The Terrible Dogfish

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"Monstro" redirects here. For the Marvel Comics character that sometimes went by that name, see Giganto.

The Terrible Dogfish (Italian: Il Terribile Pescecane) is a fictional sea monster which appears in Carlo Collodi's book The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio). It is described as being larger than a five storey building, a kilometre long (not including the tail) and sporting a mouth with three rows of teeth that can easily accommodate a whole train. So fearsome is its reputation, that in chapter XXXIV, it is revealed that the Dogfish is nicknamed "The Atilla of fish and fishermen" (L'Atilla dei pesci e dei pescatori).

[edit] Role

The Dogfish is first mentioned in chapter XXIV, when Pinocchio, whilst searching for his creator Gepetto, is informed by a dolphin that he has likely been swallowed by the creature which "...for some days has come to wreak extermination and desolation in our waters". The Dogfish is later mentioned in chapter XXVI by Pinocchio's school friends on the Island of the Busy Bees (Isola delle Api Industriose), who tell him that the creature had been sighted on the coast and that they were going to investigate. This later turned out to be a lie to coax Pinocchio away from school.

The Dogfish makes its first appearance in chapter XXXIV when Pinocchio, who has only just transformed from a donkey back to his puppet form, has entered the sea in an attempt to escape from his former handler. The Fairy with Turquoise Hair, in the form of a mountain goat, warns Pinocchio of the Dogfish too late, and the puppet is swallowed whole, along with a tuna whom Pinocchio befriends. Pinocchio discovers his father, who reveals that he has been trapped within the Dogfish for two years, surviving on ship supplies swallowed by the creature. The Dogfish is revealed to suffer from asthma, and sleeps with its head emerged from the water. Pinocchio carries Gepetto, who cannot swim, on his back and swims out of the Dogfishes mouth. When Pinocchio's strength begins to fail him, the tuna whom Pinocchio befriended before, helps them reach the shore.

[edit] Portrayals in media

In the Disney film Pinocchio, the sea monster (which is named Monstro, the Portuguese word for monster) is portrayed as a whale who is first mentioned when Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket receive a message from the Blue Fairy stating that Geppetto, while venturing out towards Pleasure Island to find Pinocchio, has been swallowed by the creature. The two go in search of the monster and enter the whale's belly when the whale opens its mouth to feed on a school of fish. They find Geppetto and his pets within Monstro, prompting both "father" and "son" to find a way to escape. Pinocchio frees them by starting a fire which causes the whale to sneeze them out. Monstro becomes enraged and furiously chases them to kill them, but fails and smashes into the giant boulder under which Pinocchio and Geppetto escape. His fate is unknown, but it is implied that he died from head injuries. Monstro was animated by Wolfgang Reitherman, the go-to man for action sequences among Disney's Nine Old Men

Monstro also appears in the video game Kingdom Hearts as a supporting world, where Pinocchio and Gepetto temporarily live until being rescued. Within Monstro dwell many Heartless, including one called the Parasite Cage, which eats Pinocchio, trapping him within its cage-like stomach, and delivers the puppet to Riku, who wishes to use Pinocchio's heart to rescue Kairi. After Kingdom Hearts is sealed, Monstro presumably returns to his world.

In addition, Monstro had a guest star appearance in a Bonkers comic story titled "Whale of a Tale", published in the December 1994 issue of Disney Adventures. In this story, he is not villainous, but rather a polite actor who was simply playing a role in Pinocchio and had not found work in the movies since then; he is duped by a gang of crooks, posing as a movie company, into breaking into banks for them to rob, and upon finding out the truth, helps Bonkers catch the criminals. The Whale also plays a notable role in the Disneyland version of Fantasmic!, and also has a smaller role in the Dancing Bubbles scene in the Disney's Hollywood Studios version.

In Giuliano Cencis 1972 adaptation Un burattino di nome Pinocchio, the Terrible Dogfish is portrayed very similarly to that of the book, the only difference being that it is not mentioned before its initial appearance.

In Steve Barrons 1996 live action film The Adventures of Pinocchio, the Terrible Dogfish (referred to only as "the sea monster") is shown to be Mangiafuoco, who is played by Udo Kier, transformed after drinking the cursed water which turned children into donkeys.

[edit] References

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