Tweet
There wasn't a hew and cry asking for yet another version of Carlo Collodi's classic tale, but Guillermo del Toro, Co-Director Mark Gustafsonand their team have added quite enough to make it interesting. The screenplay (by Del Toro in collaboration with Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins) is still set in Italy, but during WWII under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. There are several other changes, some to accommodate the setting and time period, while others come from this being a passion project for Del Toro.
Del Toro has long been known to be fascinated by objects d'art and other baubles and bits (one could probably watch his remake of NIGHTMARE ALLEY twenty times and still discover new curiosities in the background each and every time). Working with the Jim Henson Company and artist Gris Grimly, the design for Pinocchio is well imagined. The character really seems to be made out of common wood (or as Geppetto calls it: “Good Italian pine!”) rather than being overly anthropomorphized to look like a little boy. The other figures are also done with flair.
Planting the story during wartime in the 1940s doesn't always work, and it tends to pad out some sections of the movie. The voice work by David Bradley as Geppetto and Ewan McGregor as the Cricket are fine, but, occasionally, Gregory Mann's Pinocchio is anachronistic, too much resembling a modern boy. The vocal cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman and John Turturro (it's convenient to have a good address book). It's not a true musical, but there are some okay tunes written by del Toro and lyricist Roeben Katz; Alexander Desplat provides the music including the background score.
Give del Toro credit - he hasn't 'Disney-fied' his Pinocchio. It deals with mortality and what it means to be truly alive. It doesn't speak down to the youngest children. The bookends are truly impactful. As with all del Toro films, PINOCCHIO is visually appealing. The combinations adds up to a very satisfying production.
Del Toro has long been known to be fascinated by objects d'art and other baubles and bits (one could probably watch his remake of NIGHTMARE ALLEY twenty times and still discover new curiosities in the background each and every time). Working with the Jim Henson Company and artist Gris Grimly, the design for Pinocchio is well imagined. The character really seems to be made out of common wood (or as Geppetto calls it: “Good Italian pine!”) rather than being overly anthropomorphized to look like a little boy. The other figures are also done with flair.
Planting the story during wartime in the 1940s doesn't always work, and it tends to pad out some sections of the movie. The voice work by David Bradley as Geppetto and Ewan McGregor as the Cricket are fine, but, occasionally, Gregory Mann's Pinocchio is anachronistic, too much resembling a modern boy. The vocal cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman and John Turturro (it's convenient to have a good address book). It's not a true musical, but there are some okay tunes written by del Toro and lyricist Roeben Katz; Alexander Desplat provides the music including the background score.
Give del Toro credit - he hasn't 'Disney-fied' his Pinocchio. It deals with mortality and what it means to be truly alive. It doesn't speak down to the youngest children. The bookends are truly impactful. As with all del Toro films, PINOCCHIO is visually appealing. The combinations adds up to a very satisfying production.