As in other versions, she asks the cricket to watch over Pinocchio and serve as his conscience. In the night, the Wood Sprite (Swinton, not to be confused with her sister, Death, also Swinton) comes to visit. In grief, Geppetto cuts down a pine tree and makes a puppet. Geppetto withdraws to drinking and mourning. It’s there that tragedy strikes one day a warplane drops a bomb onto the church, killing Carlo. They spend their evenings reading stories by the fire, and Carlo accompanies Geppetto to his job restoring a huge Jesus altarpiece in the church. “All they needed was each other’s company,” says the narrator, namely Sebastian J. We first meet Geppetto (David Bradley) as the happy father to a real son, Carlo. Maybe it’s because he makes mistake after mistake. He’s a lanky masterpiece in striated pine, with wooden curls, too, and something about him is heartbreakingly lovable. Pinocchio, too, is way more interesting-looking than the blue-eyed, bow-tie wearing puppet we’re used to. And you’ll 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. Of course, del Toro, whose take on “Pinocchio” is so distinct that the movie is called “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” has just the visual command you’d expect, partnering with co-director Mark Gustafson in this gorgeous stop motion project with a starry voice cast (including three Oscar winners - Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.) The movie often looks stunningly beautiful, in color and texture. 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 “Shoot the puppet?” (Yes, sweet Pinocchio - THAT puppet.) And boy, this is not your Disney “Pinocchio” - not the 1940 classic nor the remake of a few months ago. Really? What happened to the idea that “to err is human?” Not to mention second chances, or learning curves? And what does “good” mean, anyway? Have they heard of value relativism? But we digress.īecause now comes Guillermo del Toro, with his blazing creative talent, to really stir things up. “A boy who won’t be good might just as well be made of wood,” the beneficent Blue Fairy admonishes Pinocchio in that film. Even the classic 1940 Disney version - lighter and more kid-friendly than the 1883 Collodi tale - still sends the message that if you’re not “good,” you don’t deserve to be human. But that’s not the only message the story sends. ![]() Let’s face it, “Pinocchio” has always been an odd choice for a children’s morality tale.
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