LetB次元官网网址檚 face it, B次元官网网址淧inocchioB次元官网网址� has always been an odd choice for a childrenB次元官网网址檚 morality tale.
Of course, lying is wrong. But thatB次元官网网址檚 not the only message the story sends. Even the classic 1940 Disney version B次元官网网址� lighter and more kid-friendly than the 1883 Collodi tale B次元官网网址� still sends the message that if youB次元官网网址檙e not B次元官网网址済ood,B次元官网网址� you donB次元官网网址檛 deserve to be human.
B次元官网网址淎 boy who wonB次元官网网址檛 be good might just as well be made of wood,B次元官网网址� the beneficent Blue Fairy admonishes Pinocchio in that film. Really? What happened to the idea that B次元官网网址渢o err is human?B次元官网网址� Not to mention second chances, or learning curves? And what does B次元官网网址済oodB次元官网网址� mean, anyway? Have they heard of value relativism? But we digress.
Because now comes Guillermo del Toro, with his blazing creative talent, to really stir things up. And boy, this is not your Disney B次元官网网址淧inocchioB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� not the 1940 classic nor the remake of a few months ago. How will your kid feel about fascist salutes (or you about explaining them?) A guy named Mussolini? Bombs falling from the sky? A father handing a gun to his son and saying B次元官网网址淪hoot the puppet?B次元官网网址� (Yes, sweet Pinocchio B次元官网网址� THAT puppet.)
Of course, del Toro, whose take on B次元官网网址淧inocchioB次元官网网址� is so distinct that the movie is called has just the visual command youB次元官网网址檇 expect, partnering with co-director Mark Gustafson in this gorgeous stop motion project with a starry voice cast (including three Oscar winners B次元官网网址� Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.) The movie often looks stunningly beautiful, in color and texture. And youB次元官网网址檒l want to get on a plane right now and find the Italian village where Geppetto lives, with cobblestoned alleyways framed by snow-capped mountains jutting out in the mist.
Pinocchio, too, is way more interesting-looking than the blue-eyed, bow-tie wearing puppet weB次元官网网址檙e used to. HeB次元官网网址檚 a lanky masterpiece in striated pine, with wooden curls, too, and something about him is heartbreakingly lovable. Maybe itB次元官网网址檚 because he makes mistake after mistake. And to err is B次元官网网址� oh, never mind.
We first meet Geppetto (David Bradley) as the happy father to a real son, Carlo. B次元官网网址淎ll they needed was each otherB次元官网网址檚 company,B次元官网网址� says the narrator, namely Sebastian J. Cricket, voiced by Ewan McGregor. They spend their evenings reading stories by the fire, and Carlo accompanies Geppetto to his job restoring a huge Jesus altarpiece in the church. ItB次元官网网址檚 there that tragedy strikes one day; a warplane drops a bomb onto the church, killing Carlo. Geppetto withdraws to drinking and mourning.
In grief, Geppetto cuts down a pine tree and makes a puppet. In the night, the Wood Sprite (Swinton, not to be confused with her sister, Death, also Swinton) comes to visit. As in other versions, she asks the cricket to watch over Pinocchio and serve as his conscience.
Geppetto brings the puppet to church, but heB次元官网网址檚 greeted with hostility: B次元官网网址淲here are his strings? Who controls him?B次元官网网址� At home, Pinocchio wonders why everyone loves the wooden Jesus but not him. A fascist town leader pronounces Pinocchio a B次元官网网址渄issidentB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渋ndependent thinker.B次元官网网址� Not as a compliment.
Like in other versions, Pinocchio gets caught up with a money-hungry impresario, Count Volpe (Waltz) who puts him in a puppet show. Unlike other versions, one audience member happens to be Il Duce (Mussolini.) Also unlike other versions, he orders Pinocchio shot. Pinocchio also gets hit by a truck. Luckily, SwintonB次元官网网址檚 Death keeps sending him back to life.
If this seems a bit unsavory for the younger kids, you ainB次元官网网址檛 seen nothinB次元官网网址� yet B次元官网网址� Pinocchio ends up at a fascist military camp, where the boys are set against each other in deadly war games. Compared to this section, the time he and Geppetto later spend in the belly of a whale seems rather quaint.
Did we mention that this movie is a musical? Freud would probably say thereB次元官网网址檚 a reason we forgot B次元官网网址� the songs, some catchier than others, often seem to be dropped soon after theyB次元官网网址檙e started, petering out softly as we move to something else. The musical element is best used in the theater scenes where Pinocchio is forced by Volpe to perform. And kids will definitely enjoy the song where Pinocchio boldly (and dangerously) goads the visiting Mussolini with lyrics about poops and farts.
But B次元官网网址淕uillermo del ToroB次元官网网址檚 PinocchioB次元官网网址� is clearly not aimed solely at kids, but rather is banking on the fact that adults, too, will be drawn to the striking visuals and mature themes at play.
Those themes include parenting. For much of the movie Geppetto wishes Pinocchio would be just like Carlo, his human son. But gradually the old man realizes he doesnB次元官网网址檛 need to replace Carlo B次元官网网址� Pinocchio is just fine, and he doesnB次元官网网址檛 need to become human to be loved.
Del Toro is also making clear references to the danger of groupthink. Indeed, he seems to have chosen the background of fascism to point out that the narrowminded townspeople who suspect Pinocchio because heB次元官网网址檚 different are the real puppets, not Pinocchio.
B次元官网网址淕uillermo del ToroB次元官网网址檚 Pinocchio,B次元官网网址� a Netflix release, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America B次元官网网址渇or dark thematic material, violence, peril, some rude humor and brief smoking.B次元官网网址� Running time: 114 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
B次元官网网址擩ocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
