''Pinocchio's Christmas'' is a 1980

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

produced 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. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

that is a holiday adaptation of the 1883 novel ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

'' by

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 lif ...

. The special premiered on ABC on December 3, 1980. It aired annually during the Christmas season on Freeform and as of 2018 airs on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

Plot

It is Pinocchio's first

and Geppetto is trying to figure out how to buy a Christmas present for him. So he sells his boots to buy an arithmetic book for Pinocchio who later on sells the book to buy a present for Geppetto. However, he soon runs into the Fox and Cat, whom he thinks are his only friends. The Fox and the Cat convince Pinocchio that he should bury the money he got back for the book in the snow and when the sun sets, they will grow into a Christmas tree covered with gold and silver coins. Pinocchio does exactly that. While he's not there to pay attention, the Fox and the Cat dig the coins out of the ground before he returns. When Pinocchio returns and finds that the tree didn't grow with the Fox and the Cat claiming that the tree failed to grow, he takes part in Maestro Fire-Eater's Christmas puppet show, billed as "Sir Larry Olive-Tree". During the show, he befriends Julietta, one of Fire-Eater's marionettes. After the show, Maestro Fire-Eater tells Pinocchio that he needs to turn Jullietta into one of the Magi for a Christmas pageant next week. But Pinocchio runs off, taking Julietta with him. Maestro Fire-Eater calls a nearby

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or 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" (). In France and som ...

to chase after him. Pinocchio manages to escape the gendarmes and brings Julietta with him to the Forest of Enchantment where he was born. Pinocchio explains his backstory to her like how he came to life, how he accidentally drove away a Talking Cricket that Geppetto is friends with, and how he met the Fox and the Cat who taught him how to misbehave and play hooky from school. After finishing his story, Pinocchio fears he may never see his father again. Just then, the Fox and the Cat show up telling Pinocchio they know how he can bring Julietta to life using a secret medicine which he can only find if he goes on a sleigh ride over seven mountains and seven valleys. Before Pinocchio can embark on that journey though, a blue light appears calling out his name which scares away the Fox and the Cat and causes Pinocchio to faint. It is soon revealed to be Lady Azura who planted the seed that grew into the tree Pinocchio was originally chopped down from. She brings in a doctor whom Pinocchio recognizes as the Talking Cricket. Pinocchio attempts to explain his terrible action of stealing Julietta from Maestro Fire-Eater by lying which causes his nose to grow. Upon seeing what has happened to his nose, Pinocchio tells the truth and it returns to normal. Azura tells Pinocchio that the only gift he really needs to give Geppetto is love. With that, Pinocchio leaves Julietta in Lady Azura's care and Dr. Cricket goes to make sure Pinocchio stays out of trouble. Pinocchio starts making his way home, but he suddenly again runs into the Fox and the Cat who say that he should go to the North Pole and get a job teaching

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

' toys how to dance. They bring Pinocchio to a sleigh driver they were speaking with earlier who wraps Pinocchio up in a gift box and sells it to a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

who needs a present to give to his children, whom he does not spend much time with. When the kids open up their present, Pinocchio tells the Duke that he should stay home with his kids for Christmas. Afterward, Santa Claus arrives in his sleigh and brings Pinocchio and Dr. Cricket back to Geppetto's workshop, where Pinocchio is joyously reunited with his father and promises to always be a good boy. Lady Azura then arrives with her servants and a now-sentient Julietta and they all sit down to Christmas breakfast. During the meal, Lady Azura tells Pinocchio that while he may be led astray as Pinocchio sees the Fox and the Cat briefly waving at him in the window. He will also have many other misadventures (such as getting turned into a donkey and getting swallowed by a

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

). As long as he stays on the path of being a good boy, he will someday gain the reward of being a real boy.

Cast

* Todd Porter as

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 poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

* George S. Irving as Mister Geppetto * Alan King as Maestro Fire-Eater *

Bob McFadden Robert McFadden (January 19, 1923 – January 7, 2000) was an American singer, impressionist, and voice-over actor perhaps best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His most popular television cartoon characters included M ...

as: **

Talking Cricket The Talking Cricket () is a fictional character that appears in the 1883 Italian book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (''Le avventure di Pinocchio'') by Carlo Collodi. Role The Talking Cricket, who has lived in Geppetto's house for over a centur ...

** Sleigh Driver * Allen Swift as: ** The Fox **

** Mr. Cherry * Pat Bright as

The Cat The Cat may refer to: Nickname * Mathilde Carré (1910-2007), French spy, double and possibly triple agent * Peter Bonetti (1941–2020), English footballer * Greg Cattrano (born 1975), American lacrosse player * Ernest Miller (born 1964), Amer ...

* Diane Leslie as Lady Azura * Gerry Matthews as Additional voice * Ray Owens as Additional voice * Tiffany Blake as Child * Carl Tramon – Child * Alice Gayle – Child

Staff

* Producers/Directors – Arthur Rankin, Jr.,

Jules Bass Julius Caesar Bass (; September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft ...

* Writer – Romeo Muller * Music – Maury Laws * Lyrics – Julian P. Gardner * Design – Paul Coker, Jr. * Sound Recording – John Curcio * Production Coordinator – Lee Dannacher * Associate Producer – Masaki Iizuka * Animagic Supervisors – Akikazu Kono, Ichiro Komuro, Hiroshi Tabata, Seiichi Araki, Fuminori Minami, Mituharu Hirata, Shinichi Noro * Music Arranger/Conductor – Maury Laws

Songs

* "I Never Know What Gifts To Buy" – Geppetto * "Knock On Wood" – Pinocchio and Chorus * "Let 'Em Laugh" – Maestro Fire-Eater and Chorus * "It's The Truth" – The Fox and the Cat * "Love, The Perfect Gift For Christmas Day" – Lady Azora and Pinocchio * "The Very Best Friend I Ever Had" – Geppetto * "Dancin'" – Pinocchio and Chorus * "Wicked Glee" – Sleigh Driver

Notes

References

External links

* {{Rankin-Bass 1980 television specials 1980s American television specials Animated Christmas television specials 1980s animated television specials Christmas television specials Television shows directed by Jules Bass Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Santa Claus in television Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Stop-motion animated television shows Television shows written by Romeo Muller American Christmas television specials Television shows based on The Adventures of Pinocchio