He is the theatre director and puppet-master of the Great Marionette Theatre, portrayed as gruff and imposing, but capable of showing kindness and easily moved to compassion, which he expresses by sneezing: after initially wanting Pinocchio to be burned as firewood for ruining one of his puppet shows, he eventually sets him free and gives him five gold coins to give to his father Geppetto.

His mouth was as wide as an oven, his eyes were like two red tinted lanterns with the light turned on at the back, and with his hands, he sported a large whip made of snakes and fox tails knotted together.Though imposing, Mangiafuoco is portrayed as easily moved to compassion, which he expresses by sneezing.

It's implied that he reacted to Pinocchio's absence in a typical emotional outburst and desperation upon discovering he has lost his "gold mine" too late.

[5] Art critic Pierre Lambert has stated that "Tytla's innate sense of force is revealed in all its magnitude in the creation of the character of Stromboli,"[6] and animation historian Charles Solomon refers to the puppet master as "the grandest of all Disney heavies," while John Canemaker describes Stromboli as "an overweight monster of mercurial moods, capable of wine-soaked, garlic-breathed Old World charm one second, and knife-wielding, chop-you-up-for-firewood threats the next.

"[7] William Paul drew some parallelism:It is not too difficult to regard Stromboli as burlesque of a Hollywood studio boss, complete with foreign accent.

[8]During the premiere of Pinocchio, Frank Thomas sat in front of W.C. Fields, who, upon Stromboli's entrance, muttered to whoever was with him that the puppet master "moves too much."

"[9] Leonard Maltin disagrees, considering Pinocchio's encounter with the showman to be the wooden boy's "first taste of the seamy side of life... (Stromboli) tosses his hatchet into the remnants of another ragged marionette, now a pile of splinters and sawdust, a meekly smiling face the only reminder of its former 'life'.