directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson
written by del Toro, Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins
Thank God for public domain. Why, you ask?
At a time when Disney mangled yet another of its beloved animated properties, Pinocchio, with an ill-advised live-action remake, Netflix and Guillermo del Toro reminded us that this classic tale about yearning and heartbreak, based on a story by Carlo Collodi, can be charming and expertly-crafted. Their chosen medium for presenting the story was stop-motion animation, which had a nice rough and tumble feel to it.
The story is familiar enough; an old wood carver makes a wooden puppet to be his son, and a magical fairy brings the puppet to life. Hijinks ensue. True to del Toro's style of storytelling, though, the story (which is already dark enough in its original form) has a very particularly dark twists. Here, Gepetto (David Bradley) loses his son Carlo (Gregory Mann) during the Great War when Italian bombers returning from a mission unload their excess bombs on what they mistakenly think is the middle of nowhere. In a drunken rage, he later chops down the tree under which his son is buried and carves Pinocchio (also Mann). The tree also happens to be the residence of a talking cricket (Ewan McGregor). As in the original, the Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) gives Pinocchio life as a gesture of compassion to Gepetto, and as before hijinks ensue. This time, instead of being recruited by a talking fox, Pinocchio is approached by a sleazy circus Ringmaster named Count Volpe (Christophz Waltz). Like in previous versions he ignores the cricket's attempts to be his conscience and runs into serious trouble. Interestingly enough, though the trouble he runs into here actually involves Mussolini's fascist government...I kid you not.
In an age where everything is computer-generated, it was really refreshing to see a film rendered in something as old-fashioned and quaint as stop motion animation, and infused, as well, with a decidedly different sensibility from what we've seen before. Infusing Gepetto's backstory with tragedy was interesting enough, but setting the story in the years between the First and Second World Wars was both a stroke of genius and madness, the kind of audacious move that only del Toro could have pulled off. Another interesting twist to this story is how Pinocchio cannot die, and despite suffering mortal injuries throughout the movie he finds himself in the afterlife with Death (Swinton again) and her black undertaker bunnies, only to be promptly sent back to the land of the living. It really is such wonderfully quirky storytelling.
Del Toro has enlisted a truly formidable voice cast, with Harry Potter alum David Bradley as Gepetto and Obi Wan Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Cricket (not Jiminy, mind you). Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz chews the scenery as the villainous Volpe, while regular Del Toro collaborator Ron Perlman also shines as the evil Podesta, a fascist official whose son Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard) also bullies Pinocchio. Tilda Swinton enchants in a double role as the Wood Sprite who brings Pinocchio to life and as her sister, Death itself. Casting legendary voice actor Tom Kenny as Benito Mussolini was another brilliant call from Del Toro and his casting director. The eponymous wooden boy himself is played by newcomer Gregory Mann, who comes across as earnest and sincere in his performance.
It's a real charmer, this movie. For people sick of the CGI glut in the marketplace, this is bound to be a welcome balm. It certainly was for me.
9/10
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