures are hard plastic. These ones are in rough shape as they are very worn from having been played with.
Above on the left is a smaller sized Dakin action figure of Pinocchio. Dakin also produced a taller doll version of Pinocchio that has removable cloth doll clothes. These are from the 1970's, or possibly the 1960's. On the right is a Marx Pinocchio figure in green plastic from the 1970's. It was also made in pink plastic.
In the 1970's cereal boxes often had special toys inside of them. Above are some Pinocchio figures including Pinocchio in yellow and blue plastic next to the fox, "Honest John" J. Worthington Foulfellow. Other characters in the collection include Gepetto, Figaro the Cat, and Jimney Cricket. The figure can hold onto the side of a cereal bowl, sit on your spoon handle or be used as a pencil topper. Below is a bottom view.
These are PVC figures made by Bully in the 1970's. The figure on the right was sold loose or attached to a pencil sharpener as shown above.
Many thanks to Kevin for contacting me with some info about this puppet! He has a Mint in Mint Box copy of this Pinocchio and it looks awesome! I'm sooooo jealous!
Pinocchio 10 inch doll by Applause, 1990's
Applause did an excellent job on this Pinocchio doll. It looks exactly like the Disney character. The head is especially well sculpted. I only wish they had made the arms more pose-able as they only move back and forth, they can't be positioned out to the side. A ball joint at the shoulder would have allowed more movement. This doll reminds me of the Dakin cartoon character dolls from the 1970's, which I've also been tempted to collect.
Applause also released a series of Pinocchio PVC figures during the 1990's. Above is the complete collection.
I found this Pinocchio PVC figure at a thrift shop at some pint in the 2000's. It's also made by Applause though I don't know when. It's definitely not a part of the 1990's PVC series shown above as it's done in a completely different style. Below is a side view to show the bundle of books on Pinocchio's back.
Here is a very nicely made Pinocchio embroidered patch from the 2000's.
I've shown it next to a PVC figure for size comparison.
Here is a much smaller Pinocchio plush toy that I found at a thrift shop. It was made by Mattel as part of their Star Beans collection. Mattel made other Disney Star Beans in the late 1990's so this one was likely made around that time as well. It is 10 inches tall. I've shown a side view below so that you can see the details of his outfit. Embroidered eyes on plush toys, as seen on this Pinocchio toy, were introduced in the 1990's, and quickly became a new manufacturing standard.
In 2020 Funko produced an exclusive Pinocchio "Pop" figure that was only available trough the Canadian Funko website.
I wanted to include this angle of the figure to show that Jimney is quite angry with Pinocchio!!!
Previously Funko had produced figure of Pinocchio and Jimney as part of their Disney series, which are shown on the back of the box.
The New Adventures of Pinocchio, Rankin-Bass, stop-motion TV show, 1960
This show was a regular in re-runs on TV throughout the 1970's that I watched whenever I could. It had a very catchy theme song that I still remember after all these years: "Oh Pinocchio was a happy soul since the day he lost his strings, I can walk and talk and fly, do anything I try!"
There was a fair amount of memorabilia generated from this program including comics books, games, puppets, plush toys and more. Larry Mann did the voice for Pinocchio's nemesis Foxy Q. Fibble. He had previously worked with puppeteer John Conway as co-host for the CBC TV show Uncle Chichimus (1953 -1954) that was directed by Norman Jewison, and as a guest host on Adventures of Chich (produced 1957-1958). Larry Mann also voiced Yukon Cornelius for the classic Rankin-Bass stop-motion TV special Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Numerosity#.22Five_Song_.28Song_of_Five.29.22
This item can also be linked to Sesame Street: In the early 1970's the Knickerbocker company, which made this Pinocchio doll, would produce an assortment of the very first Sesame Street plush toys. Here is a link to my Muppet Memorabilia blog showing the Sesame toys:
http://mikeysmuppetmemorabiliamuseum.blogspot.ca/p/sesame-street-1969-1979.html
The Adventures of Pinocchio, Jim Henson Productions, live action movie with puppetry, 1996
Here is the 8 inch Pinocchio doll shown next to the 8 inch Mego Spider-Man for size comparison. This Pinocchio doll's yellow shirt and red jacket are made as one piece, so that the jacket is actually part of the shirt. The pants are a separate piece. Pinocchio's hat is a red plastic sculpted shape that was permanently attached forming part of the head. (The clothing and hat for the 12 inch talking doll are made the same way.) The shoes are sculpted and painted as part of the doll's legs and are not removable. I find that the doll's arms are a tad too long, but otherwise this Pinocchio doll is very well made.
The Jim Henson Creature Shop produced an excellent live action Pinocchio movie that was released theatrically in 1996. A not so excellent "direct to home-video" sequel followed shortly after. Shown above is the 12" talking doll made by Equity Toys in 1996, based on the original film. The front and back of the box are pictured. This doll comes with a small poster of Jonathan Taylor Thomas who did the voice for Pinocchio in the 1996 movie and appeared at the end of the film when Pinocchio becomes a real boy. A marionette (string puppet) version of this Pinocchio doll was also made, but is not shown here, as well as a smaller 8" doll, shown below.
The 12 inch doll has a plastic head and a fabric, stuffed body including the hands and shoes. Pressing the doll's chest will activate the talking feature... if the batteries are working! Finding replacement batteries for talking dolls can be a bit of a challenge as there isn't a universal standard for the exact size or numbering of the small round type of batteries often used. That's one of the benefits of pull string talking dolls, they didn't require batteries. However they do tend to play too quickly after the spring looses its tension, so there are problems with either type of talking toy.
This is the 12" doll next to the 8" doll.
One of the unique aspects of this 8 inch doll is that the entire surface of the body has been given a wooden look, which is a nice detail to see. It would have been quite easy to just do the forearms and legs with the wooden look and leave the body blank, as Mego often did (such as their Lizard doll from the World's Greatest Superheroes series). The chest also has specific designs that were seen in the movie. Oddly enough, the doll has sculpted joints at the waist, elbows and knees (shown above and below) that don't actually function. The joints that do work only allow for very limited, basic movement. The arms and legs move back and forth at the shoulder and hips, and the head turns. None the less, I think this is an awesome doll as it's very well detailed to be movie accurate.
These are just some of the items in my Pinocchio collection. I'll add more to this page eventually!
This link will take you back to the Home Page of this blog:
All text and photos © Mike Artelle, 2013, 2016
