My first approach to Pinocchio came through a storybook that my mother gave me one December, I was 9 years old and already knew how to read and write. The illustrations were very beautiful and the story emphasized that children should behave well with adults, otherwise they would receive their punishment.
The following year on television in my country Venezuela, more specifically on Radio Caracas Television, an animated series was premiered which I am still confused if it is Chinese, Korean or Japanese, anyway, the fact is that in that series Pinocchio's bad behavior affected everyone around him, he was selfish and in almost every episode his creator Geppeto was crying, otherwise he crushes Jiminy Cricket who becomes his conscience.
Watching many episodes of this series traumatized me and I moved as far away as I could from the Disney version, which I saw years later and it really wasn't as sinister as the TV series, although it was a bit gloomy, although Pinocchio is mischievous, he drinks beer and in a very terrifying scene he becomes a donkey. I have not seen the Roberto Benigni version.
Earlier this year I found out that Disney was going to release on its Disney+ platform a new version of Pinocchio but this time it was going to be in Live Action and would star Tom Hanks being directed by Robert Zemeckis capable of directing classics like the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabitt, Forrest Gump, Contac and Cast Away, and bent on directing very uneven animations like Beowulf, The Polar Express, and A Christmas Carol .
Tom Hanks does what he can in his role as Geppeto, I am not xenophobic but of course the blue fairy is not as I was used to see in other versions, however I consider that Cintia Erivo does a very worthy job and an excellent version of When You Wish Upon a Star. But this film lacks soul and emotion, although visually it is very striking it is an unoriginal film, where what I liked the most were Geppetto's watches that represent well-known figures of the Disney universe, the original film of 1940 and in cartoons, is far superior.
With great fear, even knowing that one of the directors of the film is Guillermo del Toro, I set out to see his version of the story and I find a Stop Motion adaptation loaded with a lot of sensitivity. The film is co-directed by Mark Gustafson.
Pinocchio misbehaves and denounces the harmfulness of discrimination based on the way you look; moving the story to the time of Mussolini and fascism included.
The film has effective musical scenes and exquisite animation frame by frame, in a story that maintains the aura of a fairy tale.
Gepetto (played by David Bradley), wants to recover his son Carlo who died a collateral victim of the First World War and therefore in a desperate action he makes Pinocchio in a night when he is drunk giving shape to a wooden doll that, through the magic of the Spirit of the Forest comes to life.
In this film Pinocchio (who is played by Gregory Mann), has to deal with the shadow of Carlo, and also face a fascist system in Italy. What matters here is what Pinocchio can be used for, what he will become and how the different can be used in favor of the system. We no longer see only a boy who is tempted by a series of events towards evil as in the other film versions.
Pinocchio is curious and inclined to break the rules, he has his own mind and submits to no one. He feels human even though he is not made of flesh and blood, Pinocchio here presents a very interesting characteristic every time he dies he goes to the pulgatory and resurrects.
The doll here lives a story in which he wonders when it is right to rebel, and what freedom is for.
These dense themes are presented as a fable in the narration by the voice of Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Grillo, however he is always about to die, resulting in the comic break of the film.
We will see fighting fascist military, sea monsters and exploitative circus performers, but it is also possible to feel a very deep relationship between Geppetto and Pinocchio, it is easy to perceive that at the heart of the film is the idea of love and reunion.
Geppetto shows resentment and sadness after the loss of his son Carlo (Gregory Mann). On the other hand, Del Toro presents Sebastian J. Grillo as a flawed character, egocentric and self-confident due to his great knowledge and experience.
Here Figaro the cat, Cleo the fish, the evil Strómboli and Polilla, Pinocchio's companion who becomes a donkey, disappear. The new characters are Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz), the real villain of the film. He is the one who tricks Pinocchio into joining the puppet circus, along with a horrible monkey named Spazzatura (Cate Blanchet) who pulls the puppets' strings and then helps Pinocchio escape by becoming his ally and friend.
National Socialism in Mussolini's Italy and obedience/disobedience are represented by the characters of Podesta a government official of the fascist regime (Ron Perlman) and Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard) with a very tense and complex father-son relationship that represents the search for perfection in the imperfections of the children.
The film questions the rejection of Pinocchio and whether or not faith makes sense, which is represented in the Priest (Burn Gorman).
The Spirit of the Forest and Death (both characters voiced by Tilda Swinton, teach Pinocchio the value of life and the importance of death.
At the time the film is set obedience was the best virtue of society before fascist leaders but Del Toro manages to make us understand that in these situations it is not disloyal to disobey what is bad, which is possible to see when Pinocchio engages in a conversation with Geppetto about the war, and with Candlewick about fear and cowardice.
The film has a very bittersweet ending, of saviors and saved, where we finally see a very disparate family and Pinocchio learning to live to the fullest.
There is an implicit message in this work which is that the only true and valid rebellion is the one done for the loved ones, that loving is a revolutionary act.
This film should win the Oscar as the best animated film of the year, as it makes us reflect on what is life and death, religion, politics, acceptance of what is different.
A round of applause is deserved for the screenwriting by Del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Patrick McHale, and Gris Grimly.
I was honestly shocked by the character design of Spazzura, the Spirit of the Forest and Death, they scared me at first but as the film progresses the viewer empathizes with them. It is a must see film and an instant cult classic, do yourself a favor, see it and enjoy it. There is no point of comparison with Zemeckis' far inferior version, Guillermo Del Toro elevates Stop Motion to the level of a work of art. I'll say goodbye until next time, thanks for your attention. Greetings to all.
Source of the first Image Source