- Figaro is a clever little catA very clever catA little bitty catFigaro knows a lot of this and thatWhat a clever kitty cat...—Figaro's theme
Figaro is Geppetto's mischievous pet kitten in Pinocchio. He later appears as Minnie Mouse's pet kitten in the Classic Disney Shorts, as well as the TV series House of Mouse, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and Mickey Mouse Funhouse.
Originally intending Figaro as a minor character in Disney Animated Canon feature film Pinocchio, Walt Disney took note of the cat's popularity and placed him in three shorts of his own. Figaro often acted as a rival of Pluto the Pup.
Not to be confused with the main character of The Barber of Seville or its sequel The Marriage of Figaro.
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Filmography
1943
Figaro and Cleo (one of Figaro's own three shorts)
1944
First Aiders
1946
Bath Day (one of Figaro's own three shorts)
1947
Figaro and Frankie (one of Figaro's own three shorts)
1948
Cat Nap Pluto
1949
Pluto's Sweater
Media Featuring Figaro:
Feature films:
Television shows:
- Aladdin: The Series
- Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Minnie's Bow-Toons
- Mickey and the Roadster Racers/Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures
- Mickey Mouse Funhouse
Tropes That Apply to Figaro:
- Adapted Out: While Pinocchio, Geppetto, Cleo and Jiminy are present in the Kingdom Hearts series, for some reason, Figaro is not, though he did show up in the manga.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In Pinocchio, he was rather spoiled but still adorable despite his bratty streak. In the shorts, he becomes something closer to a malicious Jerkass. And then...
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Starting in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Figaro began acting sweeter and nicer compared to his Jerkass behavior in his shorts and even in Pinocchio. This is especially notable in Minnie's Bow-Toons, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Mickey and the Roadster Racers, the last of which portrays him as a mild Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Figaro wears a red bow in Bath Day. In the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode "Minnie's Bowtique", he wears a pink bowtie.
- Ascended Extra: To a lesser extent than Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio. He is based off an unnamed cat that Geppetto had in the book, which was mentioned when Pinocchio lost his feet. In the film, he has a name and a larger role in several scenes, although, unlike Jiminy Cricket, he's still a secondary character.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Non-anthro example, being a rambunctious kitten.
- Breakout Character: A bit player in Pinocchio, and even less important in the original tale where he didn't even have a name. Figaro appeared as lead character in at least three Classic Disney Shorts.
- Canon Immigrant: From previous Disney Animated Canon feature film Pinocchio.
- Cute Kitten: One of the earliest Disney cats minus the kittens from "Three Orphan Kittens", and the earliest from the Disney Animated Canon itself.
- Dumb Blonde: There is a Gideon Expy, a yellow-furred tomcat example of this trope in "Bath Day." Of the alley cats in that cartoon, he is the one slowest and last to wink.
- Foil: To Pluto.
- Furry Confusion: When he's Minnie Mouse's pet kitten. Also, if he and Gideon ever appeared together. Speaking of Gideon, there is a cat in "Bath Day" who looks a lot like Gideon down to his facial features, but has yellow fur, is wearing nothing, and is barely less anthropomorphic. There is another nude, barely less anthropomorphc Gideon Expy in the cartoon, except that his fur is a dark, purplish shade of black.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Yes, even Figaro has his version at least in the "Figaro & Frankie" short
. Unlike Pluto or Donald, Figaro has a male angel while the bad angel isn't present. Possibly because the bad angel is already controlling Figaro's mind and thoughts. - Hates Baths/Cats Hate Water: In Bath Day.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- In Pinocchio: Spoiled and temperamental, but affectionate towards Geppetto and can also be nice.
- Figaro tried to catch Frankie because The latter’s singing irritated the former. But in the end, he saves Frankie from Butch the Bully Bulldog. Also, Figaro is this way to Cleo the goldfish and is portrayed this way in Mickey and the Roadster Racers.
- Named by the Adaptation: In Pinocchio's original book, Geppetto did have a cat, but it didn't have a name.
- The Prankster: Figaro acts as this at times around Pluto. The latter's own occasional Jerkass traits can lead to an Escalating War, however.
- Shout-Out: Appropriately for an Italian cat, he's named after a famous opera character.
- Silent Snarker: While he isn't silent, he does express emotions around Pinocchio, Cleo and Geppetto.
- Single Tear: Figaro cries a single tear twice in Pinocchio: the first time occurs while he, Cleo, and Geppetto are trapped inside the whale while starving to death, and the second time occurs during Pinocchio's Disney Death.
- Smelly Skunk: He imagines himself as one at the end of "Bath Day."
- Spin-Off: His three theatrical shorts that he got to himself.
- Spoiled Brat: His supervising animator, Eric Larson, envisioned him as having the personality of a 4-year-old boy in Pinocchio.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: The tall, slim cat Lucifer (not the one you're probably thinking of), who is the leader of the alley cats, mimics this trope to make fun of Figaro for wearing a bow.
- Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: Downplayed. The eyes were likely to help evoke the stereotype of cunning cats, but Figaro himself is generally not particularly crafty.
