Stromboli is the name given to the fierce puppet-master who is the minor villain in Disney's animated adaptation of the fairytale Pinocchio. At first Stromboli portrayed himself as a large but fairly friendly man who wished for Pinocchio to perform in his show, which Pinocchio did with glee (in his famous "I have no strings" melody).
However, after the show had finished, Stromboli showed his true nature when Pinocchio wished to return home to Geppetto. Stromboli declared Pinocchio was "home" and threw him into a cage, threatening to chop the puppet into firewood should he try and escape.
Pinocchio was freed from the cage by the Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket but is scolded for lying to the Blue Fairy and ignoring Jiminy Cricket's advice. Stromboli is not heard of again following this encounter and is presumably still performing his stage shows, minus his former star attraction. He does have a bit of a temper, and often loses it. He tends to say bad words in Italian when he does lose his temper.
Geppetto
In the live-action semi-remake, Geppetto, Stromboli is the main villain, played by Brett Spiner (Data on Star Trek: the Next Generation). Here, he is depicted as an arrogant, greedy, stupid, clumsy, dishonest, selfish coward, and bully who constantly argues with his ventriloquist dummy.
Trivia
- Despite his limited screen time, Stromboli is one of Disney's most infamous and acclaimed villains
- Stromboli is very similar to fellow Disney Villain Mother Gothel. Both have locked up the main protagonists of their respective films for their own selfish interests, and when the protagonists (Pinocchio for Stromboli, Rapunzel for Gothel) protest, they yell and shout at them. Their names also originate from European countries (Gothel is German, and Stromboli is Italian).
- He is unique among Disney Villains, as he has no evil hencmen to do his evil bidding.
- In some pages of a comic book named Disney Classic Cartoon Tales, which holds The Lion King, Pinocchio, and Bambi, his name is sometimes misspelled as Stomboli
Stromboli gets mad over a fake coin. (a worthless metal ring)