Pinocchio's Gospel Symbolism

Do you know how many gospel parallels there are in Pinocchio? A Lot! We got Hunter Pinocchio for his birthday and he's watched it every day since then - he loves it! And after watching / hearing it all these times, I've noticed a lot of gospel symbolism. It's like a mini lesson on the Plan of Salvation (not that I'm recommending it be used for a Sunday School lesson).

First off, and the most obvious, is Jiminey Cricket who plays Pinocchio's conscience aka the Light of Christ. And what are Jiminey Cricket's initials? J.C.!

Then there's Pinocchio who comes to life with the potential to go from being a puppet to a real boy. Just like the potential that we all have to one day be perfected and exalted.

Pinocchio heads off to school, aka our earthly, mortal existence. Here he's tempted by Honest John, aka Satan, to stray from the path that he's supposed to take. He runs into all kinds of trouble as he makes bad choices.

Pinocchio and Jiminey Cricket even receive "revelation" from the "Holy Ghost" as a dove descends and give them a note telling them where they can find Geppetto. They couldn't have found his father any other way.

As Pinocchio saves his father from Monstro the whale, he does everything he can in order to make better all of the mistakes he's made. Because of this, he's able to be forgiven of his sins an able to become a real boy after all. He's brought back to life, resurrected, and is a real boy, exalted.

There are dozens of other little things scattered throughout the movie that have nuggets of gospel truth to them. Pretty cool huh?! Next time you watch it, keep and eye out for all of these fun parallels. I love finding gospel principles in every day experiences.