You probably heard about Pinocchio and the infamous Whale named “Monstro” that he walks into. For those that did not like me, Pinocchio was Walt Disney’s second masterpiece made in 1941. It won an Oscar for the Best Music, Original Score for the song “Wish Upon a Star.” In 1989, it won an ASCAP award for Most Performed Feature Film Standards for “Wish Upon a Star” again. The story about Pinocchio goes like this:

Pinocchio is a little puppet made by Geppetto, a wood carver, who wishes that the little Pinocchio would somehow magically transform into a real boy! His wishes are heard by the blue fairy who grants them. However, (and here is the catch 122) the blue fairy tells Pinocchio that he can turn into a little boy only if and when he listens to his conscience and becomes “true”. The blue fairy also makes a little cricket, called Jiminy, out of Pinocchio’s conscience so Pinocchio would have it easy following his (that’s right) conscience.

So, where do the story of Pincchio and a Whale collide? Now, you see, like all nice stories, Pinocchio does not follow his conscience, (errr cricket, I take that back…Jiminy) and gets into trouble in several places. You know, he being the hero and all, Pinocchio escapes narrowly from all these instances.

One day, after a close escape, Pinocchio goes home with Jiminy and finds out that Gepetto, his creator, is gone! Now here comes the part where Pinocchio faces a Whale - monstrous, thick skinned, big toothed (etc., etc., oooo everybody) called ….(thats right) ‘Monstro’ !

Now this is the part I like. To win the blue fairy’s blessings, Pinocchio must follow his conscience and his conscience, Jiminy, keeps leading him right into the whale! Now, Pinocchio must decide if he was going to dive right into the whale and end up in its belly without a torchlight or if would want to call it a night and go home. But, you see, like all great protagonists, Pinocchio dives into the whale and everyone thinks Pinocchio is dead as a fried calamari, served with marinara and a twist of lemon.

Pinocchio gets inside the whale and searches for his friends and finds them and does all the heroic stuff. But he comes out a real boy! (Abracadabra baby!) But Wait, the game has just begun. The ‘monstro’us whale chases Pinocchio. Pinocchio rushes for his life, the whale chases pinocchio….whale pinocchio, sip of coke, pinocchio whale, eat my fries (wait, not the whole pack), whale pinocchio, bring me some pop corn, pinocchio whale, mom..I cant breathe, whale pinocchio, dad..I bit my tongue..(or was it my fingers?), pinocchio whale, thats it, I am outta here!……..WAAAIIIITTTT!!!!

Pinocchio finally comes out of the sea and escapes the fury of the monstro whale (wiggity-waggity whale) and they all go home happy and crying and hugging and jiggy..etc, etc. Here is a ballet (on ice) version of the Pinocchio whale story on youtube. Hope you will enjoy it like I did:

What is really great and adventurous about the ‘Pinocchio Whale’ story is that it has so many layers and characters that add to its depth. Also, the idea that Pinocchio, even as a puppet, overcomes a mountain of fear to dive into the whale is very appealing because of its human face. Further more, the idea of creating a character (Jiminy, the cricket) out of a puppet’s conscience is brilliant. It strikes a chord with little kids and grown ups alike.