Stromboli is the second antagonist to appear in the 2022 live-action remake of Pinocchio.
Background[]
This Stromboli is arguably less sinister than his animated counterpart as after locking Pinocchio in the bird cage, he makes no threat to turn him into firewood once Pinocchio outgrows his use. He even tries to (albeit condescendingly) cheer up Pinocchio when he tells him to get ready for a show in the Italian city of Siena.
Despite this, he is still pretty malicious as he tears open an emotional wound on Pinocchio after locking him up when he calls for his father, sadistically stating that parents want a "real" child, not a puppet one. He also proves to be a rather cruel boss to the people on his payroll, namely Fabiana and her puppet Sabina as he yells at them, and Pinocchio, for making a show in his caravan for free.
Unlike his animated counterpart, he is arrested later on in the movie by the Carabinieri because he cruelly mistreated and exploited his employees.
Role in the film[]
After Honest John and Gideon lead Pinocchio to Stromboli's puppet show, he is astonished to see a puppet walking without strings and quickly hires Pinocchio, making him his attraction in which Pinocchio accepts, whereupon he befriends one of Stromboli's employees, a limp woman named Fabiana and her puppet Sabina.
After Pinocchio performs, Stromboli then shows his true colors by quickly locking him in a cage, planning to keep Pinocchio for a long time as his money making attraction, and leaves. Fabiana and Sabina attempt to free Pinocchio, but are forced to leave to prevent Stromboli from catching them. However, Pinocchio manages to escape with Jiminy Cricket's help after making his nose grow so Jiminy can grab the keys.
Sometime later, Stromboli is arrested by the Carabinieri for his mistreatment towards his employees and is imprisoned, whereupon he starts to protest his innocence, only for his pleas to be ignored.
Gallery[]
