The new stop-motion film comes from Guillermo del Toro (Picture: Netflix)
Carlo Coloddi’s tale of Pinocchio – the wooden puppet brought to life who dreams of becoming a real boy – has proved to be fertile ground for filmmakers since its publication nearly 140 years ago.
Guillermo del Toro – the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind The Shape Of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth – is the latest to provide his take on the tale, coming only a short while after Disney delivered a live-action remake of their animated classic. For del Toro, his Pinocchio has been a passion project first announced back in 2008, with his stop-motion take languishing in development hell ever since.
But, with his co-director Mark Gustafson, his puppet finally found a home with The Jim Henson Company and Netflix.
It had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival – but after all that time and with many Pinocchio adaptations to compare it to, has del Toro’s take been worth the wait?
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The short answer? Yes. This is an adaptation that thrives on the craft of its animators, particularly when it comes to its character designs and imagery.
Everything feels as though it has been – rather aptly – carved from wood, while the reframing of such known characters as the Blue Fairy as a wood sprite (voiced by Tilda Swinton) wouldn’t be out of place in del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth.
Overall, this slightly darker approach to the story of Pinocchio is what makes it stand out from more recent recreations.
Having a filmmaker like del Toro attached certainly does carry with it a certain level of expectation, as he is a filmmaker who has never been afraid of crafting strange, weird, and beguiling creatures and monsters in his movies.
The same soul and empathy he often provides to his big-screen monsters are present here, as he grounds the tale in themes of loss and grief amid the backdrop of 1930s fascist Italy.
Pinocchio’s creation itself, which sees a grief-stricken Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) carve and hammer away in a drunken fury on a stormy night wouldn’t be out of place in a Frankenstein film.
The film had its world premiere at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI)
It makes you wonder if this take on Pinocchio might be a little too dark for younger audiences, with much of the film’s complex historical backdrop bound to go over younger viewers’ heads.
Its story is where most of the problems with this Pinocchio lie. At nearly two hours, it struggles to keep you captivated with an episodic narrative that struggles to build momentum as it aims to pack in lots of characters and detail.
As a musical as well, it’s a little uninspired. Only a couple of numbers leave much of an impression, with the film seemingly giving up on the musical sequences come the final third.
What is undeniable however is the heart and soul that has gone into making this Pinocchio come to life from both its animators and voice cast. The film is often at its strongest when leaning into its more abstract imagery, and in Gregory Mann’s performance, this Pinocchio proves to be rambunctious and endearing.
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A film that also features a spirited Ewan McGregor as a cricket and Cate Blanchett as a circus monkey is clearly not without its charms.
Driven by its more mature approach and dazzling animation, del Toro’s Pinocchio is very close to making a claim as the definitive take on the story – but sadly loses itself a little on the way.
An undeniably beautiful piece of stop-motion craft with a big heart and plenty to admire.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is released on December 9 on Netflix.
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The Oscar winner brings the classic story to life.