This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

The Fox and the Cat (Italian: La Volpe e il Gatto) are a pair of fictional characters who appear in Carlo Collodi's book The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio). Both are depicted as con-men, who lead Pinocchio astray and unsuccessfully attempt to murder him. The pair pretend to sport disabilities; the Fox lameness and the Cat blindness. The Fox is portrayed as the more articulate of the two, with the Cat usually limiting itself to repeating the Fox' words.

[edit] Role in the book

The Fox and the Cat, as drawn by Enrico Mazzanti

Pinocchio encounters the two after leaving Mangiafuocos theatre with five gold coins. The Fox claims to know Pinocchio's father Geppetto well, and says that he saw him shivering with cold. The Fox proposes to Pinocchio to come with them to the Land of Barn Owls (Paese dei Barbagianni) where he claims there is a plot of land called the Field of Miracles (Il campo dei Miracoli) where the coins can be planted and grown into a money tree. When Pinocchio hesitates, stating his obligation to attend school, the pair both claim that their respective disabilities were due to their eagerness to study. A white blackbird attempts to warn Pinocchio of their lies, but is quickly eaten by the Cat. The pair lead Pinocchio to the Red Prawn Inn (Osteria del Gambero Rosso), where they eat a large meal and ask to be awoken at midnight. Two hours before the set time, the pair abandon Pinocchio, leaving him to pay for the meal with one of his coins. They instruct the innkeeper to tell Pinocchio that they left after receiving a message stating that the Cat's eldest kitten had fallen ill, and that they would meet Pinocchio at the Field of Miracles in the morning. When Pinocchio leaves the inn, he is attacked by the pair who are disguised as murderers. Pinocchio hides the coins in his mouth, and in the ensuing struggle, Pinocchio bites off the Cat's paw. He is pursued all night by the murderers, who hang him from a tree to force him to disgorge the coins.

Pinocchio escapes with the assistance of The Fairy with Turquoise Hair, and encounters the pair again, unaware that they are the murderers that hung him. The Fox invents a story to explain the Cat's missing paw, stating that she had sacrificed it to feed a starving wolf. The Fox further adds, that they must go to the Field without further delay, as a Lord has bought it and would soon make it off limits to the public. The Pair takes Pinocchio to the town of Catchfools (Acchiappa Citrulli), which is inhabited by many emaciated and starving animals who made bad choices in their past. Pinocchio is taken to the Field, where the coins are soon buried. After telling Pinocchio to leave for a few minutes to allow the money tree time to grow, the pair dig up the coins and run away.

By the end of the book, the pair have become impoverished. The Cat is, ironically, really blind now, and the Fox is actually lame, tailless (having sold his tail for money) and mangy. They plead for food or money, but they are rebuffed and Pinocchio leaves them with nothing except the phrase "Stolen coins never bear fruit" and similar morals.

[edit] Quotes

Fox: Look at me! For the foolish passion for study, I lost a leg. Cat: Look at me! For the foolish passion for study, I lost sight in both eyes.- Chapter XII

Fox: A gift to us?.. God forbid!.. We do not work for vile interest: we work only to enrich others.-Chapter XII

Fox: And to think that instead of four coins, tomorrow they could become a thousand and two thousand!-Chapter XVIII

Fox and the Cat: We do not want gifts. It is sufficient for us to have taught you the way to enrich yourself without enduring labour.-Chapter XVIII

[edit] Portrayals in popular culture

Foulfellow and Gideon, as portrayed in the Disney film Pinocchio

In the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio, the Fox and the Cat are given the names John Worthingthon "Honest John" Foulfellow (voiced by Walter Catlett) and Gideon (whose three hiccups in the film were provided by Mel Blanc). The pair differ from their original counterparts in the Collodi novel in a number of ways. They do not feign disability, and it is they who tempt Pinocchio to go to Mangiafuocos theatre (named Stromboli in the film) and coax him into going to Pleasure Island. The Cat is portrayed as completely mute, unlike the character in the novel who rarely expresses herself save through repeating the Fox's words. Though portrayed as scoundrels, they never go as far as attempting to murder Pinocchio as they did in the book, although they state to the coachman they would if they have to. The subplot on the Field of Miracles is totally absent, their ultimate fate is never revealed, their impoverishment is deleted and no other punishment is shown. Foulfellow is portrayed as comic relief acting like a ham actor. In the 2009 RPG video game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Foulfellow and Gideon were set to appear in a planned Pinnochio-themed world, but were apparently dropped before the game was completed. In the Disney book, "Pinocchio's promise" Foulfellow and Gideon see Pinocchio walking into town to give a Cookoo clock to Gepetto's friend, Mrs Ramono. Once again Pinocchio is conned by Honest John and Gideon by telling him to go to a Circus with two old Circus tickets Honest John found in the street. Honest John tricks Pinocchio by saying he'll give the clock to Mrs. Ramano, but really wants to sell the clock. Pinocchio gets the police after retreating from the circus by told by the Ringmaster telling the police about the clock and Honest John. Honest John gets arrested, and Pinocchio gives the clock to Mrs Ramano foiling Honest John's plan to sell the clock. In a Disney book adaption of The Emperor's New Clothes, the two, posing as tailors, trick the Emperor (there portrayed by Prince John (Disney)) into believing to have a new suit and made a clean sweep with his money when the Emperor (after a child points out the fact) that he's only in his thermal underwear.

Il Gatto e la Volpe, as portrayed in Giuliano Cencis Un burattino di nome Pinocchio

In Giuliano Cencis 1972 adaptation Un burattino di nome Pinocchio, the Fox and the Cat (voiced by Sergio Tedesco and Manlio De Angelis) follow the characterisation shown in the book much more accurately than in the Disney adaptation. The pair pretend to be physically disabled, and tempt Pinocchio to come with them to the Field of Miracles. As in the book, the Fox is the more articulate of the two, and the Pair attempt to murder Pinocchio to get his coins, though the Cat is not crippled by Pinocchio as in the book. By the end of the film, the two are shown to have become genuinely impoverished, though the fox has not gone so far as to sell his tail.

In the 1993 direct to video adaptation entitled Pinocchio from GoodTimes Entertainment, the characters are portrayed fairly closely to those in the book, though the Fox is changed into a wolf, the pair do not attempt to murder Pinocchio, and by the films conclusion, they are arrested.

In Steve Barrons 1996 live action film The Adventures of Pinocchio, the Fox and the Cat (portrayed by Rob Schneider and Bebe Neuwirth) are named Volpe ('Fox' in Italian) and Felinet, and are portrayed as humans in league with the evil Mangiafuoco (named Lorenzini in this adaptation). In a reversal of roles, Felinet the "Cat" takes on the more dominant and assertive role, while Volpe the "Fox" is shown as a bungling sidekick. As in the novel, the pair attempt to trick Pinocchio into giving up his coins by taking him to the Field of Miracles. Also like the book, they are dealt with poetic justice at the films conclusion, though rather than becoming impoverished, they are tricked by Pinocchio into drinking cursed water which transforms them into a real fox and cat.

[edit] Notes

Often the Field of the miracles has been mistaken with the poetic phrase Square of the miracles that is used since the second half of the 20th century to describe the Piazza del Duomo of Pisa. The monuments of the famous square had been called miracles by Gabriele D'Annunzio in his book Forse che sì, forse che no (1910). But, being several famous squares in Italy called campo and being the story of Pinocchio very spread in the World, many people, in and outside Italy tend to confuse the two things.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

• Collodi, Le Avventure di Pinocchio 1883, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli