10 Fascinating Facts About Disney's Pinocchio

As noted in the previous article about Snow White, “The Man of a Thousand Voices” Mel Blanc was offered the part of Dopey but the character was eventually made a mute. Blanc would get another go at a Disney film, this time in the role of Gideon the Cat in Disney’s second feature.

Gideon was the hapless sidekick of Honest John, the fox who would trick Pinocchio into missing school to become an actor for Stromboli, and later would try and sell him to the Coachman to live on Pleasure Island to turn into a donkey. Gideon would usually just tag along for the ride with Honest John, being a pawn in whatever scheme he was hatching but for those watching at home would be a source of comedy for the younger viewers.

According to No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio, Blanc had recorded all the lines for the character but late into production it was decided that Gideon would, like Dopey before him, be a mute character. Therefore, all Blanc’s lines would be scrapped in favour of silent comedy. All that remains of his recordings are one drunken hiccup. Though uncredited, it is Mel Blanc’s only official voice work in a Disney animation.

It would take another 48 years before Blanc would be featured in a Disney-associated film again, though not a fully animated film. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was his biggest role for Disney, and even then, it was playing the characters Warner Bros. characters he was most famous for.