How Pinocchio died

In the climax of Pinocchio, Pinocchio is laid out cold, presumably dead:

There has been some debate as to how he managed to die. The most common belief is that he drowned - even though, in searching for Monstro, he had spent a long time underwater with no side effects whatsoever.

In my opinion, I don't think Pinocchio died by drowning. There is another explanation, one that to me seems a lot more logical. As Pinocchio drags Geppetto to safety behind a rocky crevice, Monstro rams his head against the wall good and hard...

...sending up a huge blast of water every which way that obscures the screen.

It is possible, in this case, that the blast of water threw Pinocchio against a rock, knocking him out. Another possible explanation was that he somehow wore himself out trying to get Geppetto to safety.

In any case, Pinocchio did not die because of drowning.