Discover The Real story of Pinocchio in the audiobook Pinocchio: The Original, narrated by Steven Ritz-Barr
Hello again, dear audiobooks friends! Today’s spotlight article is dedicated to Pinocchio: The Original by Steven Ritz-Barr. This is a brand new audiobook released on Audible quite recently and will tell you the original story of our favorite wooden marionette who also wanted to become a real boy.
For those who are not familiar, Carlo Collodi wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883 in Florence, Italy, and Steven Ritz-Barr wrote this annotated version from Collodi’s original in 2022, adding some illustrations of contemporary Pinocchios and some historical photos.
His decision to present a new version primarily with the old story stems from current new appropriated versions coming out in films this year both from the Walt Disney Company and from Netflix.
The audiobook has a runtime of a little over five hours and it is expertly narrated by the same talented Steven Ritz-Barr.
Let’s check out the Publisher’s Summary and after that I will tell you more about Steven and about his publishing company, Classics in Miniature.
“Pinocchio, the Original,” is “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi from 1883, with updated comments by Steven Ritz-Barr—a professional Puppeteer for over 4 decades in Paris, Los Angeles and Berlin. It is a darker, more profound version than the popular Pinocchio by Disney, who made the story world-famous with the 1940 animated film. It is filled with absurd puppet-humor and abstract slap-stick—and it is the real version.
It is not politically correct (the policemen are all corrupt) and very likely will not be available in Florida or Texas (USA) schools.
It is a coming of age story of a wooden puppet who was promised that he could become a real boy, if he could only behave well—go to school and study hard. He constantly is harassed by two charming con men, Fox and Cat, who attempt to steal his gold coins many times. Over and over, he gets redeemed by a Blue Fairy, who substitutes as his sister, then as his mother. Along the way he is thrown in jail, unjustly, by a Judge who is a Gorilla. He gets caught in a fox-trap while picking berries and is forced to spend a night as a guard dog, and he is saved because of his loud bark. He is almost hung to death, but is saved because he is indeed a marionette made from wood, which cannot really die, (because he is not really alive).
Later, one of his classmates lures him away from his goal to finish school and he goes to a place of pure “fun,” where he can play all day and never go to school. But soon, he and his friend are turned into donkeys and sold on the market as beasts of burden. The donkey, Pinocchio, lands in a circus, but while jumping through a hoop he injures his leg and is sold for his hide for 4 cents. It is then he dives into the sea to save himself and discovers a huge terrible “shark”—the exact one that has swallowed his father, Geppetto. Through his cunning and caring he finds a way out and saves himself and Geppetto, and finally this absurdly dark, yet humorous tale ends.
Steven Ritz-Barr is a Narrator, Storyteller, and Voice Actor, plus a SAG-AFTRA member since 1990. I leave him to introduce himself:
I began narrating and producing audiobooks full-time in 2019, after 4 decades as a professional puppeteer in the film (Batman Returns, Men in Black, Alien 4), television, and theater worlds in Paris and Los Angeles.
My journey to audiobook narration is a personal one.
I witnessed my father’s dozen years of macular degeneration each day when I was a young teen. A non-reader his entire life, the Blind Association sent him cassette audio books and a tape recorder. Watching the joy he experienced everyday because of Audiobook listening was palpable. It transformed his life in tangible ways regarding empathy, and tolerance of others. With this in mind, in the early 2000s I narrated Textbooks for the Blind and Dyslexic as a volunteer, and listened to many audiobooks.
Steven Ritz-Barr is a Fluent French speaker and has a basic understanding of German and Spanish.
Classics in Miniature was established as a film production company and has released several award-winning marionette films since the early 2000s. Since its inception, the company has been tasked with bringing history and certain works of classic literature to life.
Beginning in 2019, the company has branched out to literature, publishing audiobooks in both the fiction and non-fiction genres, including the YA saga Merlin’s Rings: The Young Crusaders and the textbook To Embody the Marvelous by Dr. Esther Fernandez (with Vanderbilt University Press), about the history of puppetry arts in Spain.
I will return very soon with a full review for this classic tail, but until then, take care, stay safe and don’t forget, always listen with your heart!
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I also post reviews or articles at the author, narrator, or publisher’s request, so, if you are in need of assistance in finding the perfect narrator for your book or just want to have a review on my blog, do get in touch.
Victor Dima
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