Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

It’s yet another version of that classic folk tale: the old carpenter makes a wooden puppet, enchanted by a blue fairy to come to life and to grow a longer nose upon telling any lies. What sets Guillermo del Toro’s version of the very same story apart is the charm, wit, humor, and emotion he brings to astonishing stop motion animation. The amount of detail and expression that can be seen on each character’s face. The casting is absolutely perfect; Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Cricket (an aspiring author), David Bradley as a cranky Master Geppetto, and Gregory Mann as a chirpy, cheerful, ingenue Pinocchio tell a beautifully moving tale.

         This story truly has something to offer. It’s not just the story of Pinocchio – it’s the characters of the childhood classic together who have a new story to tell. Sebastian J. Cricket narrates the whole piece. He begins by introducing it, not as a fairy tale, nor as an adventure about a family and a terrible whale, but as just a story – one about “imperfect fathers and imperfect sons.” That’s what makes the story moving.

Real families are imperfect. Real families must work hard to be happy. Real families endure loss, and miscommunication. Real families are sometimes put in difficult situations, when fathers might think desperately about a way out of the situation and sons might act rashly to try to save them both. It’s heartwarming to see each of the characters find family, and ultimately, happiness. The story is enchanting because there is reality in it, which is what touches the viewer.

         The characters are clever imaginations of the original story. Lampwick has become Candlewick, the pretty blue fairy becomes a kind of slightly scary wood sprite combination of many different animals, and the wicked, distracting fox becomes a brutal, horrendous showman named Count “Volpe”. Vulpine, of course, being an adjective for foxlike.

Volpe’s sidekick who eventually sees the light is a mangy rangy monkey named Spazzatura, played astonishingly by Cate Blanchett.

It’s set in fascist Italy, and the town Podesta’s struggle for the homeland blinds him to the struggles of his son Candlewick. The time period is brilliantly recreated. The beauty of Italy and the majesty of the landscape does not blind the viewer to the pervasive horrors of Mussolini’s regime. Boys like Candlewick are forced to go to war, and courage develops a new meaning.

The church plays an important role, representing faith and blind devotion. Another heart wrenching scene occurs when the townspeople scream and flee from Pinocchio, who wonders why they hate him when they love Jesus, who in the church is also carved of wood. That’s not to say you won’t laugh. Sebastian J. Cricket provides constant comic relief. Pinocchio is pretty kooky at times, and his song upon meeting Geppetto is a riot. The music is lilting and beautiful. Geppetto sings a song: “My son, my son…” that brings tears to one’s eyes.

It might be yet another Pinocchio, but it’s a brand new one all the same. Definitely give it a watch. 🪵