Guillermo del Toro appropriate Pinocchio, the story, and made it his own. East Pinocchio of stop motion animation is an aware puppet, curious rather than spiteful, who causes trouble wherever he goes, and that the action has moved to Italy in the first half of the 19th century, including fascism and Duce Mussolini.
More? War breaks out and Pinocchio calls the Duce in another way, but this too goes unnoticed due to the innocence of the character. But del Toro’s vision is sublimely sad, dark enough to mislead parents, and what about the little ones, who won’t know whether to enjoy or worry when they empathize with the wooden doll with a nose so long it dies no less than three times and it is reborn again and again.
But let’s analyze Pinocchio from the form or from its realization. Del Toro in his first animated feature counted as co-director with Mark Gustafson (animation director of The fantastic Mr. Fox) and already from the colors of the woods, of the landscapes imbued with strong colors, it marks a distinction.
The plot, well, the plot is unique too, which is why del Toro takes Carlo Collodi’s story from 1883 and unpacks it at will.
Deaths, losses and depression
Geppetto suffers not only the loss of his wife, but also that of his son, in a way that is overwhelming. Plunged into depression and alcoholism, Pinocchio’s creation will be an escape, a quest to put his soul back together.
But for this, Pinocchio must have a soul. At least, we already knew that he had an ad hoc conscience, with Jiminy Cricket, who here has his story, his antecedents with Geppetto and is, as well as a moral prompter and Pinocchio’s keeper, a writer. It is he who narrates the film.
And the film follows, in part, the way we know him, there is no shortage of school, a visit to the belly of a whale that looks more like a sea monster, and the unscrupulous who want to take advantage of Pinocchio’s innocence.
But the character who causes, we would not say fear, but concern, is Spazzatura, the little monkey who is Count Volpe’s henchman.
The voice cast is amazing. Ewan McGregor (Jimmy Cricket), Cate Blanchett (Trash), David Bradley, who was Argus Filch in the saga of Harry Potter, voices Geppetto, as well as Christoph Waltz, Ron Perlman, John Turturro and Tilda Swinton. The young Gregory Mann brings some candor to Pinocchio’s voice (but only when necessary).
Sadness, rather than melancholy, tinges the entire development of the film, which features some humorous moments -the best lines are delivered by Jiminy Cricket, even if Pinocchio himself has his own-. It’s not that there is no hope, but the optimism or delusion is somewhat uncertain or opaque.
The end of the film is terrible, before the end credits. The film is certainly musical, but after throwing us into that depressing epilogue, del Toro chooses to have us walk out of the theater (or off our living room sofa following its Netflix premiere on Dec. 9) humming a song.
What was said: Pinocchio he is a Guillermo del Toro in his purest form.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Very good
Animation/drama. USA, 2022. Original title: “Pinocchio”. 117′, SA 13. Of: Guillermo del Toro. With the voices of: Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett. Available in: Netflix, after going through the theaters.
Source: Clarin
