Figaro is Geppetto's pet tuxedo cat in Disney's 1940 animated film, Pinocchio. He later appeared as Minnie Mouse's cat in several cartoon shorts.
Background[]
Figaro was created as a supporting character in the 1940 film Pinocchio. Like so many characters from that film, Figaro became a popular character with audiences. In fact, Figaro was Walt Disney's favorite character in Pinocchio, he loved the kitten so much, he wanted him to appear as much as possible. Once production on Pinocchio was done, Walt made him the pet of Minnie Mouse, replacing Fifi. He was given his own series of cartoon shorts as well as co-starring in a few Pluto shorts and in House of Mouse.
His roles in the shorts often dealt with him being heroic although one short, Pluto's Sweater, cast Figaro in an antagonistic role, where Minnie designed a sweater for Pluto and the other local pets laughed uproariously at Pluto for being made to wear it, mostly Figaro. When water shrinks the sweater, Minnie then realizes it is a perfect fit for Figaro. That short ends with Figaro angrily snarling that he is now in the sweater that he enjoyed bullying Pluto over, plus the lesson being "he who laughs last laughs best."
Animation[]
Animator Eric Larson was put in charge of animating Figaro. Basing the kitten's childlike personality on that of his own nephew, Larson combined this human mind with the natural movements of a cat.
Personality[]
Figaro is a pint-sized prince. He is easily angered but deep down has a heart of gold. He takes a disliking to many things including, but not limited to, waiting, baths, being made a fool of, dogs, giving Cleo a goodnight kiss, and Pinocchio himself, especially after Geppetto playfully makes Pinocchio kick Figaro from behind and scare him down a staircase. When Pinocchio comes to life and treats Figaro kindly, Figaro comes to love Pinocchio very much to the point that he cries when Pinocchio apparently dies and then willingly kisses Cleo when he is restored to life.
In his spin-off shorts as well as the Pluto shorts, his character was made less cuddly and more malicious and cat-like. He is a prime rival of Pluto as the two are constantly seen battling each other for different things, most notably Minnie's affections. Figaro usually enjoys tormenting Pluto when no one's around but occasionally learns to make peace with the pup. In recent years, Figaro and Pluto's relationship became far less hostile; nowadays, the little kitten looks up to the big dog.
Physical appearance[]
Figaro is a small and slender black and white tuxedo kitten with a pale yellow face, a black nose, and black eyes with yellow sclera. His ear canals and paw pads are pink, and he has two whiskers on either side of his face.
Appearances[]
Pinocchio[]
Figaro with Cleo.
Figaro is an adorable Tuxedo Cat of kindly woodcarver Geppetto. Geppetto finishes his latest puppet, Pinocchio, and makes the wooden boy dance and play with Figaro. Figaro eventually gets annoyed with the puppet, as it mischievously kicks him in the behind and smacks its foot.
Later as the family goes to bed that night, Figaro is given the task by Geppetto to open his bedroom window for him, much to the kitten's annoyance. After Geppetto wishes upon the wishing star, Figaro sleeps alongside Geppetto, who has finally fell asleep.
When the Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, however, Figaro is not too shocked to see a living puppet and quickly takes a liking to the living Pinocchio. When Pinocchio doesn't return home on the night of his first day going to school, Figaro, Geppetto, and the goldfish Cleo leave their home to search for the wooden boy.
Figaro and the others are later eaten by a large whale named Monstro. Pinocchio, also swallowed by the whale, finds them and creates a plan to escape by making a fire. The plan succeeds but not without a deadly chase that ends with Pinocchio giving his life to save Geppetto. At home, Geppetto, Figaro, and the others mourn Pinocchio's death, when the Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio back to life as a real boy. The family, including Figaro, rejoice and celebrate the miraculous event.
Figaro and Cleo[]
Figaro and Cleo played a role in the short under the care of a woman by the name of Aunt Delilah (Mammy Two Shoes). Here, Figaro tries various methods of trying to get Cleo for his supper, only to be stopped by Delilah each time.
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas[]
In this film, Figaro belongs to Minnie Mouse and helps Minnie hide her bills from Mickey. That Christmas night, he and Pluto are each given gifts. After the excitement, they take a nap.
Mickey Mouse Works[]
Figaro is a recurring character in this series, starring yet again as Minnie's pet cat. Despite being a recurring character, most of his roles in the series are minor.
House of Mouse[]
Figaro in House of Mouse.
Figaro makes regular guest appearances, sometimes as Minnie's pet and usually as Geppetto's pet.
In Pluto Saves the Day, Figaro taunted Pluto who chased him and ended up scaring away both Figaro and O'Malley and the Alley Cats, who were going to be the club's guest band. He was later shown to be annoyed at the fact that Pluto's all-dog singing group performed instead of O'Malley and the Alley Cats.
In the episode Pluto vs. Figaro, the rivalry between Figaro and Pluto from the classic cartoon returns and the two constantly argue, leaving Minnie frustrated. Figaro merely wants to help, but Pluto is conflicted about what he should handle the kitten as his Angel and Devil argue.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse[]
Figaro plays a supporting role in the computer-animated series and is in most ways different from his original personality. Here, Figaro is a lot more well-behaved and not as selfish. Figaro was also featured in the spin-off series, Mickey Mousekersize.
Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures[]
Figaro made his debut in the episode "Ready, Get Pet... Go Pluto!", where he joined Minnie in the episode's pet-themed race. Figaro played a central role in the following episode "Figaro's New Friend!", where he must come to terms with having Pluto as a house guest after Minnie and Daisy were tasked with dog-sitting while Mickey works.
Pinocchio (2022)[]
Figaro appears in the 2022 reimagining of the original animated film.
Figaro is seen relaxing peacefully while his owner Geppetto is working on a little wooden puppet. Geppetto asks him to know if he likes it to which he meows in disappointment, which Geppetto thinks he might like him. Feeling satisfied of his puppet, Geppetto dances with his puppet after turning on a music box which he introduces Pinocchio to Figaro which he runs away in fear, much to Geppetto telling him to try interacting with him to which Geppetto realizes that it is almost bedtime which Figaro goes to his own bed just before Geppetto goes to bed. After the Blue Fairy grants Geppetto's wish on Pinocchio, Geppetto wakes up and reacts to the wish she has granted onto his puppet, asking Figaro to know if he saw something which Figaro denies. Later when Geppetto realizes that Pinocchio is alive just as the two of them dance together, Figaro then dances with the two while Jiminy narrates of how Pinocchio became part of Geppetto's family.
Later one rainy night when Geppetto could not find any sign of Pinocchio, Figaro pops out of Geppetto's raincoat where he tells his pet cat to know where Pinocchio could be which Figaro could not find a sign of Pinocchio. After Geppetto sold his clocks to buy a boat to look for Pinocchio, Figaro remains with Geppetto alongside his pet goldfish Cleo who remains in her fishbowl just as Pinocchio attempts to reunite with him only for Figaro, Cleo, and Geppetto to be swallowed by Monstro, alongside Pinocchio. Pinocchio suddenly reunites with Figaro ended up surviving with his owner alongside Geppetto and his pet goldfish Cleo.
After Monstro sneezes very loudly due to the fire caused by Pinocchio and Geppetto, Figaro manages to get out of Monstro, along with Pinocchio, Geppetto, Cleo, and Jiminy, although Geppetto's boat got smashed in half. Figaro, Jiminy, Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Cleo escape from Monstro, who chases them across the ocean seeing a cove from a distance in a plan to escape from Monstro. Pinocchio escapes with them, causing Monstro to slam his head onto a wall. Having escaped Monstro, Figaro manages to survive alongside Cleo just as Pinocchio mourns his father believing he is dead, alongside Figaro and Cleo who also mourn him; as Pinocchio sadly sings "When You Wish Upon a Star", a magical tear from Pinocchio drops onto Geppetto, just as he is brought back to life.
After Geppetto is brought back to life, Pinocchio happily notices his father back to life, alongside Figaro and Cleo who happily see their owner back to life. Geppetto then takes Pinocchio (who suddenly transforms into a real boy) back home, alongside Figaro and Cleo just as Jiminy narrates of how Pinocchio became a real boy for proving himself brave, truthful, and unselfish.
Other appearances[]
Figaro makes a small cameo appearance in Alice in Wonderland as a caterpillar being annoyed by a dogerpillar resembling Pluto. Co-incidentally, early designs for Dinah were lifted directly from a Figaro model sheet from Pinocchio.
Figaro is a minor character in Minnie's Bow-Toons, acting as Minnie's close companion and confidant. He usually spends most of his time sleeping in Minnie's shop while she works.
Disney Parks[]
Figaro in Fantasy Faire at Disneyland.
Figaro can found all over the Disney theme parks. In the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant, he appears in various murals that retell the story of Pinocchio as narrative illustrations. He also can be seen serving as the namesake of Figaro Fries and appearing over the exits. A design flaw led to the exit signs wasn't being properly centered at Disneyland and Walt Disney World's versions of the restaurant, so Figaro is shown pulling the sign on a rope to fix things. At Disneyland Paris, the problem was corrected and Figaro is shown leaning on the exit sign giving a thumb's up gesture.
Disneyland Resort[]
In California, Figaro can be found in Pinocchio's Daring Journey. At Fantasy Faire, Figaro can be seen sleeping in a window of one of the buildings. He is occasionally awoken by a caged bird that chirps familiar Disney songs. He also appears in the queue for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, on various posters that parody old Disney movies.
Tokyo Disney Resort[]
His namesake is used in a shop as well called Figaro's Clothiers located in the Mediterranean Harbor at Tokyo DisneySea. A Figaro figure can also be seen within the Minnie's Style Studio meet and greet attraction in Toontown at Tokyo Disneyland. Also, as in California, Figaro can also be found in Pinocchio's Daring Journey.
Filmography[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Figaro is unique as the very first character that originated from a Disney Animated Canon feature film (in this case, Pinocchio) to be reintegrated as a recurring character in the Mickey Mouse and Friends universe.
- Other Disney Animated Canon characters that received this similar distinction include José Carioca from Saludos Amigos, Panchito Pistoles and the Aracuan Bird from The Three Caballeros, and Willie the Giant from Fun and Fancy Free.
- Although unnamed, Geppetto did have a pet cat that made a brief appearance in the original book. When Pinocchio burned his feet off because he was sleeping too close to the stove, he tries to blame it on the cat, claiming it ate his feet off. This scene doesn't exist in the 1940 film.
- In a recently uncovered storyboard, an enormous version of Figaro was originally going to portray the pet of Willie the Giant in the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun and Fancy Free, back when it was still being called "The Legend of Happy Valley".[1]
- Concept art for the film Zootopia shows that Figaro's likeness was once intended to appear in the scrapped Wild Times amusement park owned by Nick Wilde.[2]
- While Figaro does not appear in the Kingdom Hearts series proper, Aqua can wear a pair of cat ears named after Figaro in the Birth by Sleep: 2.8 Prologue game. Figaro, though, appears in the manga based on the first title.
- According to a sheet in which there was a placement chart for the toons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Figaro can be spotted showing that he was planned to appear in the movie but was cut.
- In the Mickey Mouse short "Gasp!", there is an unnamed cat that resembles him but bigger, thinner, and far meaner and more feral in personality.
References[]
External links[]
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