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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

8.1

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

PG·2022·117m

Summary

During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.

Crew

Director

Mark Gustafson

Director, Screenplay, Screenstory

Guillermo del Toro

Book

Carlo Collodi

Head of Story

Vera Brosgol

Screenplay

Patrick McHale

Screenstory

Matthew Robbins

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

December 3, 2022

7

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" is born. Curious, mischievous, rebellious - you just know that the youngster is going to be an handful for his father and his friend the cricket. His skills at dancing draw the attention of circus master "Volpe" and soon the lad is caught in an intricate trap that causes him and his "papa" no end of trauma. This iteration blends the magical and mystical with the political and brutal in a cleverly constructed fashion. The original story of humanity is front and centre, but the failings of, and challenges to, that humanity are also presented to us as we see the best and worst of human nature displayed. It's a love story, and one of the best, and in the hands of a man who knows how to mix the dark and the light - contextually and visually - so well, we are offered an engaging and thought-provoking version of this far darker and interesting fairy tale. A big screen must, if you can - the artistry is intricate and the Desplat score compliments that well, too.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$35,000,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

based on novel or book
italy
fascism
greed
woodcutter
musical
puppet
benito mussolini
stop motion
dark fantasy
duringcreditsstinger
1940s
wooden dummy
live action remake
pinocchio