Carlo Lorenzini, who is best know for writing under the pen name Carlo Collodi, is an Italian author who brought the world one of its most beloved fairy tales, The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Geppetto’s new puppet can not only dance and turn somersaults, but also talks and misbehaves–and longs to be a real boy.
Young Adult Mag: Tell us about the origins of Pinocchio.
Carlo Collodi: The stories about Pinocchio began as short pieces I submitted for weekly publication in an Italian newspaper. The stories were very successful, so I continued to write the stories over a period of two years.
YA: What happened when you ran out of stories to tell?
CC: We collected all of the stories and published them as one long novel, titled The Adventures of Pinocchio.
YA: The Walt Disney Company has made quite a lot of money with their adaptation of your stories. What do you think about their version?
CC: I think it’s a nice little movie, but I don’t like that they took out all of the nasty bits.
YA: What do you mean?
CC: We could do a lot more in children’s literature back then. Without going too much into detail, my stories had a lot more violence and mayhem than the adorable Disney version you know so well.
YA: What do you think Disney got the most right in their adaptation?
CC: I think it’s Pinocchio’s lie-detecting nose. That was one of the most famous installments of my Pinocchio stories, and the Disney version captured it well.
YA: Well, you’ll be excited to know that Guillermo Del Toro is signed on to direct a new adaptation of your work. We think it will be plenty dark.
CC: I’d like to see that one.