Relating Disney to Religion

Religion Project One
Pinocchio is Disney Animated film that was made in around 1940. This story is about a marionettes quest to becoming a real boy. Pinocchio’s Creator was Geppetto, a carpenter, who fell in love with the outcome of his work and wished upon a star that this marionette he created would become alive. The Blue Fairy is the one responsible for making Geppetto’s wish come true. She gave life to Pinocchio but not as a real boy, instead he was just a living marionette who had to prove he was worthy of becoming a real boy by being brave, truthful, and unselfish. Jiminy Cricket is a representation of Pinocchio’s conscience during his quest to becoming a real boy. Throughout Pinocchio’s journey there are many examples that can be seen as an Initiation.
All initiations follow the same basic pattern. They are brought about through a change or development of the self, in this case it would be proving that Pinocchio was good enough to become a real boy. His journey starts once he is given the gift of life and free will by the blue fairy. Its is here where he must learn to be the right person, but like anyone else he must first make mistakes in order to learn from them. One day as he is on his way to school he is approached by Foulfellow the fox and Gideon the cat he is convinced by them to go work for easy money, he is sold to Stromboli the puppeteer show promoter, he is kept there as a slave until one day he is able to escape with the aid of the Blue Fairy. Soon after that Pinocchio is again confronted by Foulfellow the fox, who is able to convince him to go to Pleasure Island a place with no school or laws. Kids can eat, drink, smoke, fight and destroy what they wish, all under the vigilant eye of The Coachman. What Pinocchio doesn’t know is that the more reckless the kids are at Pleasure Island the better because the main purpose of this island is to turn reckless youth into donkeys which will later be exploited by the Coachman to work in a mine. Pinocchio begins to turn into a donkey, he grows ears and a tail, he begins to realize what is happening and regains his consciousness and is able to escape. Once, he is able to get back home, he finds out that his creator Geppetto has been swallowed by a whale.
It is at this moment that Pinocchio begins the three stages of Initiation he leaves behind his bad-mannered lifestyle and goes on a unselfish quest to save his father. Separation from his old ways starts when he bravely jumps in the ocean and looks for Mondo the whale and attempts to get swallowed by it so that he could get reunited with his Creator in order to save him. He finally finds the whale and is able to get reunited with Geppetto. Pinocchio develops an escape plan by burning wood in order to make Monstro sneeze. The plan works, Pinocchio grabs a hold of Geppeto and swims as fast as he can but Monstro goes after them and causes them to crash into land. I believe this part where Pinocchio is trying to save his father is an example of liminality because he is unsure of what is to come. He is in limbo as to what will happen next.
As soon as Geppetto regains consciousness he realizes that Pinocchio is laying lifeless face down in a puddle. They take his wooden remains home and mourn his death, but the Blue Fairy decides that Pinocchio has proven himself unselfish and thus fulfills her promise to turn him into a real boy, bringing him back to life. This is what I believe is the last step of initiation, reaggregation, Pinocchio has created a new self and has a new identity. This is now the identity that he has, and the old identity has been destroyed, and he is ready to reincorporate himself back into society as this new person. No matter what, he can never go back to the "old" identity or the old self.