Though Pinocchio<\/em> is set in Fascist Italy to The Devil\u2019s Backbone<\/em>\u2019s Civil War-era Spain, Pinocchio<\/em> begins almost identically to del Toro\u2019s 2001 movie: we see bombs dropping from planes flying above, and a child dies in both film\u2019s early scenes. In Pinocchio<\/em>, the death of young Carlo (a character added to this version of Carlo Collodi\u2019s story) sends his woodcarver father, Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley), into a bottle. In a drunken rage, Geppetto chops down a pine tree at his son\u2019s grave, unknowingly jostling Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor), an insect and aspiring writer who has made his home in its trunk. Fuelled by grief, Geppetto carves the wood into a marionette that looks like a boy and promptly passes out. A wood sprite (Tilda Swinton) brings the puppet to life, much to the surprise of a hungover Geppetto when he meets Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) the next morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some elements from Disney\u2019s beloved 1940 animated film remain: a cricket serving as Pinocchio\u2019s conscience, a puppet show with Pinocchio as its star, a wooden nose that grows with each lie, and a giant sea creature who swallows these characters whole into its cavernous belly. Yet Pinocchio<\/em> is another beast entirely, and not just because del Toro has swapped out Geppetto\u2019s cat Figaro and fish Cleo for a mischievous monkey named Spazzatura (Italian for \u201cgarbage,\u201d and whose grunts and squeaks are voiced by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett). In spirit, del Toro\u2019s movie bears more resemblance to its stop-motion brethren like The Nightmare Before Christmas<\/em> and Laika\u2019s Coraline<\/em> and ParaNorman<\/em> than a Disney film or even what we expect of a Pinocchio<\/em> adaptation. This is dark and strange stuff; it doesn\u2019t file down the sharper edges of the source material, and it even adds a few of its own. The cruel words said from some on-screen parents to their children may be just as frightening to young viewers as some of the PG-rated violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pinocchio <\/em>is also surprisingly frank about death for a kids movie, with a bittersweet ending that feels fresh for the genre. In addition to the transformative power of love, the film centers on the preciousness of life \u2014 with the acknowledgment that it wouldn\u2019t matter as much if death weren\u2019t an inevitability. Despite beginning with the tragedy of a child\u2019s death, it doesn\u2019t treat dying as a purely bad thing, so much as it is simply a part of existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The visuals and the weird world created by del Toro and co. are the film\u2019s undeniable strengths. With its pedigree, you expect creative creature design and grotesquerie \u2014 and you get it. Each scene is rich with detail and texture, with a tactile quality that is difficult to replicate with more standard kinds of animation. It\u2019s a gorgeous thing to watch, even when it\u2019s gross. Given that it\u2019s coming from the mind of del Toro, you know it\u2019s going to be both (and often in equal measure). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Somehow del Toro has taken this familiar story and made it something new, both in how it looks and in its approach to the plot. This doesn\u2019t feel like a tale that\u2019s been told across multiple mediums for over a century. Even with echoes of past adaptations, the director still has created a work of startling originality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is out now in limited release. It streams Friday on Netflix<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GDT-Pinocchio2-1024x576.png\")
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Where Pinocchio<\/em> is less successful thematically is in its setting in 1930s Italy, which doesn\u2019t feel as organic as the political and historical elements in Pan\u2019s Labyrinth <\/em>and The Devil\u2019s Backbone<\/em>. Fascism and its insistence on obedience are (rightfully) decried, but Pinocchio is a disobedient brat for most of the movie, endangering the lives of himself and his father and hurting Geppetto\u2019s feelings. This dissonance undercuts the emotional power of the film, which also isn\u2019t helped by the short and simplistic songs peppered throughout its overlong running time. Composer Alexandre Desplat\u2019s music is typically gorgeous (as are vocals, especially from McGregor and young Mann), but the accompanying lyrics don\u2019t display a\u00a0 level of artistry and care that matches\u00a0 the rest of the movie\u2019s craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\nB+<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n