A One Mann’s Movies review of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio” (2022).
There have been not one, not two, but THREE versions of the classic tale “Pinnochio” released in the last three years with (just to add extra confusion) two in 2022. I have not mustered the courage yet to watch the Disney live-action version starring Tom Hanks. But this one is the stop-motion animated feature directed by Guillermo del Toro.
I have to preface this review by saying that I am not a mad fan of animation in general and stop-motion animation in particular. The occasional Pixar classic aside, as an art-form it just doesn’t appeal to me. I know a lot of people rave about “A Nightmare Before Christmas”, but it just left me cold. But having seen a lot of people put “Pinnochio” in their Top 10 film lists for 2022, and having enjoyed many of the director’s quirky live action films like “The Shape of Water“, “Nightmare Alley” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark“, I thought I’d give it a go.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
It’s Italy in the early stages of the second world war. When Carlo (Alfie Tempest), the adored only son of village carpenter Gepetto (David Bradley), is killed by a stray bomb, the old man is distraught. He chops down a tree by Carlo’s grave (home to one Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor)) and makes a puppet from the wood. But the spirits of the wood, led by the chief wood sprite (Tilda Swinton), bring the puppet to life. But the naive child – named Pinnochio (Gregory Mann) – is easily led astray.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC: “Scary scenes, mild violence, rude humour, language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Tilda Swinton, Christophe Waltz, Gregory Mann.
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson.
Written by: Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale. (Based on the book by Carlo Collodi).
Twitter Handles: #pinnochiomovie.
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio” Review:
Positives:
- The effort involved in putting this movie together must have been immense. I have the utmost respect for anyone who can put a short stop-motion film together, but a feature like this, produced to this level of quality, is a mammoth achievement. I have yet to see the Oscar nominations for “Animation”, but it would be astonishing if this didn’t feature in it. And if so I will probably put some money on it getting the win.
- It is a really interesting idea to set the story in the time of Mussolini’s fascist regime, making the tone extremely bleak and threatening. When Pinnochio is drafted into the Italian Youth movement, the scenes of training, and the aftermath of that training, are dark and scary (making this an unsuitable watch I would say for young and/or impressionable children).
- The ending – a statement on our mortality and making the most out of life – was surprisingly powerful and moving.
- There are some lovely themes in the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat, but….
Negatives:
- …I found most of the songs (many, I noted, co-written by del Toro) really bland and irritating. (An exception was the melodic and moving “My Son”, which I could see as getting Oscar nominated). For me, aside from the obvious requirement for the carnival show numbers, this really didn’t benefit from being a ‘musical’.
- I didn’t find many of the voiceovers convincing or engaging. I won’t single any specific characters out, but a lot of it seemed half-hearted and disconnected. (This may be a symptom of lock-down contraints: I could imagine the actors, rather than being in a recording studio, with personal direction going on, recording their lines in an upstairs bedroom at home!)
Summary Thoughts on “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio”
As I said at the start, I’m not a fan of stop-motion animated films. But this one was at least brilliantly done and its wartime setting added some unusual twists.
I’d recommend parents implement the ‘G’ bit of ‘PG’ by skim watching the film to assess suitability before committing it to younger kids to watch. It has some very dark themes, complete with Nazi salutes, and features some scary images.
Trailer for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od2NW1sfRdA.
