Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Using stop-motion animation, Guillermo Del Toro entwines history with dark fantasy to revamp Carlo Collodi’s overdone classic into a cinematic wonder.

Del Toro’s version starts off on a tragic note after a craftsman, Gepetto, in fascist Italy loses his son. Gepetto loses his son, Carlo in an air raid at the end of the first world war. His sadness and grief drive him to drunkenly create a puppet to fill the void left by Carlo. Occult forces bring to life the wooden boy and bestow him the name: Pinocchio.

Gris Grimly’s design from his 2002 edition of Collodi’s book influences the style of the textured, dynamic puppets with personalities carved into every crack and groove. Gepetto wears his grief on the tiredness around his eyes. The Wood Sprite that brings the gangly titular character to life is not a fairy like in other retellings but a mythical creature with vibrant blue coloring. Sebastian J. Cricket presents a regal manner in his dark blue appearance to match an inflated ego penning his own memoir. In this story, Sebastian plays narrative along with being a conscience to the naive wooden boy.

The story shares familiar plot points with other retellings from Pinocchio being ushered into the carnival to Gepetto’s rescue mission resulting in being eaten by a giant sea monster. Del toro mashes together the characters of Mangiafuoco, the Fox, and the Cat into Count Volpo the scheming carnival showman. Volpo is further elevated by Cristoph Waltz’s voice acting that seamlessly switches between malice and charisma. Del Toro’s version swaps the Pleasure Island sequence for a young fascist camp. It is not a story for children only with an antifascist message underlying the main plot.

At the core, the film is a story about grief and love in father-son relationships. Unlike other versions, Guillermo wants his version to highlight how his main character shouldn’t have to change himself for others but teach others to change themselves in a world of fascism. Be disobedient in a world full of order.

Overall this film is absolutely stunning and worth the wait with its puppets and beautiful symphonies that won’t leave a dry eye in its conclusion.