Monstro
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
Origin: Pinocchio (1940)
Ah, Monstro! What a wonderful, weird and wacky world - that's because it's inside the belly of a giant space whale of course, and its spongy, squishy surfaces don't go amiss with even Sora and friends who have already seen a variety of strange things on their travels! Of course, Goofy, being the big old softie he is, wants to take a nap but a voice tells the gang that's not a good idea since they're inside a giant whale - a voice which is owned by none other than Jiminy's good friend, the naughty wooden puppet Pinocchio! It turns out that Pinocchio and his father Geppetto (in other words, his creator) are trapped inside Monstro. Wanting to see his friend again, Jiminy asks after the old man and Pinocchio guides the group of friends to him.
The old clockmaker, who has made a little home for himself aboard a destroyed ship located in Monstro's mouth, is happy to see Jiminy, who is actually rather surprised at how Geppetto and his faux son came to end up in the belly of a whale. It turns out that after Pinocchio went missing, Geppetto became frantic and sailed out to look for him, but was actually swallowed by Monstro - fortunately, so was Pinocchio. Even though the two of them are in a sticky situation (quite literally!), caring Geppetto is glad to have found his only son, and after a little reflection on their special relationship, the gang realises that Pinocchio seems to have wondered off somewhere, which is a trait of the puppet's due to his curious nature. But this time, Geppetto's a little worried since he says that Pinocchio won't tell him what is so important that keeps demanding his attention, so Sora and friends go in search of him.
The group finds Pinocchio in the stomach of Monstro, where after a stern scolding he innocently claims he is only looking for treasure - but of course, he's lying, as the gang finds out by his lie-proof nose. Goofy, concerned for others by nature, finally gets the real reason out of Pinocchio, which is quite heartfelt in nature; Pinocchio is simply looking for a way out of the whale since he feels personally responsible since he ran away and feels that he must rectify his mistake so he and his father can return to their little workshop back home. After a little coaxing from the others, Pinocchio is persuaded to tell his father the real reason behind his disappearances in the hopes that his father will help him find a way out with the aid of Sora and co. Now that the issue is seemingly resolved, the group plans to head back to Geppetto, but of course, trouble is never far behind, and a giant Heartless drops from the air and swallows poor Pinocchio up!
The giant Heartless is none other than the Parasite Cage defeated in Sora's past travels, but this time there's a bit of a difference in that the panels upon which Sora stands sink into the sticky, harmful acid of the stomach. However, Sora triumphs once again but this time it isn't the Keyblade wielder that saves Pinocchio, but the puppet himself! He does so by kicking and punching his way out of the monster, which gives Sora and friends an idea - maybe they can get Monstro to spit them out if they fight against the beast's insides hard enough. Pinocchio thinks this is a great idea; Jiminy does not as he thinks it's too dangerous. The little cricket tells Pinocchio to return to Geppetto's side since it is better for them to stay together, and Pinocchio follows his friend's orders while the party goes deeper into the whale to put their plan into action.
Sora and his friends find their way to Monstro's throat where they are about to shake things up, and luckily, a bunch of feisty Shadow Heartless turns up to cause trouble. Though there are many of these sneaky little monsters, there are enough to give Monstro a sneezing fit after the abuse to his organs. After the Heartless are done and dusted, Monstro seemingly can't take much more, and begins to splutter and sure enough, Sora and co. are dumped at the back of Monstro's throat where it's plain to see that Geppetto and Pinocchio's absence means they've finally found a way out. Though Jiminy fears for their safety since the journey back to their home in Traverse Town will be dangerous, he knows that both of them will be just fine, and will be waiting for him like real friends do. On this happy note, the gang leaves to continue with their journey.
In Reverse/Rebirth , Riku lands in one of Monstro's many chambers and as is habit, sweeps through dozens of Heartless on his way through the belly of the giant whale. When Riku gets to Monstro's stomach, he encounters the giant Parasite Cage Heartless among the whale's stomach acid, but he expertly fends off the creature and puts it to bed. After this fight, Riku leaves Monstro.
