200 Words with Paul Dini #52 – No Harm, No Foulfellow

(From time to time here at 200 WORDS I will post interviews with some of the diverse characters from the world of animation. Today’s guest is the foxy felon from Disney’s Pinocchio, Mr. J. Worthington Foulfellow.)

PD: Welcome, Mr. Foulfellow.

JWF: Call me Honest John.

PD: Of course. The recent DVD rerelease of Pinocchio has generated much media attention, including the surprise announcement of your multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company. Would you care to explain?

JWF: Certainly. For nearly 70 years, my partner Gideon and I have been cast in a negative light as the alleged villains of the film. We’re suing to clear our good names.

PD: Wait, you are the villains of the film.

JWF: Rubbish and slander! Highly litigious, sirrah!

PD: But you sold Pinocchio into slavery twice, singing and laughing while doing it.

JWF: Validation of our innocence! Jiminy Cricket only talked about the dangers of temptation whereas we exposed the boy to it first hand. Seen from that perspective, our roles as bastions of morality far outshone that annoying insect. We didn’t even get badges.

PD: Terrible. It’s been decades since Pinocchio‘s premiere. I assume you and Gideon are still working?

JWF: We have, of late, become very active in the financial world, serving as consultants for such esteemed firms as Madoff Securities, General Motors and AIG.

PD: It seems there’s an Honest John everywhere now.

JWF: Indeed.

Paul Dini is the Emmy and Eisner Award winning writer of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Detective Comics, Countdown among many, many other things. You can find him online at either kingofbreakfast.livejournal.com or http://www.jinglebelle.com/.