Beautifully animated and deeply profound, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio puts all other iterations of this classic tale to shame.
Overall Score: 9/10
Image: Netflix
“Another Pinocchio? Seriously?” Upon first learning of the existence of this film, that was my reaction. In other words, I wasn’t exactly the most enthusiastic about it. Why? While I’ve never actually read the book (and don’t plan on doing so), I strongly dislike both Disney’s classic animated adaptation and its recent live-action remake. That’s not to say, however, that I don’t appreciate the themes that are present in these two iterations. After all, understanding the importance of possessing and upholding qualities like bravery, unselfishness, and honesty is a vital lesson that everyone must learn and remember. But even then, I’ve honestly always felt — and this is merely my opinion — that Pinocchio, as a story, isn’t all that compelling and that it doesn’t have much to offer in terms of value to general audiences. That is, at least, until now. You see, a certain filmmaker named Guillermo del Toro has come along and proven me utterly wrong. So, Disney, be prepared to take lots of notes from here on out.
What sets Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio apart? What makes it so special? For starters, the movie completely reimagines the setting in which the story takes place. Everything now unfolds against the backdrop of Fascist Italy, grounding everything in the grimness of war and oppression, and allowing del Toro to explore deeper themes like loss and grief. But don’t be mistaken. All of this doesn’t mean that the fantastical elements of Pinocchio are lost. In fact, the fantasy part of the story is still very much intact, but a lot of things are quite different from the Disney version and more in line with del Toro’s grounded and realistic approach. The Blue Fairy, for example, is split into two separate entities: the personifications of “life” and “death.” And through his interactions with both of these beings, Pinocchio eventually comes to understand the meaning of life and the significance of death. These are complex concepts that aren’t particularly easy to tackle and present to viewers, but I think that del Toro does an excellent job of effectively accomplishing this without having to be heavy-handed.
Also, quite interestingly, the movie largely ditches Pinocchio’s overarching journey into becoming a “real boy.” Well, not entirely, of course. Instead, del Toro, through dealing with themes like acceptance and unconditional love, suggests that despite being made of wood and not of flesh and blood (like other “normal” children), Pinocchio always has been and always will be “real.” And to further emphasize this point, the film states that it’s what’s on the inside that matters and not what’s on the outside, and it reminds us that a person should be loved for who they are and not treated as or compared to something which they are not.
Aside from this, del Toro also finds ways to explore a couple of more intimate things like fatherhood and the often complicated but loving relationships we share with our parents. Starting with the former, there are several different father figures featured in the movie, but all of them share a common purpose: they’re there for del Toro to delve into what it means to be a father. As for the latter, del Toro utilizes confrontational scenes between Pinocchio and Geppetto to show us that although parent-child relationships can often be full of ups and downs, it’s important to remember that, at the end of the day, both parties still deeply love one another.
Ok, I think that I’ve talked enough about themes now, but as you can see, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is extremely compelling and thematically rich. Yet, the full extent of its greatness doesn’t just end there. Other than already being a masterpiece in terms of storytelling, the film itself is also a big achievement when it comes to artistic craft. First of all, I’m honestly quite amazed by the fact that the entire production (save for the visual effects, of course) was done through stop-motion animation. All of the different on-screen elements are so carefully, intricately, and beautifully animated to the point where it’s easy to forget that you’re watching a stop-motion animated movie. Secondly, the film boasts a huge number of stunning and well-crafted set pieces, all of which instantly stand out and are more than likely to remain etched in your mind afterwards.
Oh, and did I mention what a stellar cast this movie has? Talented actors like Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton all lend their voices and perfectly bring to life their respective characters. What amazes me the most, however, is the fact that Cate Blanchett plays Spazzatura (Count Volpe's right-hand monkey). Why is this a big deal? That’s because Blanchett’s character has no “human” dialogue whatsoever, leaving her with the task of merely having to mimic monkey sounds — which she ends up doing so impressively. Hey, if del Toro can get an actress like Blanchett to voice a non-anthropomorphic animal and only have her produce said creature’s natural sounds, then I think that he deserves a lot of respect and a massive round of applause for being able to pull off such a feat.
Look, I may not be the biggest fan of Pinocchio, but I’d be lying if I said that del Toro’s take on the story hasn’t completely won me over. It’s beautiful, deeply profound, and thought-provoking. In fact, I think that it puts every other adaptation to shame and I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of the best films of the year. And while I know that it’s probably much too early to say for sure which movie is winning Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, I can say with absolute certainty that Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is going to give the likes of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Turning Red a run for their money.
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