The plot of the film follows Buratino (Italian for "puppet"), a boy made of wood, who meets the children of Karabas Barabas' theatre and sets out to free them.
An old carpenter named Giuseppe, nicknamed “Blue Nose” as the neighborhood drunk, finds a log he intends to use for a table leg.
Frightened, Giuseppe, after a brief quarrel and quick reconciliation, decides to give the talking log to his neighbor and friend, Carlo, a street organist whose instrument has broken down.
Carlo intervenes in time to rescue Buratino, who, after receiving the primer, promises to improve his behavior and attend school.
Soon, they arrive at the "Three Minnows" tavern, where Buratino orders three crusts of bread, while Alice and Basilio consume the rest of the food.
Buratino is rescued by Malvina, a girl with blue hair who escaped from Karabas-Barabas and lives in the forest with her poodle servant, Artemon.
Marionette characters, including Doctor Owl, Nurse Frog, and Healer Praying Mantis, debate his condition, ultimately prescribing castor oil.
Buratino eventually escapes the closet, guided by a bat, and reunites with Alice and Basilio at the Field of Wonders—a garbage dump in town—where he buries the gold coins, waiting for a "money tree" to sprout.
At the "Three Minnows" tavern, Buratino tricks Karabas-Barabas by tying his beard to a table, hiding in a jug, and discovering that the Golden Key opens a secret door behind the painted hearth in Carlo's room.
In the forest, Buratino and friends face their pursuers, narrowly escaping thanks to the timely arrival of Carlo and Giuseppe.
They step through, finding themselves in a crystal cave that leads to a theater stage, where they sing a final song and head to a magical land, as the curtain closes.
Music for the film was composed by Alexey Rybnikov and the lyricists included Bulat Okudzhava, and Yuri Entin.
There was an early interest by the director Nechayev to work with Yuli Kim (then writing under the last name Mikhailov) as a songwriter.
[3] A number of musical children's films followed, by the makers of The Adventures of Buratino, including About the Little Red Riding Hood (Про Красную Шапочку) in 1977.