‘PINOCCHIO’ RETURNS TO TV

If you missed “Pinocchio” earlier this month on the Disney Channel, the restored version of the movie is showing several more times this month on the cable channel.

In its first TV appearance since 1986, the classic children’s film airs Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of January (check your listings for the exact times).

Background: The 1940 film, based on the 19th-Century children’s book by Carlo Collodi, was the second of more than 30 full-length, animated Disney classics, following “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Story: Pinocchio, a marionette created by wood carver Geppetto, is brought to life by the old man’s wish to have a real boy, with the promise that he will become real if he can prove himself brave, unselfish and able to tell right from wrong. The path, of course, contains many life lessons, which will alternately amuse, sadden and terrify viewers during the film’s 90 minutes.

Cast: Actress Evelyn Venable, the voice of the Good Fairy, is believed to be the model for Columbia Pictures’ statuesque movie logo.

Technical wizardry: The film features the first extensive use of Disney’s multiplane camera, which allows for the convincing illusion that the camera is moving in three dimensions -- in the same way as a tracking shot does in live-action film. Producer Walt Disney reportedly cautioned against the overuse of intricate camera work after one scene involving 12 different planes cost $25,000. The film was one of 25 added last year to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

One in a million: The film cost $2.6 million to make and posted a million-dollar loss after its initial movie-house release. The bottom line has been changed somewhat by additional theater showings and the 12.6 million videos sold during 1985 and ’93 releases (with leftover stock supposed to be pulled off the shelves). Cels from the movie--there are an estimated half-million drawings--were originally available for $5 or $10. They now sell for more than $10,000.

Inside information: The Pinocchio character (voiced by Dick Jones) was redesigned six months into production, making him rounder and more boylike. The role of Jiminy Cricket also was altered. In the Collodi story, the cricket was a rather incidental character who is crushed by the puppet after giving unwanted advice. Jiminy (Cliff Edwards) took advantage of the opportunity, using his role as Pinocchio’s conscience to save him from the antics of sly fox J. Worthington Foulfellow and singing “Give a Little Whistle” and “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which won an Academy Award as best song and became the Disney theme song.