Steven Spielberg was able to reference Disney’s Pinocchio in his film A.I. Artificial Intelligence because the story of Pinocchio is in the public domain. The original Pinocchio story, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was written by Carlo Collodi in 1883. Since it was published over a century ago, it is no longer protected by copyright, which means filmmakers like Spielberg can use its elements freely.
However, Spielberg didn’t directly reference Disney’s specific version of Pinocchio. Instead, he drew from the classic tale of a wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy, paralleling the journey of A.I.’s robot boy, David, who longs to be human. By using the original story’s themes, Spielberg could craft David’s quest while avoiding any legal issues with Disney’s animated version.
In short, while the Pinocchio story is public domain, Spielberg’s references in A.I. focus more on the general themes of the classic tale rather than Disney’s specific portrayal.
