Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
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Like every work bearing Guillermo del Toro's name, this film draws the viewer out of the ordinary; scraping the glittering surface of the fairy-tale world and revealing the raw, heavy reality beneath. This story, steeped in the longing of a wooden doll to become a real child, takes on a much darker and more human form here. The stifling atmosphere of Mussolini's Italy forms the framework of the film. In a society growing up under the shadow of fascism, the meaning of obedience, submission, and being a "good boy" is being questioned. Pinocchio's wooden structure is no longer just a magical motif; it is a metaphor for the conflict of the free spirit with strict order, of individuality with blind harmony. The elongated nose that appears when one lies is almost secondary here, because the real issue is based on a much deeper search. The visual world brought to life through the stop-motion technique offers an experience in itself. This aesthetic, which we can call manual labor, the light of the eye, is felt in every frame; it is possible to see a handprint in the small tremors on the characters' faces, in the texture of the environment, at the angles where the light falls. This method enhances the film's emotional warmth while preserving its fairy-tale-like tension. The bright, relaxing world expected from animations for children is consciously removed; instead, a universe that is both magical and bitter is being created. The voice cast also provides a strong backbone to carry this world. When Ewan McGregor's warm but slightly melancholy voice, David Bradley's Decrepitude carrying the burden of years and young Gregory Mann's naturalness come together, the characters really feel like they're breathing. Musicals often serve a cathartic function; however, even the songs here are used to intensify emotional pressure. This delicate balance between joy and sorrow is one of the film's greatest masterpieces. As a result, this work turns into a journey that starts with a child's attempt to win his father's love and deepens with heavy themes such as death, loss, war and the cost of free will. Being able to make a familiar tale so alienating at the same time makes it so universal.
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CinemaSerf
December 03, 2022
7/10
Set against the rise of Mussolini, this adaptation of the Collodi story draws parallels with the adventures of the eponymous puppet and the fascist's coming to power in Italy. The stop-motion animation is vibrant and simply gorgeous as the old carpenter "Geppetto" lives happily with his young son "Carlo" until the war intervenes and he is robbed of his very essence. It is whilst in the depths of his despair that he decides to carve a puppet, and imbued with life by a forest sprite - "Pinocchio" ...
Manuel São Bento
December 07, 2022
8/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-spoiler-free-review "Pinocchio retells the famous tale of the wooden puppet through visually lovely stop-motion animation, featuring several bold narrative changes that make this remake more human, emotional, and thematically profound than so many other adaptations. Unforgettable dialogues about loss, love, and being the best version of ourselves elevate an adventure of self-discovery. The voic...
Chris Sawin
December 14, 2022
8/10
Guillermo del Toro has crafted a darker yet equally emotional version of _Pinocchio_. It is exquisitely and intricately animated with rich textures, gorgeous lighting, and mostly welcome character reinventions. The transition to Fascist Italy fits del Toro’s vision well, but the changes remove and alter enjoyable story elements that are surely missed. _Pinocchio_ is absolutely a contender for this year’s best-animated film, but it is a film that I hoped to adore and yet only deeply appreciate. ...
Dark Jedi
December 21, 2022
7/10
I didn’t even know that Guillermo del Toro had made an adaptation of Pinocchio until my daughter and oldest son told me they wanted to watch it during our traditional movie evening yesterday. Wow, that was a different take on Pinocchio indeed. Pinocchio, the original, is not surprisingly, one of the movies I watched as a kid and which is quite dear to me. A movie from the time when the name Disney actually meant something and when they made actual family movies instead of woke crud for the sm...
r96sk
January 02, 2023
7/10
It's good, even if I wouldn't say it's anything better or worse than its Disney animated counterpart - at least it is a marked improvement on that aforementioned company's remake, mind. The big win of <em>'Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio'</em> is the stop-motion animation, which is extremely nice indeed. As for everything else? Nothing leaps out of my mind if I'm honest, even within 30mins of watching it. I personally found the design of the titular character to be 'just' OK, same goes for Seb...
badelf
April 10, 2023
7/10
I'm not sure why everyone compares this to Disney's version. They both stole the main characters from Carlo Collodi's 19th century book. My father used to read it to me. Sure, Guillermo took a much bigger artistic license than Disney. So what? What modern director even attempted to be completely faithful to a book except Peter Jackson? That said, there quite a few logic holes in Guillermo del Toro's version that took me right out of suspended disbelief. Takes it out of Oscar territory for me,...
Crazypiglady
June 02, 2023
6/10
More true to the original vibe of the story than the Disney version but the parallels of the Italian fascists could have had more of an impact. The family tragedy did have an impact though which was very moving. The idea of 'Love will give you life' is great but as we all know, isn't true which hindered any inspiration. It would be great if there were good and (fairly) evil spirits (and if there were I'd like mine played by Tilda Swinton please) but there aren't - that shouldn't take away from t...
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Frequently Asked Questions
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio was released in 2022.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio has a runtime of 1 hr 57 min (117 minutes).
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio belongs to the following genres: Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio has a rating of 8.0/10 from 3,350 votes on TMDB.
In the United States, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is available to watch on: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.