Development

The film was directed by Giuliano Cenci with assistance from his brother Renzo. During production, Carlo Collodi's grandchildren Mario and Antonio Lorenzini were consulted. The subtle movements made by fidgeting children whilst speaking or under scrutiny were incorporated into Pinocchio's movements, particularly when he lies to the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair over the fate of his gold coins. For the design of the Fairy, Italian portrayals of the Blessed Virgin Mary in art were used as starting points.^[1]

Design

For the design of Pinocchio, the animators took inspiration to illustrations made by Attilio Mussino. The backgrounds were painted by Sicillian artist Alberto D'Angelo and Abramo Scortecci who both used tone styles evocative of early 20th-century Italian art with little focus on surrealism as in the Disney adaptation.

Original Italian version

Renato Rascel was chosen to serve as both the singer of the introductory song and as the narrator. He was permitted to occasionally ad lib in order to get the film's message across, and to give it a truly Italian feel.

• Renato Rascel as the Narrator
• Roberta Paladini as Pinocchio
• Roberto Bertea as Geppetto
• Manlio De Angelis as The Cat (Il Gatto)
• Vittoria Febbi as the Blue Fairy (La Fata Turchina)
• Michele Gammino as Mangiafuoco
• Lauro Gazzolo as the Talking Cricket (Il Grillo Parlante)
• Flaminia Jandolo as Lucignolo
• Sergio Tedesco as The Fox (La Volpe)
• Gianni Bonagura as the Coachman (L'Omino)
• Arturo Dominici as the Green Fisherman (Il Pescatore Verde)
• Gianfranco Bellini as the pigeon (Il Colombo)

English-dubbed version

In 1978, an English-dubbed version was released in the US by G.G. Communications directed by Jesse Vogel. It used British and Canadian actors, including Les Lye.^[2]