The New Adventures of Pinocchio

The New Adventures of Pinocchio is a 1961 syndicated stop motion animated television series produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in the United States and made by Dentsu Studios in Japan.[1] Created by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and his partner Jules Bass, it was based on the 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio written by Italian author, Carlo Collodi. The series was Rankin/Bass' first production to be made in "Animagic", a stop motion puppet animation technique which, in association with the company, was done by Tadahito Mochinaga's MOM Productions.

A total of 130 five-minute "chapters" were produced in 1960–61. These segments made up a series of five-chapter, 25-minute episodes.[2] The show was deliberately designed to not emulate Walt Disney Animation Studios' popular 1940 version of Pinocchio in character design or characterization; the puppet wore a T-shirt and shorts instead of a Tyrolean hat, the Cricket (not Jiminy Cricket) had a high-pitched, grating voice, and Geppetto was calm and deliberate, unlike Disney's excitable and absent-minded woodcarver.[3]

The series premiered the week of February 6, 1961 on select local stations.[4] During 1963–64, the series was also aired in Japan on Fuji TV as part of another stop motion TV series, Prince Ciscorn (シスコン王子, lit. Ciscorn Ōji), based on the manga by Fujiko Fujio and also produced by Tadahito Mochinaga for Studio KAI and Dentsu.[citation needed ]

Twenty years later, in 1980, Rankin/Bass produced another stop motion adaptation of the novel for the American Broadcasting Company, a Christmas special called Pinocchio's Christmas, which featured a different voice cast including George S. Irving as Geppetto; Todd Porter as Pinocchio; Alan King as Maestro Fire-Eater; Allen Swift as the Fox; Pat Bright as the Cat; and Diane Leslie as Lady Azura.

An old wood carver Geppetto narrates the series, explaining on how he made a magically living puppet named Pinocchio, who can walk, jump, run and do other things without strings. In addition, he is also known to have his nose grow whenever he tell lies on anything be it right or wrong. Displeased with the need to continue living as a puppet, Pinocchio sets off on a journey with his friend Cricket to find the Blue Fairy, hoping that she can transform him into a real boy (in other words, a human) with her magic. But along the way, Pinocchio and Cricket encounter the two anthropomorphic animal cons, Foxy Q. Fibble and Cool S. Cat, as well as the greatest adventures, mishaps, danger and excitement than they would ever imagine.