Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a dark fantasy, stop-motion, animated musical that won both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards. The film was adapted from Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, and inspired by Gris Grimly's 2002 version of the same novel. Starring Gregory Mann and David Bradley as Pinocchio and Geppetto, respectively, the movie follows the journey of the two characters. In a moment of grief, Geppetto carves a wooden puppet that magically comes to life, and he names him Pinocchio.
The storyline was engaging and easy to follow, but unlike the Disney version of Pinocchio, del Toro's adaptation was not made specifically for children. As the director himself stated, “Kids can watch it, but it's not made for kids. It's made for us.” The movie is set in fascist Italy, covering the events spanning World War 1 and the beginning of World War 2. It touches on heavy topics such as war, death, and depression while consistently exploring the themes of love and the meaning of life.
Pinocchio's character development was well-done, with the puppet starting off as an inexperienced, disobedient character, and later transforming into a more mature and loving friend. The cinematography was on-brand with del Toro's signature style, featuring dark lighting and a variety of hues of blue, similar to his other film, The Shape of Water.
While the movie was well-made, one of my critiques was the lack of diversity in the casting. None of the lead voice actors were women or people of color, and the only female voice actor with a prominent role was Cate Blanchett, who played Spazzatura, a monkey character with no lines. Unfortunately, due to this and other personal preferences, I would not want to watch this movie again.
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