Figaro was Walt Disney's favorite character in "Pinocchio" from 1940. Disney pushed for the kitten to appear in the film as much as possible. After the film, Disney swapped Minnie Mouse's pekingese Fifi with Figaro, starting with the cartoon "First Aiders (1944)." Figaro also got his own series of "Figaro" cartoons beginning with "Figaro and Cleo (1943)." He would have four cartoons of his own, two appearances in the "Pluto" cartoon series, and also appear in the promotional animated wartime short "All Together (1942)," for a total of seven cartoon appearances. This, plus the one feature film "Pinocchio," makes eight appearances of Figaro overall.

Working models for all of Geppetto's cuckoo clocks were built as guides for the animators.

Originally budgeted at $500,000, the development of the film caused it to go way over budget (as had Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)), and ultimately cost $2.5 million, one of the most expensive films produced at the time.

Evelyn Venable, who was the physical model and voice of the Blue Fairy, was the model for the original Columbia Studios logo.

The task of creating Jiminy Cricket was given to legendary Disney animator Ward Kimball, his first assignment as an animation director. He originally designed the character to look more like a real cricket, but Walt Disney found the result "too gross" and demanded he be made cute. Kimball ultimately removed all the insect-like features and turned Jiminy into a little green man with an oversized head, wearing a gentlemanly outfit the animator "borrowed" from the logo of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky. Disney was pleased, even though the character no longer resembled a bug (per common Disney practice, he rather resembles his voice actor, Cliff Edwards, although perhaps it's the other way around). In later years Kimball expressed unhappiness with the compromises in Jiminy's design, saying, "The audience accepts him as a cricket because the other characters say he is."

Continuity

When Pinocchio plays with the candle he burns his left hand, but Geppetto puts Pinocchio's right hand into the water.

When trying to free Pinocchio from Stromboli's cage, Jiminy Cricket takes his jacket and hat off and puts them on the padlock. In a later scene, they are no longer there.

When Jiminy Cricket is flung from the lock hole by a loose spring, he is wearing his coat and hat even though he had taken them off before he went inside to work on it. When he lands they are off again.

Geppetto changes appearance several times between shots when he first meets the live Pinocchio, who proceeds to set one of his fingers on fire, and his night cap disappears and reappears.

The holes in Honest John's and Gideon's gloves switch between their left and right sides throughout the movie. In one of these scenes, however, the hole is not in a pinky - it is in the left-hand thumb instead. In another shot, the fur color of John's pinky finger under the missing glove material is white instead of matching the color of his fur.



Factual errors

When Jiminy inspects his image reflected in a copper pot, it is reflected as magnified. Images reflected off convex surfaces are reduced in size.

If whales can sneeze, Monstro should be sneezing through his blow-hole, not his non-existent front nostrils.

Among the balls seen on the pool table are two sky blue ones but in reality there's no sky blue balls in a game of pool. In reality only one shade of blue is used in pool which is either dark blue or royal blue unlike this movie as a pair of dark blue balls are also seen with the sky blue ones.

Monstro is shown sleeping on the ocean floor. Whales and other cetaceans only sleep near the surface.



Incorrectly regarded as goofs

On some establishing shots of Pleasure Island, the horses on the merry-go-round change color. The color changes are in a pattern suggesting the horses are lighted which is congruent with the rest of the merry-go-round.

While Pinocchio is at Stromboli's caravan, Geppetto goes to look for him, leaving Figaro and Cleo behind. Much later, Pinocchio and Jiminy read a note on Geppetto's whereabouts, immediately introducing Monstro, and the scene where Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo all appear on a boat inside the monster's stomach. Obviously, Geppetto went back for the animals and got access to a boat, as he likely believed Pinocchio was still out there and he wanted to extend and expand his search. Obviously, he knew the animals wouldn't survive while he was gone, especially if he couldn't find anyone to care for them, and he would have had to take his pets with him.

Pinocchio sings that he's got no strings to hold him down. Although strings hold a puppet up (not down), the song was simply trying to get a point across that Pinocchio was free from the control of strings.



Revealing mistakes

When Honest John and Gideon are taking Pinocchio to Stromboli, there is an above shot of them walking through the street, around a tree, and to the end of the street. Throughout this entire shot, the upper portion of Pinocchio is not colored in and appears brown, as if he lost his color.

When Pinocchio becomes entangled with the Russian dancer marionettes, two extra marionettes suddenly appear.

If you look very closely where Lampwick looks at his refection in the billiard's mirror when his transformation has begun, you will notice that Lampwick's refection has gray hair while the Lampwick outside the mirror has black hair.

When Jiminy flings Pinocchio's cigar out of his mouth, the 8 on the 8-ball is crooked.

When Geppetto and Pinocchio are going to bed and Gepetto puts out the candle, it goes out before he has put the cap on it.



Anachronisms

Pinocchio and Lampwick are seen hanging out by playing eight-ball pool together but eight-ball pool didn't exist until about after 1900 and this film is presumably set in the 19th century.

The film is presumably set in the 19th century. However, Pleasure Island is decorated with neon lights and other highly advanced mechanics that were fairly recent inventions in 1940.



Audio/visual unsynchronized

When Pinocchio is surrounded by sea horses, Jiminy Cricket rides up to him on another sea horse. After it neighs, Jiminy Cricket says, "Steady there, Nelly!" in a regular voice, suddenly his speaking voice switches back to the processing that created the under-the-water sound that was used previously.

During the "Hi Diddle Dee Dee" sequence, there is a long overhead shot of Pinocchio, Honest John and Gideon. Though Honest John is singing in the entire shot, his mouth is never seen moving at all.



Plot holes

Pinocchio's first lie, about the "two big monsters with big green eyes" that he met on the way to school, technically wasn't a lie. Honest John and Gideon are an oddly tall, upright-walking, clothed fox and cat (respectively) with humanistic qualities. Their appearance could be considered monstrous, and their evil intentions certainly would. As befitting of Pinocchio's description, they also do have "big green eyes."

For some reason Pinocchio, Jimimy and Lampwick don't notice the other boys becoming donkeys. Given there were hundreds of boys on the island the trio should have spotted several of the boys becoming donkeys at least. Plus Pinocchio and Lampwick are the last ones standing turning to donkeys especially Lampwick.

When Monstro swallows the fish, this is great news for Geppetto and Figaro. But it is never explained whether Cleo would also eat the fish, or alternatively whether there would be some other source of food for her.



Character error

Lampwick is seen using his slingshot three times, but if you look carefully there are no stones being fired.

Jiminy Cricket describes his badge as "solid gold" but it is clearly labeled "18K". Solid gold is 24K.