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
The Terrible Dogfish ( it, Il Terribile Pescecane) is a dogfish-like sea monster, which appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (''Le avventure di Pinocchio'') as one of the main antagonists and the final one. It is ...
, in Italian writer
Carlo Collodi
Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''.
Early life
Col ...
's 1883 book ''Le avventure di Pinocchio'' (''
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 ...
''). They are depicted as poor
con-men
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust (emotion), trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, Moral responsibility, irresponsib ...
, who hoodwink Pinocchio and attempt to murder him. They pretend to be disabled: the Fox
lame
Lame or LAME may refer to:
Music
* "Lame" (song) by Unwritten Law
* ''Lame'' (album) by Iame
People
* Ibrahim Lame (born 1953), Nigerian educator and politician
* Jennifer Lame (), American film editor
* Quintín Lame (1880–1967), Colombian ...
and the Cat
blind. The Fox appears to be more intelligent than the Cat, who usually limits himself to repeating the Fox's words.
Role in the book
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 ...
encounters the two 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
sequin
A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament.
Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...
s, whereupon the Fox claims to know Pinocchio's father
Mister 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
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 ...
(''Paese dei Barbagianni'') and thence to a 'Field of Miracles' (''Il campo dei Miracoli''), where coins can be grown into a money-producing tree. A white
blackbird warns Pinocchio against these lies, but is eaten by the Cat. The Fox covers up this action by claiming that the blackbird talks too much. The pair lead Pinocchio to the Red Crayfish Inn (''Osteria del Gambero Rosso''), where they eat a large meal and ask to be awoken at midnight.
![PinocchioChiostri01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/PinocchioChiostri01.jpg)
Two hours before the set time, the pair abandon Pinocchio to pay for the meal with one of his sequins, and have the innkeeper leave a message for Pinocchio that the Cat's eldest kitten had fallen ill, and that they would meet Pinocchio at the Field of Miracles later. When Pinocchio leaves the inn, the two attack him in the guise of murderers and in the ensuing struggle, Pinocchio bites off the Cat's paw. The murderers then hang Pinocchio from a tree, which he escapes with the assistance of
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 ...
, who enlisted a
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
to cut him down.
The next day, Pinocchio encounters the pair again, unaware that they are the murderers who tried to hang him. When Pinocchio notices the Cat's paw in a sling, the Fox claims that the Cat cut it off to feed a starving
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
. They lead Pinocchio to the town of
Catchfools
Catchfools ( it, Acchiappacitrulli) is a fictional location in the Italian novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883).
Description
It is a city in the Land of Barn owl, Barn Owls ( it, Paese dei Barbagianni) where every animal in town has done ...
(''Acchiappacitrulli''), where the coins are soon buried. In Pinocchio's absence, the pair dig up the sequins and escape. Pinocchio learns of this 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 him for falling for their tricks.
Near the end of the book, Pinocchio encounters the Fox and the Cat again when looking for a place for Geppetto to recover. But this time, the pair have become impoverished, whereas the Fox is now truly lame, nearly hairless, and tailless (the Fox had to chop off his own tail because he sold it to buy food), and the Cat became truly blind. They plead for food or money, but they are rebuffed by Pinocchio while stating that their misfortunes have served them right for their wickedness. He then leaves, all the while saying goodbye to his 'false friends'.
Portrayals in popular culture
Honest John and Gideon (Disney)
![J Worthington Foulfellow and Gideon in Disney's Pinocchio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/J_Worthington_Foulfellow_and_Gideon_in_Disney%27s_Pinocchio.png)
In the 1940
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''
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 ...
'', the Fox and the Cat are given the names J. Worthington Foulfellow (or "Honest John"; voiced by
Walter Catlett
Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards.
Career
Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...
) and Gideon (whose hiccups were provided by
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
and whose mute comic hijinks were modeled on
Harpo Marx
Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...
, the silent member of
The Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
). The pair differ from the original characters in a number of ways; they are still poor, but they do not feign disability and they persuade Pinocchio to join the Stromboli's (or
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) puppet show (instead of Pinocchio discovering it himself) as well as go to
Pleasure Island, upon being hired to do so by
the Coachman
The Coachman ( it, Il Conduttore del Carro), also known as The Little Man (''L'Omino''), is a fictional character and a major antagonist who appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (''Le avventure di Pinocchio'').
In ...
. They also do not attempt to murder Pinocchio, although Honest John suggests to the Coachman in one scene that they would be willing to murder if required as part of a job with much more money than usual involved in it. The Field of Miracles subplot is also absent from the film. Honest John is portrayed as an eccentric ham actor who appears to be illiterate (as evidenced by one scene where he "reads" Pinocchio's schoolbook upside down), whereas Gideon is portrayed as a foolish mute who frequently gets Honest John into trouble by accident. Apart from three hiccups, Gideon is mute throughout the film. A draft script of the film had Honest John and Gideon being arrested onscreen by the police after encountering Pinocchio a third time, but this scene was written out of the film's final draft for unknown reasons, presumably for time constraints and/or costs. The characters were considered to be used again in the Disney film ''
Fun and Fancy Free
''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films th ...
'' (1947) as the owners of the Magic Beans that
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
acquires in exchange for his cow, but the idea was dropped.
In the video game based on ''
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 ...
'', Honest John and Gideon appear as enemies during the first stage. The duo were also planned to make an appearance in the RPG video game ''
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
(subtitle read as "Three-Five-Eight Days over Two") is an action role-playing video game developed by h.a.n.d. and Square Enix (in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios) for the Nintendo DS. It is the fifth installment in the ''Kingdom ...
'' (2009), but were cut for space restrictions.
In the Disney book ''Pinocchio's Promise'', Honest John and Gideon see Pinocchio walking into town to give a
cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...
to Geppetto's friend Mrs. Romano, whereupon he is diverted to a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
. Honest John attempts to sell the clock elsewhere, while Gideon takes Pinocchio to the circus with two expired tickets, but abandons the boy when the latter is scolded by the admission attendant. After Pinocchio leaves the circus and reports Honest John's trickery to the local police, Honest John runs away chased by the policeman and Pinocchio gives the clock to Mrs. Romano.
In a Disney book adaption of the tale ''
The Emperor's New Clothes
"The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.A ...
'', Honest John and Gideon - posing as tailors - trick the emperor (portrayed in the same book by
Prince John).
Honest John and Gideon also appear in the fifth installment of the book series ''
The Kingdom Keepers''. They are featured as members of the Disney Villains legion known as the Overtakers, and battle Finn in chapter six of ''
Shell Game
The shell game (also known as thimblerig, three shells and a pea, the old army game) is often portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is almost always a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud. In conf ...
''.
The characters of Martin and Myrna from the ABC series ''
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
'' are the parents of
Jiminy Cricket
Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the "Talking Cricket" (Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adapt ...
and work as con artists, in allusion to the Fox and the Cat. Characters Emma and Graham also stroll past a store called Worthington's Haberdashery, a probable reference to Honest John's full name, John Worthington Foulfellow.
Honest John is a playable character in the mobile game ''
Disney Magic Kingdoms
''Disney Magic Kingdoms'' is a 2016 city building game developed and published by Gameloft for iOS, Android, and Windows. It is themed off the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. The game was officially launched on March 17, 2016.
Storyline
The game ...
''.
Honest John and Gideon appear in Disney's 2022
live-action/CGI remake of ''Pinocchio'', in which the former is voiced by
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
.
In other media
* In the 1936 Soviet book adaptation ''
The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino'', they are named Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat. In
the 1959 animated adaptation of the book they are voiced by Elena Ponsova and
Vladimir Lepko
Vladimir Lepko (russian: Влади́мир Алексе́евич Лепко́; 1898–1963) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1954).
He died 19 October 1963 and is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.
Selected filmography ...
, respectively, in the original version. In
the 1975 live-action adaptation, they are played by
Rolan Bykov
Rolan Antonovich Bykov (russian: Ролан Антонович Быков; October 12, 1929 – October 6, 1998) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director, screenwriter and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1990).
Early life
R ...
and Elena Sanaeva.
* In the 1947 Italian live action film ''Le avventure di Pinocchio'', the Fox and the Cat are portrayed by Angelo Taddeoli and Pietro Tommei.
* They are featured in the 1952 anime series ''
Piccolino no Bōken''
* In the 1960–61 television adaptation by
Rankin/Bass Productions
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...
, ''
The New Adventures of Pinocchio'', the Fox and the Cat were named Foxy Q. Fibble and Cool S. Cat, and are voiced by
Larry D. Mann
Larry D. Mann (18 December 1922 – 6 January 2014) was a Canadian actor. He was best known as "The Boss" in a series of Bell Canada television commercials in the 1980s and for voicing the character of Yukon Cornelius in ''Rudolph the Red-Nose ...
and
Paul Kligman
Paul Kligman (21 January 1923 – 29 August 1985) was a Canadian actor.
Biography
Born in Romania, he emigrated to Canada where he spent his youth in Winnipeg and studied at the University of Manitoba. He moved to Toronto in 1950 and estab ...
.
* The Fox and the Cat appeared in the 1972 miniseries ''
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 ...
'', portrayed by
Franco and Ciccio
Franco () and Ciccio () were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theater field, and e ...
. They are depicted as humans who work as comedians for
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 ...
, wearing makeup as a fox and a cat. They are later fired and try to steal Pinocchio's coins.
* In the 1972 animated film ''
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 ...
'' (directed by
Giuliano Cenci
Giuliano Cenci (Florence, 10 August 1931 - Florence, 12 April 2018) was an Italian animated film director.
Biography
In 1949 he obtained the Diploma of Artistic Maturity at the Art School of Florence. Still a student, he began working in the g ...
), the Fox and the Cat (voiced by
Sergio Tedesco
Sergio Tedesco (23 April 1928 – 3 June 2012) was an Italian actor, voice actor and operatic tenor.
Biography
Tedesco was born in La Spezia. His father died when he was nine years old and he moved to Rome with his mother to help get a head star ...
and
Manlio De Angelis
Manlio De Angelis (January 9, 1935 – July 3, 2017) was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Biography
Born in Rome to historic dubber Gualtiero De Angelis, De Angelis began his career as an actor in the early 1960s. He most notably portrayed a Ru ...
in the Italian version, and by
Alan Sues
Alan Grigsby Sues (March 7, 1926 – December 1, 2011) was an American actor and comedian widely known for his roles on the 1968–1973 television series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''.
Sues's on-screen persona was campy and outrageous. Typical o ...
and
Don Messick
Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...
in the English dub) follow the characterization shown in the book: the pair pretend to be physically disabled, and tempt Pinocchio to the Field of Miracles. As in the book, the Fox is the more articulate of the two, and the Pair attempt to murder Pinocchio for his coins, though the Cat does not lose his paw as his book counterpart does. At the end of the film, the two are impoverished, though the Fox does not lose his tail nor any of his fur as in the book.
* In ''
Pinocchio: The Series'' (1972), the Fox is named Jack while the cat was replaced with a weasel named Willie.
* The Fox and the Cat are the primary antagonists of another Rankin/Bass adaptation, ''
Pinocchio's Christmas
''Pinocchio's Christmas'' is a 1980 Christmas stop motion television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions that is a holiday adaptation of the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. The special was originally aired on A ...
'' (1980), voiced by
Allen Swift
Ira Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, best known for voicing cartoon characters Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the ''Underdog'' cartoon show. He took his pr ...
(who was impersonating
Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
) and
Pat Bright. They had previously made 'friends' with Pinocchio and taught him many of his bad habits. They do not feign disability and the Cat is female, which is how it is in the book. While they did a trick similar to the Field of Miracles to Pinocchio, which involved a Christmas tree growing at sunset from some coins, they just said that the tree failed to grow. The Fox and the Cat try to sell Pinocchio to a
sleigh driver who works for a rich
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
who will give Pinocchio to his children. When Lady Azora looks into Pinocchio's future and mentions that he will led astray on his path to becoming a real boy, Pinocchio catches a glimpse of the Fox and the Cat waving at him through the window.
* In the 1987 animated film ''
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
''Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night'' is a 1987 American animated fantasy adventure film that was released on December 25, 1987, by New World Pictures. Created by Filmation, the film was conceived as a sequel to the 1883 Italian classic nov ...
'' (which serves as a sequel to the ''Pinocchio'' story), Pinocchio encounters a pair of shady animal characters very similar to the Fox and the Cat: a large
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
named Sylvester J. Scalawag (voiced by
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
) and a monkey named Igor (voiced by
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
). Like the characters from the original story, Scalawag and Igor are depicted as con men who manage to dupe Pinocchio twice during the first half of the film. However, they reform as his allies after Pinocchio saves them from a giant barracuda. After a long adventure wherein Pinocchio, Scalawag, and Igor learn the hard way not to succumb to their selfish desires without thinking of the consequences, Pinocchio allows the pair to come with him and his father as they return home at the end of the film.
* 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 ...
, the Fox is replaced with a Wolf, the Cat speaks like a
beatnik
Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle.
History
In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
, and both are voiced by
Cam Clarke
Cam Clarke is an American voice actor, known for his work in animation, video games and commercials. Among his notable roles are Leonardo and Rocksteady in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 ...
. The two of them target Pinocchio's gold coins and have not attempted to kill Pinocchio. Near the film's conclusion, the Wolf and the Cat are arrested by a police officer when Pinocchio sees them in a passing paddy wagon. They beg Pinocchio to vouch for them whereupon Pinocchio tells the police officer that they stole his coins. The police officer then drives the paddy wagon away stating that what they did to Pinocchio will be the result of a long prison sentence.
* In the 1996 live action film ''
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 ...
'' (directed by
Steve Barron
Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...
), the Fox and the Cat (portrayed by
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...
and
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Jane Neuwirth ( ; born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. On television, she played Dr. Lilith Sternin, Frasier Crane's wife, on both the TV sitcom ''Cheers'' (in a starring role) and its spin-off ''F ...
, respectively) are named Volpe ('fox' in Italian) and Felinet, and are portrayed as humans in league with
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 ...
(named Lorenzini, in this adaptation). In a reversal of roles, Felinet is female and takes on the more dominant role while Volpe is a bungling sidekick. They appear at their first encounter with Pinocchio, from whom Geppetto takes away while telling Volpe and Felinet that Pinocchio will only play with his own sort. Volpe and Felinet later witness Pinocchio causing mischievous havoc in a bakery, even when the police arrive. As in the novel, the pair trick Pinocchio into giving up his coins by taking him to the Field of Miracles (depicted near a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
), where they steal the money. In conclusion, they are tricked by Pinocchio into drinking cursed water (where Pinocchio claims that the water will enable them to turn white stones into gold) which transforms them into a real fox and cat off-screen. They are shown to have been captured by a farmer and kept as pets, where they later witness Pinocchio in town. When Volpe quotes "Don't you just hate that kid", Felinet quotes "Not as much as I hate you".
** In ''
The New Adventures of Pinocchio'' (the sequel to ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''), Volpe and Felinet (portrayed by
Simon Schatzberger
Simon Schatzberger (born 1968) is an English actor, known for his role as David Klarfeld on the BBC soap opera ''Doctors''.
Career
Schatzberger has appeared on several television programmes in both guest roles and starring roles, including '' ...
and
Sarah Alexander
Sarah Alexander (''née'' Smith; 3 January 1971) is an English actress. She has appeared in British series including ''Armstrong and Miller'', ''Smack the Pony'', ''Coupling'', ''The Worst Week of My Life'', ''Green Wing'', ''Marley's Ghosts'' ...
respectively) are owned by a circus run by Lorenzini's widow Madame Flambeau (who was actually Lorenzini in disguise) where they are shown in humanoid forms which they still blame Pinocchio for this outcome. The two of them lead Pinocchio and Lampwick to Madame Flambeau to purchase her elixir which turns Pinocchio and Geppetto into puppets and also turns Lampwick into a donkeyfish. While Pepe the Cricket in the form of the Dwarf Showman makes off with Pinocchio, Volpe and Felinet make off with Geppetto's puppet form. In conclusion, they try and fail to restore their human forms in the water that restored Pinocchio and Geppetto while also turning Lorenzini into a humanoid sea monster. When Geppetto gains ownership of the circus, Volpe and Felinet are shown doing the tango.
* The Fox and the Cat were featured in the ''
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child'' version of ''Pinocchio''. where they were referred to as Redd Foxx (voiced by Barry Douglas) and Sporty the Cat (voiced by
Franklyn Ajaye
Franklyn Ajaye (born May 13, 1949) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" for his distinctive jazz-inflected style of delivery, timing, and astute use of silence. He released a series of comedy a ...
).
* The Fox and the Cat were also featured in the 2002 film ''
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 ...
'', where they were played by comedy duo
Fichi d'India
were an Italian Double act, comedy duo made up of Bruno Arena (12 January 1957 – 28 September 2022) and Max Cavallari (born 8 July 1963), both actors and cabaret artists.
They started their artistic career in 1989 on the beaches of Cape Pal ...
(Bruno Arena and Max Cavallari) in the Italian version, and their English-dubbed voices were provided by
Cheech Marin
:''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í.
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained ...
and
Eddie Griffin
Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom '' Malcolm & Eddie'', the title character in the 2002 comedy film '' Undercover Brother'', and Tiberius Jef ...
. Like some of the animal characters depicted in this film, here they are depicted as humans while sporting pointy ears and fangs. They trick Pinocchio into digging his coins in the Meadow of Miracles outside of Grabadimwit, but are not seen again after seizing Pinocchio's coins.
* In ''
Pinocchio 3000
''Pinocchio 3000'' (or ''P3K -'' ''Pinocchio 3000'') is a 2004 computer-animated science fantasy film directed by Daniel Robichaud and distributed by Christal Films. The film is a futuristic science fiction interpretation of the classic 1883 nov ...
'', the characters Cab and Rodo (voiced by Matt Holland and Jack Daniel Wells) are two robots, based on the Fox and the Cat; they are owned by Mayor Scamboni's daughter Marlene.
* The Fox and the Cat appear in the 2008 television film ''
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 ...
'', portrayed by
Toni Bertorelli
Toni Bertorelli (18 March 1948 – 26 May 2017) was an Italian actor. He performed in over sixty films.
Biography
Bertorelli was born in Barge, Piedmont, Italy.
Bertorelli began his acting career in 1969 working with his friend Carlo Cecchi. H ...
and
Francesco Pannofino
Francesco Pannofino (born 14 November 1958) is an Italian actor and voice actor.
Biography
Born in Pieve di Teco, Pannofino's parents originated from Locorotondo. Sometime after 1972, he and his family moved to Rome. He began his career in the 1 ...
.
* The Fox and the Cat appear in the 2012 film ''
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 ...
'', voiced by Mariccia Affiato and
Maurizio Micheli
Maurizio Micheli (born 3 February 1947) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, author, playwright and television personality.
Life and career
Born in Livorno in 1947, at 11 Micheli moved to Bari with his family, then at 20 he moved to Mi ...
in the Italian version, and by Sonja Ball and
Thor Bishopric
Thor Bishopric (born September 6, 1963) is a Canadian actor and writer. He is a prominent member of ACTRA.
Bishopric has performed roles in television and film, and provided his voice for animated and puppet productions and several films for The ...
in the Canadian English dub. In this version, the Fox is female and the Cat is male, which is a great reversal from the book. In the American release (2018), they are renamed Trixie the Fox and Leo the Cat (voiced by
Ambyr Childers
Ambyr C. Childers (born July 18, 1988) is an American actress known for her portrayal of Susan Atkins in the NBC crime drama ''Aquarius'', Ashley Rucker in the Showtime crime drama ''Ray Donovan'', and Candace Stone in the Lifetime/Netflix th ...
and
Jon Heder
Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', ''The Benchwarmers'', ''S ...
respectively).
* The Fox and the Cat appear in the 2019 film ''
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 ...
'', portrayed by
Massimo Ceccherini
Massimo Ceccherini (born 23 May 1965) is an Italian actor, film director, comedian and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in Florence, Ceccherini is the son of a plasterer, he seemed destined for the same profession, but his father was attracted to t ...
and
Rocco Papaleo
Rocco Antonio Papaleo (born 16 August 1958) is an Italian actor, film director and singer.
Born in Lauria ( Basilicata), he moved to Rome to study math at university but left soon to attend the theatre school. He made his theatrical debut in 19 ...
, while their English dub voices are provided by
Luigi Scribani and
Vladimiro Conti. Like the 2002 film, they are depicted as humans while sporting pointy ears, fangs, and claws. At the end of the film, they are badly reduced and no longer falsely disabled.
* In the 2021 Pixar film ''
Luca
The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...
'', Pinocchio with the Fox and the Cat make a brief appearance during a fantasy sequence where Giulia shows the title character several books, since ''Luca'' takes place in Italy. Also, the film features the song Il gatto e ka volpe, which is about the Cat and the Fox.
* The Fox and Mangiafuoco are merged into a single human character named Count Volpe in the 2022 stop-motion
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
film ''
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 ...
'' voiced by
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian-German actor. Since 2009 he has been primarily active in the United States. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and two Sc ...
. Count Volpe is a disgraced aristocrat with flaring sideburns resembling a fox's ears that has become a traveling puppeteer that uses a monkey named Sprezzatura (voiced by
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
) as an assistant puppeteer.
Notes
The 'Field of the Miracles' is often mistaken for the poetic phrase ''Square of the Miracles'', used since the second half of the 20th century to describe the
Piazza del Duomo of
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
. The monuments of the famous square were called ''miracles'' by
Gabriele D'Annunzio in his book ''
Forse che sì forse che no'' (1910). Due to several famous squares in Italy being called ''campo'', and the story of Pinocchio being widespread in the world, many people—in and outside Italy—tend to confuse the two.
References
Bibliography
* Carlo Collodi, ''Le Avventure di Pinocchio'' 1883,
RCS MediaGroup
RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. (formerly Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera), based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, radio broadcasting, ne ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox And The Cat, The
Fictional cats
Fictional con artists
Fictional duos
Fictional foxes
Fictional tricksters
Literary characters introduced in 1883
Literary duos
Male characters in animation
Male characters in film
Male characters in literature
Male film villains
Male literary villains
Pinocchio characters