History Characters / GuillermoDelTorosPinocchio

[[folder:"Il Duce" Mussolini]]

* AbusiveParents: He is a chauvinistic, fanatical fascist who is molding his son to be like him. His abuse becomes more apparent when he demands his son shoots Pinocchio and violently throws him into a trench.

* IgnoredEpiphany: [[https://imgur.com/a/khrzkw4 It goes by quickly but his expression briefly falters when Candlewick confronts him over his terrible parenting]]. Unfortunately, Candlewick showing he's outgrown the Fascist mindset causes the Podestà to double down on his philosophy and [[IHaveNoSon subsequently completely disown Candlewick]].

** Pinocchio assumes for a moment that the situation with Podestà and his son is something similar to the situation he is going through with Geppetto, and theorizes that deep down Podestà loves his son. Turns out to be completely wrong.

* GreaterScopeVillain: He's the leader of Fascist Italy, but he only appears in one scene in the middle of the movie where Pinocchio and Spazzatura sing [[TheVillainSucksSong a mocking song]] about him. His visage, however, is shown painted on town walls after the prologue, indicating that Fascism is in full power and he is the driving force of it.

-->'''Count Volpe:''' I think you misunderstand our relationship, my little fire hazard... ''[Unsheathes his SwordCane]'' [[EvilPuppeteer I am the puppeteer, you are the puppet! I am the master, you are the slave!]] And you will do as I command until your wooden body rots '''and I use you to warm my FURANCE!''' ''[Chops off the tip of Pinocchio's nose]'' You may have no '''strings''', but I control you. '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis You... Obey... ME!]]''' Capische?

* RichesToRags: His backstory is that he was a wealthy nobleman, but his failing circus nearly drove him to poverty. He hopes that his fortune returns by exploiting Pinocchio. Unfortunately, this only drove him to hit rock bottom after losing his circus to Mussolini's regime thanks to Pinocchio's mocking performance about Mussolini.

* WouldHurtAChild: By the end of the movie he has no qualms about killing Pinocchio by burning him alive in revenge for costing him his career.

* HeelFaceTurn: He starts out as Volpe's loyal henchman, but changes once he is shown compassion by Pinocchio and forms a bond with him, making him reluctant to go along with Volpe's plan of burning Pinocchio to death. He eventually turns on him once and for all and knocks him off a cliff (Spazzatura survives, the Count doesn't).

* RedemptionEqualsLife: Saves Pinocchio from being burnt by Volpe. While Volpe splats on the rocks, Spazzatura survives and works with Pinocchio. [[spoiler: Even though he eventually passes away of old age in the ending, he at least got a gentle, happy death]].

* DomesticAbuse: Not explicity, but he is heavily implied to be an emotionally cold and distant husband to his wife. Even back during his days as a blacksmith, he doesn't seem particularly affectionate to his wife. When he decides to take Candlewick to the Fascist youth training camp, his wife's tears suggest that she doesn't wish to see their son in danger, but the Podestà doesn't even comfort her or reassure her that their son's gonna be fine under his supervision.

* {{Hypocrite}}: He claims that every soldier of the Fascist army and any true men must learn to die for their country, something that he repeatedly insists to Pinocchio, Candlewick and the other trainees under his care. However, when he gets tangled up in a rope ladder and thus is unable to escape from the bomb that claims his life, the Podestà [[FaceDeathWithDignity doesn't give up]] and [[DirtyCoward struggles to escape from the ropes]].

[[caption-width-right:350:"These-a puppets I do not like. Shoot him!"]]

* RichesToRags: His backstory is that he was a wealthy nobleman, but his failing circus drove him to poverty. He hopes that his fortune returns by exploiting Pinocchio.

* WouldHurtAChild: By the end of the movie he has no qualms about killing Pinocchio by burning him alive.

* ImpoverishedPatrician: Descended from aristocracy, he now lives in a circus trailer. He even sings a song about how his people were "kings once".

* CharacterDevelopment: While never overtly mean, Sebastian starts out as a grumpy and self-interested author who mostly wants to be famous and when told that if he properly guides Pinocchio he will get any wish he wants he thinks of using it to ensure his works are published. However, on his time of partly guiding Pinocchio so he can get his reward he grows to care for the little puppet and his father, Gepetto, and spends the rest of the film working hard to keep him on the right path. Near the end, [[spoiler:he ends up using his wish to bring a dead Pinocchio back to life.]]

-->'''Count Volpe:''' I think you misunderstand our relationship, my little fire hazard... ''[Unsheathes his SwordCane]'' [[EvilPuppeteer I am the puppeteer, you are the puppet! I am the master, you are the slave!]] And you will do as I command until your wooden body rots and I use you to warm my furnace! ''[Chops off the tip of Pinocchio's nose]'' You may have no strings, but I control you. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You... Obey...]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Me!]]'' Capische?

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMJWgLq8jMo The soundtrack version of ''Everything Is New to Me'']] has him sounding nicer and more patient with Pinocchio, in constrast to the movie version where he's acting afraid of him.

** Pinocchio assumes for a moment that the situation with Podest&agrave and his son is something similar to the situation he is going through with Geppetto, and theorizes that deep down Podest&agrave loves his son. Turns out to be completely wrong.

* MeaningfulName: Was apparently named because his father thought he was "thin, weak, and flimsy, just like the wick of a candle." [[spoiler:It's actually a subversion, because he's brave and strong enough to tell off his father despite his desperate need for ethe man's approval.]]

* UncertainDoom: His ultimate fate is unknown after the assault on the youth training camp. Even though he managed to escape alive from the bombing that killed his father, he is most likely to perish from the subsequent explosions caused by the Allied bombs, though there's a slight possibility of him realizing that his fellow trainees would not succeed at shooting down the Allies and instead [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere escape back home while they could]].

* UncertainDoom: His ultimate fate is unknown after the assault on the youth training camp. Most likely he perished from the subsequent explosions caused by the Allied bombs, though there's a slight possibility of him realizing that his fellow trainees would not succeed at shooting down the Allies and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere escaped back home while he could]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: He seems horrified by running over Pinocchio, but then chastises Geppetto for not keeping the boy in line, making it clear that he was concerned about his own pride rather than how he killed a child.

%%[[caption-width-right:350:]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Enough! This is a house of God, you drunken fool!]]

An exuberant and rowdy living wooden puppet and the main protagonist. He's brought to life by the Wood Sprite.

* AbusiveParents: The Podest&agrave is not a good father to him '''at all'''.