{ "id": "ep093p3kt6", "slug": "pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night", "title": "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "label": "Animated films by source material and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-novels-and-books", "label": "Films based on novels and books", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-novels-and-books" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Animated films by source material and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "label": "Animated films by source material and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) is a Filmation animated musical, directed by Hal Sutherland, continuing Disney's 1940 Pinocchio one year on; it survived a Disney lawsuit and grossed about $2.7 million.", "snippet": "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) is a Filmation animated musical, directed by Hal Sutherland, continuing Disney's 1940 Pinocchio one year on; it survived a Disney lawsuit and grossed about $2.7 million.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-novels-and-books", "markdown": "# Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night\n\n**Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night** is a 1987 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Filmation Associates, directed by Hal Sutherland, and based on the 1883 fairy tale *The Adventures of Pinocchio* by [Carlo Collodi](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlo-collodi). Although produced by [Filmation](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmation), it was intended as a continuation of Walt Disney Productions' acclaimed 1940 animated *Pinocchio*, taking place one year after the events of that film, with [Pinocchio](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio) living as a real boy.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) The film was distributed theatrically by New World Pictures, carried a G rating, and was originally titled *The New Adventures of Pinocchio* during production.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | United States limited opening November 20, 1987 (Washington, D.C.); wide opening December 25, 1987; West Germany August 6, 1987[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/releaseinfo/) |\n| Studio and distributor | Filmation Associates; New World Pictures (theatrical)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) |\n| Director and producer | Hal Sutherland (director); Lou Scheimer (producer)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) |\n| Writers | Robby London, Barry O'Brien, and Dennis O'Flaherty (screenplay); Romeo Muller (story); from Collodi's novel[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/fullcredits) |\n| Principal voices | Scott Grimes (Pinocchio), Tom Bosley (Geppetto), James Earl Jones (Emperor of the Night), Don Knotts (Gee Willikers), Ed Asner (Scalawag)[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night-1987) |\n| Rating and length | G; 91 minutes per the AFI Catalog, though several databases list 83 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night) |\n| Box office | $2.7 million gross in the United States per Rotten Tomatoes; another source gives $3,261,638[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pinocchio_and_the_emperor_of_the_night) • [7](https://www.letsfindmovie.com/ch/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAfter Pinocchio has been a flesh-and-blood boy for a year, Geppetto throws a birthday party for him. Pinocchio's fairy godmother attends and brings a toy glowworm named Gee Willikers to life as the boy's companion and conscience. Geppetto entrusts the pair with a precious jewel box to carry into town for the mayor, but along the route Pinocchio detours to a carnival that has just come to town, where the raccoon Scalawag, together with his monkey companion Igor, swindles the box from him and hands it over to the evil Emperor of the Night. Ashamed, Pinocchio runs away and joins the carnival. Lured by the promise of stardom, he faces a series of challenges and ends up on a ship bound for \"The Land Where Dreams Come True.\" Along the way he tells lies to make his nose grow so he can unlock a door, and at one point the puppet master Puppetino turns him back into a puppet.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT)\n\n## Origins and production\n\nFilmation, a studio known for animated television programming such as *He-Man* and *Fat Albert*, announced in February 1985 a slate of thirteen feature-length animated films for theatrical release, the first of which was to be based on the Pinocchio story. Titled *The New Adventures of Pinocchio*, production was already underway at Filmation's studios in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) The AFI Catalog records the production start date as January 1985 or July 1, 1986.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT)\n\n**Scale of the production.** According to a December 1987 Washington Post report, the film was an $8 million venture on which 400 animators worked for three years, and it was touted as perhaps the last picture in full animation to be produced entirely in the United States. The opening credits state that it was \"Animated entirely in the U.S.A. by the artists of Filmation Studios.\"[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/12/28/pinocchio-a-nose-for-the-new/b7f7dc67-d1ed-43cd-9f4e-7399ba7a0024/)\n\nThe songs were written by Will Jennings, Barry Mann, and Steve Tyrell, with a score by Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks; Erika Scheimer served as music supervisor.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) Recorded music sources include [Rickie Lee Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/rickie-lee-jones)'s \"Love Is the Light Inside Your Heart\" and [Kid Creole and the Coconuts](https://www.edgepedia.org/kid-creole-and-the-coconuts)' \"You're a Star.\"[9](https://intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30903)\n\n## The Disney lawsuit\n\nDuring production, Walt Disney Productions sued Filmation Associates. Disney owned copyrights to its 1940 animated feature *Pinocchio* and to original designs and drawings of the characters Pinocchio, Geppetto, and [Stromboli](https://www.edgepedia.org/stromboli) as portrayed in that film, and contended that Filmation's production, then titled *The New Adventures of Pinocchio*, used a substantial amount of that copyrighted material, including a script, storyboards, story reels, models, and designs said to constitute copies of Disney-protected characters and scenes. The court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment, and a status conference was set for March 24, 1986.[10](https://filmsuits.com/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night/) IMDb's trivia entry for the film states that Disney sued Filmation for defamation and trademark infringement but lost on the basis that Collodi's 1883 novel was in the public domain.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743)\n\n## Voice cast\n\nThe film assembled a cast of established American actors. [Scott Grimes](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-grimes) voiced Pinocchio and [Tom Bosley](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-bosley) voiced Geppetto; [James Earl Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-earl-jones), described by the Washington Post as bearing an \"overly familiar voice\" as the generic Voice of Doom, played the Emperor of the Night.[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night-1987) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/12/28/pinocchio-a-nose-for-the-new/b7f7dc67-d1ed-43cd-9f4e-7399ba7a0024/) Ed Asner voiced the raccoon con man Scalawag, Don Knotts the glowworm Gee Willikers, Rickie Lee Jones the Fairy Godmother, Frank Welker the monkey Igor, William Windom Puppetino, Jonathan Harris Grumblebee, Linda Gary Bee-Atrice, and Lana Beeson Twinkle.[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night-1987)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film opened in [West Germany](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-germany) on August 6, 1987, in Sweden on September 18, 1987, in Brazil on November 20, 1987, and in the United States in a limited Washington, D.C. engagement on November 20, 1987 before its Los Angeles and New York openings on December 25, 1987.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/releaseinfo/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT) In Brazil it was released on video as *Pinóquio e o Imperador da Noite* and *Pinocchio 2: A Continuação*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/releaseinfo/)\n\n**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 43% Tomatometer from 7 reviews and a 62% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 500 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pinocchio_and_the_emperor_of_the_night) The Washington Post called it \"a step above the Hanna-Barbera school of animation, but also a step below the Disney standard to which it obviously aspires,\" finding the animation colorful but lacking dimensionality and the songs unmemorable, while noting Jones's rendition of \"Love Is the Light Inside Your Heart\" as an exception.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/12/28/pinocchio-a-nose-for-the-new/b7f7dc67-d1ed-43cd-9f4e-7399ba7a0024/) Alexander Walker of the London Evening Standard found \"an easy-to-follow vigour and a surprising lot of narrative novelty even for people familiar with Disney's classic,\" while John Coleman of The Observer criticized the dialogue as nearly joke-free and the animation as cheap.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pinocchio_and_the_emperor_of_the_night)\n\n**Home media and streaming.** [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) distributors included Starmaker Entertainment and R & G Video.[9](https://intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30903) The film later became available on streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, and Tubi.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\n\n## Place in Filmation's history\n\nThe film was one of Filmation's last theatrical features. A 1993 follow-up in a similar vein, *Happily Ever After*, retold the tale of [Snow White](https://www.edgepedia.org/snow-white), and scholarly accounts group the two as Filmation retellings that focus on what happens after the endings of the stories as audiences know them from Disney.[12](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1528658/13/Panteli_Georgia_PhD%2520Thesis.pdf) Common Sense Media's retrospective review describes the film as \"a cross between a 1980s cute and cuddly Saturday morning cartoon and a 1970s psychedelic rock album cover nightmare,\" noting that the scene in which Pinocchio is turned back into a puppet, set to a synth carnival soundtrack while a demonic villain towers over him, is particularly harrowing for young viewers.[13](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57779-PINOCCHIO-AND-THE-EMPEROR-OF-THE-NIGHT)\n2. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/releaseinfo/)\n3. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743/fullcredits)\n4. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night · Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night-1987)\n5. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\n6. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pinocchio_and_the_emperor_of_the_night)\n7. [Where to watch Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, LetsFindMovie](https://www.letsfindmovie.com/ch/movies/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\n8. [Richard Harrington, \"'Pinocchio' A Nose for the New,\" The Washington Post, December 27, 1987](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/12/28/pinocchio-a-nose-for-the-new/b7f7dc67-d1ed-43cd-9f4e-7399ba7a0024/)\n9. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987), The Internet Animation Database](https://intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30903)\n10. [Walt Disney Productions v. Filmation Associates, Film Suits](https://filmsuits.com/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night/)\n11. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093743)\n12. [Georgia Panteli, PhD thesis on fairy-tale retellings, University College London](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1528658/13/Panteli_Georgia_PhD%2520Thesis.pdf)\n13. [Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night – Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films based on novels and books*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/pinocchio-and-the-emperor-of-the-night. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a Filmation animated musical, directed by Hal Sutherland, continuing Disney's 1940 Pinocchio one year on; it survived a Disney lawsuit and grossed about $2.7 million." }