Died During Production: Collodi was going to write a sequel in which the happy ending of the original was just a dream and Pinocchio woke up to find himself still a puppet, although Geppetto really did recover from his illness and resume his job as a woodcarver. The drafts also seem to indicate that he would become a king in the end. But Collodi died before it came to pass.
Science Imitates Art: Species with long, horn- or nose-like projects have on occasion been named after the puppet himself. These include beetle Walckenaeria pinocchio, with a long single horn; the orchid Masdevallia pinocchio, whose flowers produce long, slender "spikes" from the top petal; the crab Oxypleurodon pinocchio, with a long upturned rostrum; and several others.
One-Hit Wonder: This wasn't the only book penned by Collodi, but it's the only one anyone remembers.
Executive Meddling: SFX guru Carlo Rambaldi (the man behind the effects of King Kong (1976), Alien, E.T., Dune (1984) and others) was asked to make self-funded tests for a Pinocchio animatronic to be used in the show. He demanded a higher payment than what they planned, thus the studio resolved by sending an engineer to take photos of his blueprints and mechanisms and build their own puppet by copying Rambaldi's without him knowing until the show was finished. The result was a barely functioning puppet which forced Luigi Comencini to resort to the constant puppet/real boy transitions, and a successful lawsuit from Rambaldi.
Hostility on the Set: Pinocchio's actor Andrea Balestri has claimed that he didn't get along with Gina Lollobrigida. Allegedly it escalated when one day he got yelled at by her for coming late on set, causing him to refuse taking promotional photos together and breaking out into an argument in which she threatened to slap him, and bickered with his parents when they stood up for him. Balestri claims that Gina didn't talk to him in cast reunions because she never got over it.
Pinocchio's actor Andrea Balestri didn't pursue much of a movie career after the miniseries. After a few other roles he dropped acting and tried several professions before starting a stage career in his home town, which he continues to this day. He still gives interviews and participates in documentaries about his portrayal of Pinocchio though.
Lampwick's actor Domenico Santoro appeared in four movies as a child (including Pinocchio) before retiring to private life. He never made a public appearance ever since.
What Could Have Been: Carlo Rambaldi has stated that he built three Pinocchio animatronics: one that could walk, a half body that had articulated head, mouth and hand movements and a model that was able to pick up and throw a hammer. Had the studio respected his demands instead of screwing him over, as described in the aforementioned Executive Meddling, the miniseries might've been less dependent on Obscured Special Effects.
California Doubling: While the film is set in Italy, this film was primarily shot in the Czech Republic. Croatia and London were also used as filming locations.
Creator Killer: The box-office failure of this film destroyed Steve Barron's mainstream film career. He has since returned to directing music videos as well as independent films and TV series.
Udo Kier reprises his role as Lorenzini in the German dub.
Jean-Claude Drouot played the Magistrate in English as well as the European French dub.
International Coproduction: The film was produced by New Line Cinema, Kushner-Locke Company, Savoy Pictures, Pangaea Holdings and Twin Continental Films in the United States, along with Allied Pinocchio Productions in the United Kingdom, Etamp Film Production and Barrandov Studios in the Czech Republic, Alta Vista Film, CineVox Film, Bibo Film and Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion in Germany, and Davis Films in France.
The Other Marty: At one point during production, Wallace Shawn was cast as Pepe. David Doyle was eventually selected to voice the character for the final product, although Shawn's performance was used in the trailer.
Real-Life Relative: Diana Santos, who voiced Felinet in the Latin American Spanish dub, is the niece of Francisco Colmenero, Geppetto's Latin American voice actor.
in which the happy ending of the original was just a dream and Pinocchio woke up to find himself still a puppet, although Geppetto really did recover from his illness and resume his job as a woodcarver. The drafts also seem to indicate that he would become a king in the end. But Collodi died before it came to pass.