The Fox and the Cat

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 unsuccessfuly 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.

Role in the book

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 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 Cats 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 cats paw. He is pursued all night by the murderers, who hang him from a tree in order 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 Cats missing paw, stating that he had sacrificed it in order 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 in order 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 Pinocchio leaves them with nothing except the phrase "Stolen coins never bear fruit".

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

Portrayals in popular culture

In the 1940 Disney film "Pinocchio", the Fox and the Cat are given the names J. Worthingthon 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 himself save through repeating the Fox' words. Though portrayed as scoundrels, they never go as far as attempting to murder Pinocchio as they did in the book. The subplot on the Field of Miracles is totally absent, and their ultimate fate is never revealed.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 in order to obtain 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 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.

References

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