Catchfools ( it, Acchiappacitrulli) is a fictional location in the Italian novel ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; it, Le avventure di Pinocchio ; commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'') is a children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocc ...

'' (1883).

Description

It is a city in the Land of

Barn Owls The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas ...

( it, Paese dei Barbagianni) where every animal in town has done something exceedingly foolish and now suffers as a result. The leader of the Land of Barn Owls is a young unseen

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. Outside of the city is the so-called Field of Miracles ( it, Il campo dei Miracoli). Pinocchio encounters

The Fox and the Cat The Fox and the Cat ( it, Il gatto e la volpe; "the cat and the fox") are a pair of fictional characters and the main antagonists, along with the Terrible Dogfish, in Italian writer Carlo Collodi's 1883 book ''Le avventure di Pinocchio'' (''The ...

after leaving

Mangiafuoco Mangiafuoco ( ; , literally "Fire-Eater") is a fictional character who appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (''Le avventure di Pinocchio''), serving as a secondary antagonist turning good. Role He is the the ...

's theatre with five gold coins. The Fox claims to know Pinocchio's father

Geppetto Geppetto ( , ), also known as Mister Geppetto, is an Italian fictional character in the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. Geppetto is an elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator (and thus 'father') of Pinocchio ...

and proposes to Pinocchio to visit the Land of

( it, Paese dei Barbagianni) and thence to a Field of Miracles, where coins can be grown into a money-producing tree. They convince him that if he plants his coins in the field, they will grow into a tree with gold coins. Pinocchio finally reaches Catchfools with the Fox and the Cat. As he travels through the streets of Catchfools, Pinocchio sees that the streets are filled with hairless

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s yawning from hunger, sheared

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

trembling with cold,

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s with no

combs Combs may refer to: Places France * Combs-la-Ville, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris United Kingdom *Combs, Derbyshire, England *Combs, Suffolk, England United States *Combs, Arkansas, a community *Combs, Kentucky, a com ...

and wattles begging for a grain of wheat, large

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

unable to use their wings because they sold all their lovely colors, tailless

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

ashamed to show themselves, and bedraggled

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

s scuttling away hurriedly and grieving for their bright feathers of gold and silver lost to them forever. Out of those paupers and beggars, Pinocchio also sees that there are beautiful coaches containing either

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, thieving

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

s, or nasty

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

. Upon reaching the Field of Miracles, Pinocchio buries his coins, uses water from the canal to pour over it, and then leaves for the "twenty minutes" that it will take for his gold to grow. After Pinocchio leaves, the Fox and the Cat dig up the coins and run away. Once Pinocchio returns, he learns of the Fox and the Cat's treachery from a

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

who mocks Pinocchio for falling for their tricks. Pinocchio rushes to the Catchfools courthouse to report the theft of the coins to a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. Although he is moved by Pinocchio's plea, the judge sentences Pinocchio to four months in prison for the crime of "foolishness." Pinocchio is taken away by two

Mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephalic) and the ears dro ...

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

that the judge summoned and held their hands over Pinocchio's mouth to save time. Fortunately for Pinocchio who spends some time in prison, all criminals are released early by the jailers when the Emperor declares a celebration following his army's victory over the town's enemies. Upon being released by stating to the jailer that he is a criminal, Pinocchio leaves Catchfools and heads back to

The Fairy with Turquoise Hair The Fairy with Turquoise Hair ( it, La Fata dai Capelli Turchini; often simply referred to as The Blue Fairy, ''La Fata Turchina'') is a fictional character in the 1883 Italian book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi, repeatedly appea ...

's house in the forest.

Adaptations

* In the 1992

direct to video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

adaptation entitled ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' from

GoodTimes Entertainment GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...

, Catchfools is featured. Unlike the story, Pinocchio learns about the Wolf and the Cat's treachery from three crows and doesn't go to Catchfools' courthouse. Instead, he just heads back to the Blue Fairy's house. * Catchfools appears in the 2002 ''

'' film. Here, it is called Grabadimwit. Pinocchio was told of the Fox and the Cat's trickery by the Talking Cricket. Pinocchio brings up the Fox and the Cat's crimes to a gorilla judge and his fellow judges while listing the Talking Cricket as a witness. The judge sentences Pinocchio to five years in jail for crimes of foolishness as he is dragged away by the police officers. While in jail, he meets

Lucignolo Lucignolo is a 1999 Italian movie directed by and starring Massimo Ceccherini, with Alessandro Paci and Claudia Gerini. Plot Lucio (Massimo Ceccherini) is an unemployed thirty-year-old red-haired guy who's extremely lazy and doesn't wake up unt ...

(Leonardo in the English dub), another truant thief who is let out soon after Pinocchio is admitted in. Four months later, Pinocchio is among the inmates released when the King declares a celebration upon his wife giving birth of a son. Pinocchio then leaves Grabadimwit quoting "Long live the king." * Catchfools appears in the 2019 ''

'' film. After learning of the Fox and the Cat's trickery, Pinocchio runs to the local court to report their crime to the gorilla judge. Since justice does not favor the innocent in Catchfools, the gorilla judge sentences Pinocchio to life imprisonment. Before it can be carried out, Pinocchio manages to get himself exonerated by saying that he previously stole chickens, pigs, and jewels. He is then released on the gorilla judge's orders.

In popular culture

Catchfools is a location in John Claude Bemis' 2016 science fiction novel ''Out of Abaton, Book 1, The Wooden Prince''. It is described as a district in the northern edge of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

that houses the city's Abatonian slaves.Bemis, John Claude. Chapter 17
"Venice,"
''Out of Abaton, Book 1, The Wooden Prince'' (Disney Hyperiod, 2016).

References

External links

{{Pinocchio Pinocchio Fictional regions