How Pinocchio Connects to The DisneyVerse: DisneyVerse Pt. 2

White text reads and sits above an image of Pinocchio’s home which he is standing in front of, to his right the image is linked using a blue block chain to King Magnifico’s castle from Wish where Asha is standing that is connected to an image of Snow White’s castle where Snow White is standing. To his left he is connected with two more block chains to Rapunzel’s tower and The Bayou which Rapunzel and Tiana are in front of respectfully.

Welcome back to another entry of The DisneyVerse where we try to connect every Disney Animated Classic using in-universe connections, Easter eggs and theories both popular and my own. Without further ado let’s start.

This entry does contain references to Death, Exploitation, and Slavery. Continue at your own discretion.

A Quick Recap

In this entry we will be discussing how the 1940 film Pinocchio connects to The DisneyVerse so before we begin let’s recap the plot of the film. Spoilers abound so be sure to watch the film over on Disney+. Are you ready? Then let’s begin. 

Geppetto has always dreamed of being a father, but he’s never been lucky in that regard so one night he wishes upon a star and as he’s sleeping the Blue Fairy flies down and gives life to one of his puppets Pinocchio and also promotes a nearby cricket called Jiminy into being his conscience. When he finds out his puppet is alive Geppetto is overjoyed so sends him immediately off to school, but Pinocchio is distracted by two crooks Honest John and Gideon who sell him to a puppet show where he’s forced to perform. He escapes, strays from Jiminy and finds himself on Pleasure Island where boys are turned into donkeys and sold to salt mines. Pinocchio is in the process of becoming a donkey like his new friend Lampwick when Jiminy rescues him. They find out Geppetto along with his cat Figaro and seductive goldfish Cleo have been eaten by a whale called Monstro and get eaten as well, Pinocchio makes Monstro sneeze them out and because of his bravery the Blue Fairy turns him into a real boy and Geppetto’s son.

And that pretty much sums up this hot mess of a plot. Now it’s time for the fun part.

When and Where is it set?

Thumbnail for this section featuring black text that reads When and Where is it Set? Against a light blue background and the white outline of a globe.

An outline of Italy behind black text that reads Italy, with a location pin pointing to an image of Pinocchio’s Village and Pinocchio off to the side.

Despite some claiming Pinocchio is set in Germany likely because of his outfit, lederhosen doesn’t a German make! Pinocchio naturally takes place in Italy. This should be obvious by the explicitly Italian names of the characters, Geppetto, Pinocchio, Figaro, Stromboli etc… and the original tale was written in Italy too so it makes perfect sense.

Black text that reads 19th Century sits in front of a white stencil of period appropriate buildings. Pinocchio is standing in front of several people wearing period appropriate dress.

As for when Pinocchio takes place in the 19th century aka the 1800s the film’s architecture and costuming seem to confirm this as well. What period of the 19th century? Well we can’t be certain but the original novel was published in 1883 so we could assume the film takes place anywhere between the late 1870s to mid 1880s, but I believe the film is set slightly earlier than this and I’ll explain why a bit later.

Now the Connections

Now we know the where and the when it’s time to get into the how, how does our little real boy fit into the grander DisneyVerse?

STARlight, STAR bright

White text reads Wish above the images of Pinocchio’s home on the right where Pinocchio stands and King Magnifico’s castle where Asha stands. The two images are joined together with a blue image of a block chain.

That’s right we’re back at Wish again, the newest Disney Classic really does have the strongest connections to the oldest ones. So how do they connect?

Wish is all about wishing, wishes are physical things in the Kingdom of Rosas manifesting as orb like things, and not just wishes, but wishing Stars. The character Star is a big part of Asha’s story and the film, they are the embodiment of granting wishes, brought to life by the magic that lives within Asha, the same magic that helped her become a fairy godmother at the end of the film. 

Wishes are a huge part of Pinocchio too, the whole story is created because Geppetto wishes on a wishing star, possibly the very same one from Wish. And what comes from this star? The Blue Fairy, another wish granter and fairy godmother-esque figure. But she is not a star, she is a fairy who was summoned by a wish upon a star.

I believe The Blue Fairy is from a long line of fairy godmothers started by Asha, The Kingdom of Rosas is a hop skip and a throw away from Italy and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where she originated. I’m not saying she’s a biological descendant of Asha, but I believe she is a descendant in the same way Jedi Masters pass their knowledge down to their Padawans. 

We know The Blue Fairy is a fairy because firstly she has wings, secondly her name is Blue Fairy, but thirdly we have seen her fairy-sized before. In the Silly Symphony short film The Flying Mouse we see her in all her fairy glory helping a mouse. This also connects this Silly Symphony to The DisneyVerse, but we will count it as a bonus rather than adding it to the overall connection count.

There is no mistaking the two fairies are one and the same, perhaps in her training to become a fairy godmother she started off small before becoming the big deal we see her as in Pinocchio. 

We will talk about more fairy godmothers as our series continues, but for now I think we can safely say Pinocchio and Wish are connected, making Pinocchio our 6th connection in The DisneyVerse. And if that isn’t enough for you, in the credits of Wish we see Asha’s grandfather Sabino literally composing the music for ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ the main theme for Disney which originated from Pinocchio so the two films are directly connected. Which also connects Pinocchio to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through Wish. 

It all connects!

I’ve Got No Strings to Hang Around

White text reads Tangled above the images of Pinocchio’s home on the right where Pinocchio stands and Rapunzel’s tower where Rapunzel stands wielding a frying pan. The two images are joined together with a blue image of a block chain

Another direct connection to Pinocchio can be found in Tangled during the scene set in The Ugly Duckling Inn. A puppet version of Pinocchio can be seen hanging out in the rafters of the inn. There’s no denying it’s Pinocchio, they look the same and they are dressed the same, but how did he get there? 

We can assume Tangled takes place prior to the 1840s because of a cameo in another film we will discuss in a future entry which I’m sure by now you all are familiar with. So in order for Pinocchio to be present at the same time the events of the film must have taken place prior to Tangled, but not much earlier. 

I believe after Pinocchio was turned into a real boy, his story went viral, or at least 19th century equivalent of viral. Geppetto and Pinocchio hit the road, touring Europe, selling wooden puppets of Pinocchio’s original form, making them rich. Based on the condition of the puppet in Tangled it’s clear it’s fairly new. So someone in The Snuggly Duckling bought it or let’s be honest stole it and brought it with them, the occupants got rowdy and threw him up into the rafters. And that’s how Pinocchio directly connects to Tangled. 

If you didn’t like the Snow White/Tangled theory from last time you can rest knowing that Snow White now indirectly connects to Tangled through detouring through Wish and Pinocchio.

When You Wish Upon Evangeline

White text reads The Princess and the Frog above the images of Pinocchio’s home on the right where Pinocchio stands and the bayou where Tiana stands. The two images are joined together with a blue image of a block chain.

Wish and Tangled are not the only films Pinocchio connects to, it also indirectly connects to The Princess and the Frog again through the wishing star Tiana wishes on who is known within the film as Evangeline lovingly named by Ray the firefly Gaia rest his soul. Based on The Blue Fairy’s direct connection to this wishing star, I propose that from now on we refer to her as Evangeline, it just seems fitting to me and is much easier to say than The Blue Fairy over and over again. 

It’s a simple connection, but a prominent one. Tiana’s wish on the star doesn’t grant her wishes, because the star knows Tiana doesn’t need it to, Geppetto can’t bring his puppets to life, but Tiana can make her dream of owning a restaurant come true on her own with hard work and dedication. Evangeline knows this and that’s why it doesn’t directly grant her wish. Like Tiana says “fairytales can come true, but you’ve got to make them happen it all depends on you.” 

Evangeline does however grant Ray’s wish to become a star and join the wishing star in the sky once he passes away. It’s all very bittersweet, but alas The Princess and the Frog is still connected to Pinocchio making it our 7th connection overall. 

An image featuring all the connections so far, centred is an image of Snow White’s castle with Snow White standing before it, to her right connected by a blue chain link is King Magnifico’s castle from Wish where Asha stands in front of it, that image is linked to Pinocchio’s house where Pinocchio is standing in front, which is connected to an image of The Bayou where Tiana is standing in front, to Snow White’s left she is connected to the images of Rapunzel’s tower with Rapunzel in front and the internet where Ralph is standing in front he is also connected to Rapunzel’s image.

There we go we added two more films to our connected universe. Next time we will visit Fantasia. I’m not sure how we will break down each segment into parts, maybe two parts with four segments each? But next time will definitely be the beginning of exploring how the segments of Fantasia connect to The DisneyVerse. So until then I wish you bore da, prynhawn da, noswaith dda or nos da wherever you are in the world and remember when you wish upon a star your dreams may come true.

All rights to these films and characters are copyrighted and protected under the Walt Disney brand. I do not claim to own any of these films or characters. This series is purely for entertainment and speculation. The films mentioned in this part in order of release are.

The Flying Mouse. Directed by David Hand, Walt Disney Productions, 1934.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Directed by David Hand, Walt Disney Productions, 1937.

Pinocchio. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, Walt Disney Productions, 1940.

The Princess and the Frog. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2009.

Tangled. Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2010.

Wish. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2023.