"Pinocchio" in Disney On Parade

Before there was Disney On Ice, there was Disney On Parade. Just imagine this show without ice, and it's pretty much the exact same kind of show. They both traveled to arenas from town to town and even went international.

From 1969 to about 1974, this show ran. In the course of that timespan, not less than four kinds of shows emerged. They each depicted production numbers based on different Disney movies, and they all depicted a huge array of Disney characters. Most of the time, these films only appeared once per show. However, there was one exception: Pinocchio.

One show, from 1971, the second show, to be exact, depicted scenes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and a Barnyard Bash, as well as some short little sketches in between, such as with Goofy and Herbie the Love Bug. But there was also a scene from Pinocchio.

 

Based on information I have, including pictures, a blog and especially a whole TV special about the show (you can check it out on YouTube), it involves the first half of the film: Pinocchio is brought to life, and then Jiminy Cricket sings him "Give a Little Whistle" (although, as seen in the show, he sings, "When you get in trouble, and you don't know what to do…" rather than "…and you don't know right from wrong…"). Then J. Worthington Foulfellow and Gideon waylay Pinocchio, telling him to forget school and be a great performer instead. They sing "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" (with new lyrics, no less) as they take Pinocchio to perform in Stromboli's puppet show. Pinocchio performs "I've Got No Strings" amid some real live puppets, who bounces about on trampolines, doing backflips in the air as they do so. Even Jiminy gets in on the fun. Then Stromboli captures Pinocchio, saying to him, "You will never get away from-a Stromboli now!" Pinocchio, however, manages to escape. And (except for Stromboli also appearing in a little quick comedy sketch involving other Disney villains) that ended the Pinocchio scene in this second version of Disney On Parade.

And a few years later, it started another:

 

In 1973/4, in the fourth show, there were scenes from Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins, plus the Country Bears. But there was also a second scene of Pinocchio.

Called "The Further Adventures of Pinocchio", it depicted basically the second half of the film: Pinocchio is taken to Pleasure Island, where bad boys drink beer, smoke cigars, play pool, and, ultimately, make such big jackasses of themselves that they turn into real jackasses (i.e., donkeys). But Jiminy Cricket comes to his rescue in the nick of time and they save Pinocchio's father Geppetto to fulfill the puppet's wish to become a real boy. Oh, yeah, and a lot more performers, too. And how Jiminy looks different compared to the Disney parks and even the first Pinocchio scene of the show!

 

Mind you, I was not even born yet in those days, so I don't know very much, so the resources I have are from the Internet and some actual programs of the show that my parents do have from actually seeing the show themselves. For more on the show, go to this blog here (special thanks to that blog for the first picture at top): http://disneyonparade.blogspot.com/.