Geppetto is a major character in Disney's 1940 animated feature film Pinocchio. He is a kindly, old woodcarver and the creator of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet that is brought to life by the Blue Fairy per Geppetto's wish to have a son.
Background[]
Geppetto is described by Jiminy Cricket as a woodcarver who lives in a small home with his kitten Figaro and goldfish Cleo. Aside from his pets, he doesn't seem to have a family, but nevertheless remains kind-hearted and humble. According to the Blue Fairy, Geppetto is somewhat of a saint, and he is implied to have spent the majority of his life selflessly bringing joy to others.
As mentioned, Geppetto is a woodcarver and is extremely talented in his work. His home is filled with a massive array of original creations, including toys, figurines, clocks, articulated knick-knacks, and other items created by Geppetto, himself. He also appears to have some musical talent, as he not only creates a number of music boxes but is seen playing the concertina.
Personality[]
Geppetto is a humble old man, who gleefully spends the majority of his time working on unique creations in his workshop. Most of these creations are meant for the entertainment of both himself and others, presenting Geppetto as a playful child-at-heart. He doesn't have much sternness in his attitude, nor does has he shown any legitimately negative traits to his character, aside from being somewhat of a passive.
He is also very whimsical, with Jiminy describing his dreams as "lovely thoughts, but not at all practical", specifically referring to Geppetto's dream to have Pinocchio become a real boy. He doesn't make much of a fuss of how Pinocchio's sentience came to be, once they meet. Additionally, he speaks to and treats both Figaro and Cleo as his children, and, at times, confidantes, rather than animals. However, he also maintains some discipline towards them, as when Pinocchio ended up not coming home for dinner, he asks them to not eat until he finds him. He also has a little mischievous sense of humor, as he made Pinocchio playfully kick Figaro and scare him before the puppet was brought to life.
As Pinocchio's father, Geppetto is undoubtedly loving, nurturing, and protective. He was initially shocked at Pinocchio's presence, being a living puppet, but was quick to set that aside for the sake of providing him with the love that any human child should receive. After Pinocchio went missing, Geppetto wasted no time in searching the village and beyond to find his son; taking on dark streets, rainstorms, and the deadly whale Monstro, Geppetto was relentless in ensuring his son was safe. After the two finally reunite, and Geppetto learns of Pinocchio's mishaps, he makes no effort to reprimand his evidently remorseful son, simply feeling grateful to finally be a united family once more.
Physical appearance[]
Geppetto is a slender elderly man with white hair, a thick matching mustache, thick gray eyebrows, blue eyes, a pink cherry nose, and pale skin. He wears frameless and rectangular spectacles, a light blue-colored shirt with baggy sleeves under a red-violet vest, a horizontal red-violet suspender with gold lining and dark crosses supported by two vertical brown suspenders with gold buttons holding black breeches, knee-high teal socks, and brown shoes with gold buckles. He also wore a brown apron when he was creating Pinocchio, and a red pointed stocking cap with a light blue pompom, a blue scarf with two pale blue stripes and a maroon coat with a brown patch and two buttons when he was looking for Pinocchio.
At night, Geppetto wears a mint green ankle-length nightgown with two white buttons, a red nightcap with a dark gray ornament, and red slippers.
Appearances[]
Pinocchio[]
When first introduced, Geppetto is shown to be working on his latest, greatest creation, a marionette. Geppetto then names the puppet Pinocchio, for he was made of pine, and plays around with it once he's completed. This makes Figaro very jealous, which Geppetto realizes eventually.
Geppetto then realizes it's time for bed and spots a wishing star from his bed. He reveals to Figaro his wish for Pinocchio to become a real boy. Afterward, Geppetto dozes off to sleep. During his slumber, Geppetto is visited by the Blue Fairy who grants Geppetto's wish for his acts of kindness to others. Through her magic, Pinocchio comes to life. He walks and talks, complete with a conscience, Jiminy Cricket. While Jiminy and Pinocchio are singing to celebrate their union Pinocchio falls off the shelf and makes much noise.
Geppetto meets the living Pinocchio for the first time.
After being awakened by the noise, Geppetto realizes that he, Cleo, and Figaro are not the only ones in the house at the moment. Geppetto spots Pinocchio, who he thinks is still just a puppet and places him back on the shelf. Pinocchio speaks to Geppetto, who believes he's dreaming and splashes water on himself. Geppetto realizes it's not a dream and begins to celebrate along with Cleo and Figaro. Pinocchio innocently catches his own finger on fire, and Geppetto panics. Geppetto then douses Pinocchio's finger with Cleo's fishbowl water and decides that the group should go to bed before anything else happens.
The next morning, Geppetto prepares Pinocchio for his first day of school, presenting him with a vest, a book, and an apple for the teacher. Figaro attempts to follow him, but of course, Geppetto stops him, explaining that school is not for cats. On the way unknown to Geppetto, Pinocchio is taken to Stromboli by local crooks J. Worthington Foulfellow and his sidekick Gideon. When Pinocchio doesn't return home, Geppetto goes out once again to look for his son. At one point he passes Stromboli's Caravan, but neither he nor Pinocchio spot or hear each other. It is implied that he continues searching in vain before returning home in defeat and grief.
Later on, Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo close up the shop and sail out to sea to find Pinocchio. However, along the way, Geppetto is swallowed by Monstro the whale, along with Figaro and Cleo. After Pinocchio and Jiminy are informed of Geppetto's fate via a message from the Blue Fairy as a dove, they set off to save him. Meanwhile, inside the sleeping whale, Geppetto, having no food to eat, is starving, and had trying to catch some fish to no avail. And he tells Figaro that if Monstro does not wake up soon, they will be done for. But thankfully, Monstro wakes up and starts eating a school of Tuna, which Geppetto catches most of, with Figaro keeping them in the trough.
After a search, Pinocchio is swallowed by Monstro (though Jiminy is not) and reunites with Geppetto, who is taken aback when he discovers Pinocchio having been affected by Pleasure Island's curse has donkey ears, tail, and bray in his laugh and wonders how that happened to him. Though Pinocchio is hesitant to tell the truth, Geppetto puts it aside for the moment since they are together again and nothing else matters. At some point, Geppetto explains to Pinocchio that they can't get out of Monstro because the whale only opens his mouth when he's eating, thus everything comes in and nothing goes out. So he tells Pinocchio to come make a nice fire to cook some of the fish for them to eat, but instead, Pinocchio then plans to escape by lighting a fire with smoke to make Monstro sneeze, though Geppetto is hesitant due to the monstrous whale's temper.
The plan works but leads to a deadly chase. Geppetto nearly drowns when their raft is destroyed, but Pinocchio manages to save him by grabbing his shirt and swimming to shore with him. Pinocchio, Geppetto, Figaro, Cleo, and Jiminy are all sent to shore by a giant wave in the process, but Pinocchio is killed by it.
Back at Geppetto's workshop, Geppetto and the others mourn Pinocchio's death. In honor of Pinocchio's courage however, the Blue Fairy revives Pinocchio as a real boy, also reversing the effects of Pleasure Island's curse he had contracted. Still overwhelmed by grief, Geppetto is initially ignorant of the fact that his son is alive (even while speaking to him), believing him to still be dead. However, when he looks up and sees Pinocchio, he rejoices to see his son alive and a real child. The family then celebrates in elation.
House of Mouse[]
Geppetto with Pinocchio and Jiminy in House of Mouse.
Geppetto made numerous cameo appearances in Disney's 2001-2003 television series House of Mouse, usually seen with Pinocchio or Figaro. In "House of Genius" he was amazed at the robots created by Ludwig Von Drake. In the episode "Goofy's Menu Magic" when the club was flooded in soup, Pinocchio and Geppetto can be briefly seen in the wooden raft in the sea of soup. In "Donald's Lamp Trade", Geppetto complained about how he didn't get any sleep, while Pinocchio stated: "I slept like a log". Geppetto can be spotted inside Monstro during Ludwig Von Drake's headcount of all the Disney characters in "Ask Von Drake".
Geppetto can also be seen in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, with Pinocchio during the finale song. He can also be seen in Mickey's House of Villains, being imprisoned in the kitchen alongside other protagonists when the Disney Villains take over.
Other appearances[]
Genie impersonated Geppetto several times in the Aladdin series.
Geppetto and Pinocchio made an appearance in the Mickey Mouse episode "Wonders of the Deep". They are seen hitchhiking inside the Giant Squid as Mickey and Donald make their escape.
Live-action appearances[]
Christmas at Walt Disney World[]
The late Avery Schreiber plays Geppetto in this Television special we first see him reading a Christmas Card from Pinocchio (who's Grown up and now living in America) Geppetto reminisces when Pinocchio was still a child feeling lonely on Christmas he makes a Doll Version of Himself then talks about the night Pinocchio was bought to life Transitioning into a scene from the animated movie than to a Live-Action Pinocchio (Played by Robert Shields) getting into trouble at Walt Disney World Geppetto reappears in The finale with Shields and Yarnell, Andrea McArdle, and several Disney Characters.
Geppetto[]
He was portrayed by Drew Carey in the 2000 TV film Geppetto. The film was told from Geppetto's perspective (making him the protagonist this time) as he chased after Pinocchio during his adventures from the 1940 film, having his own adventures in the process. In the end, Pinocchio is turned into a real boy due to Geppetto learning what it means to be a parent, rather than Pinocchio learning what it means to be a boy.
Video games[]
Kingdom Hearts series[]
In Kingdom Hearts, Geppetto is very fascinated with gummi blocks that could be used to travel to other worlds. When the Heartless came and destroyed his world, he somehow escaped and has been traveling to many worlds to find Pinocchio. He is first met in the mouth of Monstro, standing on his wooden ship, which Monstro had swallowed whole. It is never explained exactly how this occurred since Monstro swims between worlds in Kingdom Hearts, and Geppetto had no way of traveling there. Nevertheless, he requests the help of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, asking them to bring back his son, Pinocchio, when he notices Pinocchio wander off into Monstro, unaware he was following Riku. When they return to Geppetto later, Riku has taken Pinocchio hostage, and Geppetto pleads for Riku to give his son back to him, but Riku refuses, believing Pinocchio's heart will help revive Kairi. Sora, Donald, and Goofy pursue him to Monstro's stomach, where they retrieve Pinocchio and defeat the large Parasite Cage Heartless who had taken Pinocchio hostage earlier.
After the Monstro ordeal, he, like many other refugees, moves to Traverse Town with Pinocchio and opens up a shop in the First District after Leon helps him find a home. At this shop, he designs blueprints for Gummi Ships and gives them to Sora for free so that Sora can use them in the war against Maleficent and the Heartless.
In the credits of the first Kingdom Hearts game, he's last seen laughing with Pinocchio after he becomes a human boy.
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, he appeared as a memory version of himself in Sora's memories in Castle Oblivion.
In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, he appears in Monstro's body, who had swallowed him while he went looking for Pinocchio. While stuck there, he meets Riku.
Disney Parks[]
Geppetto posing for a photo at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Geppetto appears in the Disney theme parks around the world as a meetable character.
Disneyland Resort[]
Geppetto can be seen as an audio-animatronic in Pinocchio's Daring Journey during certain scenes naturally reliving the scenes from the film.
For meet and greets, Geppetto is often found in Fantasyland accompanied by either Pinocchio or Jiminy and occasionally with Honest John and Gideon.
An oversized Geppetto figure appeared as a float component in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams, manipulating two dancers dressed as Stromboli's marionettes.
Geppetto made a voice appearance when he was heard making his wish during the former firework spectacular Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations.
Walt Disney World[]
Geppetto appears in the bubble montage as well as on Steamboat Willie in Disney's Hollywood Studios' version of Fantasmic!
At the Magic Kingdom, Geppetto is seen making a wish during the opening presentation of Once Upon a Time, which is granted by the Blue Fairy.
Tokyo Disney Resort[]
In Tokyo DisneySea, Geppetto can occasionally be found along the Mediterranean Harbor.
He also makes daily appearances for Tokyo Disneyland's 35th Anniversary parade "Dreaming Up!" as part of the Pinocchio unit.
Disneyland Paris[]
Geppetto is commonly found throughout various parts of the Disneyland park in France, for meet-and-greets.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The name "Geppetto" is a variant of "Giuseppe", which is Italian for "Joseph", and it's also the diminutive for "Geppo", which is the Tuscan pronunciation for ceppo, meaning a log, stump, block, stock, or stub.
- In the original Italian story of Pinocchio, Geppetto was depicted as a woodcarver on hard times, so poor he can't even afford wood for a fire, so he paints one in his fireplace! He also was also a bit vain, as he wore a silly blond wig to try to hide his baldness, and also had a bit of an irascible side, especially if people made fun of his wig. The author Carlo Collodi was said to have based the character on an eccentric old man he knew growing up, only the real-life Geppetto was a coffin-maker, not a wood-carver! (Granted, both careers deal with wood...)
- In a deleted scene for the original film, Geppetto was to tell the story of Pinocchio's "grandfather", a mighty tree.
- In at least one book adaptation of Pinocchio, like the 1953 Pinocchio (Little Golden Book), it is specified that Geppetto sailed to Pleasure Island to find Pinocchio, thus giving sense to his departure.
- Where Geppetto was sailing to was never specified in the original film. But in the 2022 remake, Sofia the Seagull tells Pinocchio and Jiminy he was sailing to Pleasure Island.
- Animator Art Babbitt once noted that Geppetto was his favorite character to animate.
- In Disney's Villains' Revenge, Geppetto is mentioned when you click on a clock that in the bedroom with Jiminy Cricket saying, "That's a one of a kind cuckoo clock - made by Geppetto himself".
Variants[]
- Marco
- Geppetto (Geppetto)
- Geppetto (Pinocchio 2022)
External links[]
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