There have been three adaptations of the classic Pinocchio tale to be released just this year. Two of them are repentantly terrible stains on the legacy of this story. However, Guillermo del Toro decided to come on board, pimp slap Disney’s CEO, and say “Chumps, I’m gonna show you how the big dogs play.” Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio on Netflix is easily my favorite rendition of this story. It stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton and others.
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There’s a high level of emotional weight integrated into the characters, making them feel organic to the surreal world del Toro has created. Even with the fantasy elements common with the source material, there are a lot of grounded and mature themes present. The characters are presented with heavily relatable personalities and internal burdens for the audience to empathize with. Being set in war-torn Italy during Mussolini’s regime adds a darker undertone to the film, yet it is still able to encapsulate a broad audience with its tone.
Pinocchio’s story is one that reverberates throughout popular culture, but del Toro’s approach to this story is distinguished significantly. Where del Toro truly succeeds is with the animation. The best animated films of the year (Mad God and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) have utilized stop motion animation as their trademark style, and this film follows with the same amount of expertise. Seeing the design and articulation of Pinocchio’s wooden frame with so much precision shows immense determination from the art department to evoke life into this fantastical world.
My few grievances are with some of the musical sequences, particularly the verses written for the voice actors. I also felt like some key characters were sidelined for critical segments of the story. With the excessive delineations of the Pinocchio on Netflix story, Guillermo del Toro’s proves to be the best. It’s a cleverly told tale of the values of honesty at an existential perspective. Defining your own purpose in life is essential yet discovering that purpose requires trust in your loved ones and your own moral conscience.
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