Rob, who passes the time in his rural Florida community by wood carving, is drawn by his spunky but angry friend Sistine into a plan to free a caged tiger.

Pino and his father, Gepetto, face grave danger when they are forced to go on the run after villagers learn that a puppet made by Pino to represent Gepetto's dead wife can move as Pino, himself, did before becoming a real boy.