The Adventures of Buratino (1959 film)
A wooden puppet seeks a golden key and his destiny.
The Adventures of Buratino (Приключе́ния Бурати́но) is a 1959 Soviet traditionally animated feature film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Dmitriy Babichenko, and Mikhail Botov. Produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow, it is based on Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy’s The Golden Key, or Adventures of Buratino. The film follows a wooden puppet whose story shares origins with Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Dmitriy Babichenko; Ivan Ivanov-Vano
- Producer
- Ivan Ivanov-Vano
- Writer
- Nikolai Erdman; Lyudmila Tolstaya
- Music
- Anatoly Lepin
- Editing
- Nina Mayorova
- Studio
- Soyuzmultfilm
- Released
- 31 December 1959, USSR
- Runtime
- 67 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Papa Carlo, a penniless former organ grinder, receives a talking log from his neighbor Giuseppe “The Blue Nose.” Carlo carves the log into a puppet named Buratino and sells his coat to buy an alphabet book for the puppet’s schooling. Buratino sells the book to attend a puppet show, where he interrupts a performance and angers the sinister director Karabas Barabas. The director gives Buratino five gold coins, which attract the con artists Fox Alice and Cat Basilio. They trick Buratino with promises of riches, but he escapes with help from Malvina and her poodle Artemon. The wise turtle Tortila tells Buratino about a golden key that unlocks a mysterious door tied to his destiny. Karabas Barabas pursues Buratino to reclaim the key. Buratino and his allies outwit the villains and discover the key opens a hidden door in Papa Carlo’s home, leading to a magical theater. They defeat Karabas Barabas and his accomplices, and Papa Carlo directs the new theater. Karabas Barabas is denied entry to the grand opening, while Buratino and his friends celebrate a future of creativity and camaraderie.
Dubs
An English dub was recorded in 1984 at Jim Terry Productions and released on VHS through the 1980s and early 1990s. A second English dub began in 1990, and a third in 1995 by Films by Jove for the series Stories from My Childhood. In 2005, East West DVD Entertainment published a Spanish dub titled Las nuevas aventuras de Pinocchio; it is uncertain whether this dub directly translates the Russian film or one of the English versions.
DVD releases
Films by Jove released a restored version on May 18, 1999, as Stories from My Childhood, Vol. 2, with English, French, and Spanish soundtracks and no subtitles. Krupnyy Plan issued a fully restored version in 2002 with the original Russian soundtrack and no subtitles, including a before-and-after restoration feature. Films by Jove released another version in 2006 with a Russian soundtrack and English subtitles, alongside The Boy from Neapolis and Chipollino.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed the music for The Adventures of Buratino (1959 film)?
The music for The Adventures of Buratino was composed by Anatoly Lepin.
Who wrote The Adventures of Buratino (1959 film)?
The Adventures of Buratino was written by Nikolai Erdman and Lyudmila Tolstaya.
How long is The Adventures of Buratino (1959 film)?
The Adventures of Buratino has a running time of 67 minutes.
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