MOVIES - Dec. 30, 1987

The Walt Disney Co. has taken exception to the publicity campaign that Filmation Inc. is mounting for its Christmas animated feature, “Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night.” Ads for the film suggest that it may be the last animated feature made “entirely in the U.S.A.” But Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg begs to differ. “Presently we have both ‘Oliver and Company’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ well into production, and every aspect of the creation and execution of those films has been, is being and will be done in the United States,” said Katzenberg from Hawaii on Monday. The Buy American campaign by Filmation (whose executives were unavailable for comment Tuesday) didn’t seem to help “Pinocchio,” which opened on Christmas weekend and grossed $602,734 at 1,182 screens (a per screen average of $510).