“Pinocchio” (also known as
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”) was a passion project for the director. He
had wanted to make the film for decades as he was a huge fan of the novel The
Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. The novel was published in 1883
and set in 1880s Italy. Del Toro decided to move his story to WWII Italy. He
wanted his version to be darker than Disney’s. He was influenced by
“Frankenstein”. He wanted one theme to be generational differences between a
father and his son. He also wanted the film to be about compassion. Pinocchio
is not only a liar, but he is meant to be a typical boy lacking self-control.
He contrasts with the puppet-like behavior of the children in fascist Italy. The
twin journeys of the father and son find Pinocchio becoming more human and
Geppetto becoming more loving. He based his character designs on artist Gris
Grimly’s illustrations for the 2002 edition of the novel. He changed many of
the characters. Spazzatura the monkey replaces the Cat. Count Volpe
(Christopher Waltz) is a composite of the Fox, Mangiafuoco, and the Ringmaster.
The Coachman becomes the Podesta (Ron Perlman). And del Toro adds Mussolini
(Tom Kenny) as the figurehead of fascism.
Del Toro decided to go with stop motion animation. It
became the longest stop motion film ever made. The film was announced in 2008
and later Del Toro predicted a release in 2013, Unfortunately, he had trouble
finding a studio that would finance a big budget adaptation of a classic
animated film. Finally, Netflix decided to bankroll the film. It was a good
decision because although the production cost $35 million, it made $110
million. Del Toro assembled an all-star line-up of vocal actors including Ewan
McGregor, Ron Perlman, Christopher Waltz, and Tilda Swinson. Cate Blanchett
begged to be on the project, but the only role left was the monkey Spazzatura.
She jumped at it. For Pinocchio, del Toro chose Gregory Mann because he had a
normal child’s voice, not an animated character voice. The film was critically
acclaimed and won best animated movie awards from the Academy Awards, BAFTA,
Golden Globes, and Screen Actor’s Guild.
Twenty years after the end of WWI, Geppetto (David Bradley)
lives in an idyllic village in Italy. He lost his son in the war and a treacly
song over a montage of their lives together makes it clear his best days are
over. One night while drunk, he carves a boy out of a tree that grew on his
sons grave. A wood sprite brings the puppet to life and assigns a cricket (Ewan
McGregor) to guide Pinocchio. He narrates the film. It won’t be easy as
Pinocchio has the self-control of a toddler. Geppetto can’t handle him so like
parents over the centuries, he sends him to school to have the teachers parent
him. In a movie full of villains, the town has an evil priest, the local
fascist leader, and his bully son. Before he can attend school, he is connived
into joining the circus by Count Volpe (Christophe Waltz) and his nefarious
monkey (Blanchett). When Geppetto comes to recover his lying son, an
altercation results in the death of the puppet. This is when he finds out he
cannot die for good. He is revived after a certain amount of time, each time.
In one of those lives, he is a propaganda tool for the government until an
ill-fated run-in with Il Duce himself. He then ends up in boot camp because
what could be better than a soldier who can’t be killed. But everyone else in
this movie can be and most are. This movie has a stunningly high death count
among its main characters. But don’t worry, Del Toro made a gritty, harsh
Pinocchio, but he did not have the guts to forego a happy ending.
“Pinocchio” is barely a war movie. It is set in WWI and the
war comes to the town by way of the air, but Pinocchio does not get into
combat. Oddly, it is not hard on fascism and Mussolini is only lightly
lampooned. You may want to explain to your children who that war criminal is.
And why he is the least villainous of the villains. The number of villains
stands out, but they are mostly stereotypes. The movie also has several
cliches, including redemption arcs for two main characters. And there is the “you’re
a burden” scene that you see in dysfunctional father-son movies. The animation
is awesome. However, the songs are underwhelming. The movie is a feast for the
eyes, but not for the ears.
In conclusion, “Pinocchio” is overrated, especially as a
war movie. It certainly is a different take on the classic and for that reason
it is worth the watch. And the talent that went into it is very apparent. I
feel it is a bit harsh for younger children, so you may want to wait a few
years before letting them watch it. And make sure you are viewing it with them.
GRADE = B
