| Talking Cricket | |
|---|---|
| The Adventures of Pinocchio character | |
| First appearance | The Adventures of Pinocchio |
| Created by | Carlo Collodi |
| Information | |
| Species | Cricket |
| Gender | Male |
The Talking Cricket (Italian: Il Grillo Parlante) is a fictional character who appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio).
Contents |
The Cricket, who has lived in Geppetto's house for over a century, makes its first appearance in chapter IV where he explains to Pinocchio, whose mischief has landed his creator Geppetto in prison, that he must either attend school or get a job in order to function properly in the world. When Pinocchio refuses to listen, the Cricket expresses sympathy to Pinocchio because "you are a puppet, and what's worse is that you have a head of wood". In response, Pinocchio throws a mallet at the cricket, seemingly killing it.
The Cricket reappears subsequently in XIV as a shade. He appears to Pinocchio in a dark wood, telling him to return home rather than keep an appointment with The Fox and the Cat (Il Gatto e la Volpe), who have deceived Pinocchio into following them on a fool's errand. Pinocchio refuses, and is subsequently injured in an encounter with two murderers. The Cricket reappears again in chapter XVI, where he is revealed to be a doctor. He, along with his colleagues the crow and the owl, tends to Pinocchio's injuries, though the Cricket reveals his prior experience with the puppet to the others, describing him as "...a disobediant rascal, who will cause his poor father to die heartbroken!"
The Cricket makes his final appearance in chapter XXXVI, where he is shown to be living in a house given to him by The Fairy with Turquoise Hair. He forgives Pinocchio, and allows him and the ailing Geppetto to stay.
Trouble awaits boys who rebel against their parents and capriciously abandon their paternal home! They will never experience goodness in this world, and sooner or later, they will have to pay for it sourly.- Chapter IV
My boy, do not trust those who promise to make you rich overnight. They are usually either mad or charlatans! Heed my words, and turn back.- Chapter XIII
Now you call me “your dear little cricket”, true? But do you not recall when, to banish me from your house, you threw a mallet at me?- Chapter XXXVI
In the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio, the Talking Cricket is renamed Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) and is portrayed very differently to the relatively minor character of the book. He takes on a much more prominent role in the film as Pinocchio's inseparable companion and conscience under instructions from the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair (renamed the Blue Fairy). His relationship with Pinocchio is much less adversarial than in the book. He never provokes Pinocchio to the point of getting himself killed as in the book (although he is still stern when he needs to be), and there is no indication he is as old as the Cricket of the novel. Jiminy Cricket later appeared as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Mickey's Christmas Carol.
In Giuliano Cencis' 1972 adaptation Un burattino di nome Pinocchio, the Cricket (voiced by Lauro Gazzolo) though anthropomorphised, differs little from the character of the novel, being stern to Pinocchio, resulting in his death and subsequent reappearance as a shade and later, the owner of a little cottage where Pinocchio and Geppetto lodge at after escaping from the terrible Dogfish, thereupon reminding Pinocchio to change his ways for good. The only difference in characterisation is that he does not reappear in the Fairy's house as a doctor.
In the 1987 film Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night he appears as an initially wooden cricket made by Geppetto for Pinocchio to play with he comes to life early on and acts as Pinocchio's companion, he is given the name Gee Willickers as it's the first thing Pinocchio says to him. He was voiced by Don Knotts.
In the 1993 direct to video adaptation from GoodTimes Entertainment, the Cricket is portrayed very much like Jiminy Cricket; an inseparable companion to Pinocchio, though he acts by his own choice and not under orders from the Blue Fairy.
In Steve Barron's 1996 live action film The Adventures of Pinocchio, the Cricket is a CGI character named Pépé, and is voiced by David Doyle. As with Jiminy Cricket, he is portrayed in a more light hearted manner than his stern book counterpart who dies early in the story. He is an optimistic character who tries to teach Pinocchio that "Miracles don't grow on trees. Miracles are made in the heart!".
Collodi, Le Avventure di Pinocchio 1883, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli