Geppetto, a woodcarver, crafts a puppet named
Pinocchio to earn a living as a touring entertainer. While carving him, he discovers that the puppet is alive. Once finished, Pinocchio dashes out of Geppetto's home into the village. Geppetto catches and reprimands him, but bystanders mistake this for abuse and Geppetto is arrested. Alone at home, Pinocchio meets a
talking cricket, who annoys him with his moralizing and is killed when Pinocchio hurls a hammer at him. Pinocchio goes hungry in Geppetto's absence and burns his feet off in a
brazier. Geppetto is released the next day, forgives the suffering Pinocchio, repairs his feet, and clothes him. Pinocchio vows to attend school and become a model son; Geppetto sells his coat to buy a spelling book. En route to school, Pinocchio hears music from a nearby puppet theatre and sells his spelling book to afford admission. The puppets onstage recognize Pinocchio as kin, disrupting the show. The angry
Mangiafuoco prepares to use Pinocchio as firewood, but softens at his pleas and self-sacrifice for another puppet, giving him five gold pieces for Geppetto. On the way home, a
fox and a cat dupe Pinocchio into believing he can multiply his coins in the "Field of Miracles". They dine at an inn, trick Pinocchio into paying, and slip away, instructing the innkeeper to direct Pinocchio to the Field of Miracles at dawn. Searching for the Field, Pinocchio meets the cricket's ghost, who futilely urges him homeward. The disguised fox and cat ambush Pinocchio, but he escapes to a large house owned by a
fairy with dark blue hair. The fairy refuses entry as punishment, allowing his capture; the fox and cat hang him from a tree and leave him there. The fairy later pities him, frees him, and nurses him back to health. She offers a home and invites Geppetto. As Pinocchio sets out to find Geppetto, the fox and cat reappear and lure him to the Field. He buries the coins and waits for growth, only for the fox and cat to steal them. Pinocchio discovers this trick and a parrot mocks his gullibility. Discouraged after further misadventures, Pinocchio seeks the fairy's forgiveness, but finds her tombstone. A giant dove carries him to the sea, where Geppetto searches for him in a storm. Pinocchio dives in but washes up on the Island of Busy Bees, reuniting with the fairy. Pinocchio yearns to become a real boy, and the fairy promises it if he reforms. Pinocchio excels in school but quarrels with a classmate and flees the police bulldog Alidoro, later saving him from drowning. Alidoro repays the favor by rescuing Pinocchio from the
Green Fisherman. Pleased, the fairy decides to transform Pinocchio after a planned party. However, Pinocchio's friend
Lucignolo tempts him to
Toyland, where play reigns without work or study. They revel for four months until they transform into donkeys and are sold in the marketplace; Lucignolo is sold to a farmer, and Pinocchio is sold to a circus. Lamed in an accident, Pinocchio is sold to a drum-maker who drowns him for skin. Underwater, the fairy restores Pinocchio as a puppet. He swims free, but is swallowed by a
sea monster, in which Geppetto resides. The two escape and search for a new home. They encounter the destitute and invalid fox and cat, but Pinocchio is unsympathetic to their plight and abandons them. Pinocchio and Geppetto reach a cottage owned by the revived talking cricket, who grants shelter. Pinocchio works for a farmer replacing a dying donkey; Pinocchio recognizes the donkey as Lucignolo and comforts him in his final moment. He later
weaves baskets, supporting Geppetto comfortably. Exhausted one evening, Pinocchio dreams of the fairy's praise. He awakens as a real boy in a grand house, with Geppetto rejuvenated. ==Cast==