Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022
***½
Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Cast: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton
Stricken by grief, woodcarver Geppetto cuts down a pine tree and carves a wooden puppet name Pinocchio, who is brought to life by a wood sprite. Carlo Collodi's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted to the screen dozens of times since it was published in 1883. This version is dark and not meant for small children like Disney's 1940 animation. Guillermo del Toro's stop motion animation sets the book's events in Fascist Italy, which means that it offers a mix of fascism and fairy tale elements, like Pan's Labyrinth. The film is a bit heavy-going in the first half, as the wide-eyed Pinocchio is susceptible to everyone's influence. It doesn't help that Alexandre Desplat's songs are bland and forgettable. However, the story does build to a moving and multi-layered portrayal of the bond between a parent and child. The film's rough visual look was inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations in the book's 2002 edition. An Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature.
