Guillermo del Toro brings the best Pinocchio yet in this carefully handcrafted stop-motion adaptation. It feels very del Toro and you can see the love and passion that was put into it. The stop-motion animation is some of the most beautiful i've seen it has a distinctive appearance and the movements are fluid I forgot it was animation at times. Such an impressive cast they all did amazing and Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket (or should I say Sabastian J. Cricket) was absolute perfection. It deals with father son relationships, family, staying true to yourself, self-acceptance and more mature themes like death and what it means to be human. The story is rich and layered and it's easy to get an emotional attachment. One thing they did right this time is they added so much backstory and context to how Pinocchio was created it really immersed me into the character and the world. Guillermo's usual aesthetics are felt and they make this even better I loved the sea creature and the darker themes. My only criticism is the songs could of been better and they weren't memorable but at least we got Ewan McGregor to sing. Overall a beautiful film I would definitely revisit. Did we get another Pinocchio this year I can't remember?
I've never been able to connect with the original Pinocchio story. The peak of crappiness was reached a few months ago with the new Disney film. Fortunately, Guillermo del Toro does a much better job. Despite the fact that the core of the story is the same as in previous adaptations, del Toro adds some interesting elements. It was a particularly wise decision to relocate the plot to fascist Italy in the 1930s.
I liked the prologue very much right away. It does a good job of portraying what Geppetto's emotional state is like. Also, del Toro manages to let his penchant for dark fantasy shine through during Pinocchio's first appearance and several later moments. Almost every time the wooden puppet begins to speak, however, he is just as annoying as he was in the other films.
The biggest strength of this movie is definitely the look. The animation style is not at all like what you are used to seeing. It is perhaps the most beautiful animated film of the year. The soundtrack is also fitting. Only the few musical interludes did not appeal to me. They always seemed a bit out of place. When there is no singing, the voice actors are consistently strong, though.
In the end, del Toro did not manage to make me a fan of the original Pinocchio story. But whenever he deviates from the source material, he delivers. Moreover, the film is a feast for the eyes. If you have a Netflix subscription, you can definitely have a good time watching it.
One of the best versions of Pinocchio I've seen, lots of animation details and a well-constructed and coherent story... it should win an award.
I was surprised by the emotional charge of this film. It takes the themes and heart of the original story and transforms them into something completely new. both in plot and tone. While Disney's live-action reboot literally tells the exact same story, with a dramatic drop in the adult themes and heavy themes, the film takes a darker, more adult path. In his story, DEL toro explores themes of war, death, and the nature of evil. and the fragility of life. In doing so, it effectively adds something serious to the overall narrative while respecting the source material. Also, the movie itself is absolutely gorgeous in its visual presentation. Every image and moment is filled with amazing detail that only someone like Del Toro can achieve. I ended up liking this movie. I think it's a great adaptation of a story that manages to honor all the meanings while still having its own identity.
Was not expecting so many dark elements in this film. Definitely not a Disney PG+ film. Fair warning, there's a number of characters being deleted throughout the film all of scene but one on-scene. No implications, just very clear sound effects based ones too. Overall 8/10, wonderful sound design, unique character design, phenomenonal voice acting and animation of each stop-motion capture. Cloth and water are notoriously difficult to work with. Truly a marvel how this was achieved.
Like a national forest: I saw a lot of wood but I didn't get any.
Incredible animation does little to save the director from shooting the film in the wooden foot. The liberties taken with the original story (the omission of Toyland / Pleasure Island, the addition of Mussolini) do great disservice to a tale that has no need of tinkering.
If you're looking for a Pinocchio reimagining, maybe try the dark, naturalistic 2019 version?
[Netflix] There are some design decisions that don't work well, especially among the secondary characters like Cricket, more justified in the spirits because they are supernatural entities. But the main stop-motion work on Gepetto and Pinocchio is truly fascinating, as effective as one could hope for. This personal vision of Guillermo del Toro forms a trilogy with his other explorations of fascism in "The devil's backbone" (2001) and "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006). And it makes sense given that Fascist Italy used Carlo Collodi's tale as a patriotic symbol, as in "Avventure e spedizioni punitive di Pinocchio Fascista" (Giuseppe Petrai, 1923), in which Pinocchio faced off against a communist puppet. But it seems that it doesn't delve into this aspect for fear of losing part of the children's audience, which ends up being frustrating.
What a great idea to conciliate the story of Pinocchio with the period of fascist Italy. In my opinion, this movie is not better than the classic, but it gives another layer to the story, in addition to a beautiful style of animation stop motion and an emotive and great ending.
I’m sure we all agree that Pinocchio shouldn’t have any more adaptations, especially now that we finally got a nearly perfect one. Del Toro uses Pinocchio as a universal figure and manages to reimagine his own tale while retaining the spirit of the original. The setting has been changed to Fascist Italy, with Pinocchio acting as the spiritual opposite of Mussolini’s “Believe, Obey, Fight” slogan. The most abused puppet in literature questions everything, doesn’t listen to anybody, and is emotionally incapable of entering into a conflict. He will ultimately find out the true meaning of life and humanity, yet without having us go through the same episodes that we’ve already witnessed countless times in other adaptations.
Although the anti-totalitarian message is on point for most of the movie, it sadly loses its focus near the end. While I was expecting things to take a grittier direction and deliver the final message, the plot suddenly changes route to bring back the dogfish from the novel and leave the rest behind.
Other than that, I found the movie brilliant and capable of speaking to all kinds of audiences, often striking my heart with the simplest considerations about life. The production design is astonishing, even though it might scare off young children in a couple of moments.
A film full of small details and winks. Spectacular art and original story. Thoroughly enjoyable, with deep messages and a different take on the character's story.
Just wonderful. Hit me in the feels out of nowhere. Brilliant voice acting and wonderful animation that'll take you through a whole gamut of emotions. A brilliant reimagining of the original Pinocchio story with a lot of heart injected in. Some beautiful moments, some dark ones. A film older children and adults can share. Some big emotions for really young ones though.
I'm so glad that films like this are still being made. The collaboration between the Jim Henson company and Guillermo del toro had me glued to the screen from the first moments. It felt like some of the brilliant movies made for children and young adults in the 80s and 90s.
Songs aren't that memorable but for me this isn't a big deal. I thought they mostly added and never felt they should have been left out. Bearing in mind the target audience here, the songs and humour were well enjoyed in our family.
A film about imperfection, naivety, the darkness of the world, love, and friendship.
a masterful work of stop motion animation, i can only imagine all the hours & hard work that went into this movie
I was not ready :sob: I cried so so much!
What a beautifully touching film and absolutely gorgeous feat of stop-motion. The original Disney Pinocchio is one of my top fav Disney films, due in large part to the iconic songs. I want to give this new version a 10 but honestly the only part that fell short for me was the songs. Having said that, I believe on subsequent watches, they will grow on me. 9.5/10
With wonderful animaton and an interesting take on the classic story, this is something of a delight. Probably not one for very young viewers, however, due to a few dark and tragic moments.
It started out very promising and kept entertained for the first hour, but later the plot focuses a little too much on fascism. The songs aren't that good either, but the animations are a treat! The story is a bit different from the original (especially the ending), but at least it's a breath of fresh air in the midst of the numerous transpositions of "Pinocchio".
Definitely worth a watch!
What a beautiful re imagining of the classic story
The atmosphere , the spot on animation made it like we're living in this era of Italy
The songs , production design , visual effects are top notch and the movie was very touching and emotional , one the best in recent memory
Highly recommended
A darker take on the classic children's tale! Guillermo del Toro nails this adaptation and the animation is gorgeous. If you appreciate animation, you owe it to yourself to watch this, it is "free" on Netflix after all.
Rating: 4/5 - 8.5/10 - Would Recommend
An interesting and original take on the story of Pinocchio.
Really good but sadge af.
Rec by Claud and Heath
Somebody warned me this was going to be real depressing.
I didn’t find that at all. It’s just not sugar coating things. It’s proper Del-Toro-dark. Quite like the original Pinocchio story – with a few adjustments.
Interesting take to have this play out in a very active and fascist Italy.
The bits of standing up against oppression were nice additions.
Definitely loved the darkness, signature del toro-eyes and the songs.
This was very good but it also made me sad
:’(((
I never enjoyed the story of Pinocchio. I think because he was portrayed so childishly. Here he looks innocent, he looks like a real boy. So I loved the changes that were made here along with the beautiful animation.
Del Toro's Pinocchio is an incredible work of art. I love so many things about this interpretation of the classic tale. Unfortunately, the film just lacked the tension needed to make this telling a true masterpiece.
Rated a Connor 5, normal 7
This rendition of the all-too familiar story of Pinocchio is worth a watch just for the visuals alone. Stop-motion animation has never looked so beautiful. The attention to detail and overall dedication to a specific visual theme is unmatched in any film I've seen in recent years. For any fan of animation, this is an instant must-watch - and for others, I would still recommend it, but it has shortcomings. While the backdrop of fascist Italy is creative and well-used, I can't help but feel that opportunities were missed for bringing in more historical context to differentiate the story from other adaptations. The musical numbers felt out of place and awkward, and Pinocchio himself often came across as annoying rather than endearing. Kids will have a great time with this film's humor and liveliness, and older viewers will find particular enjoyment in the visuals and a couple minor explorations into more complex themes.
Now, that was surprisingly and remarkably sad - left both me and my mom in tears. A true work of art.
Classic fairy tale Pinocchio, everyone knows the story. That is why it was surprising for me the additional circumstances and events in this movie. But it’s OK, the extra additions of the story just make more value of moral about the life, love, self-sacrifice for loved ones. In my honest, it works. But the sight! Amazing! Very detailed and spectacular. The huge amount of work hours, more than 1000, was it worth it! This made the movie one of the most valuable from the animation works all of time. I have seen other animation which is like this: The boxtrolls. It is also required a lot of workhours to make it, but the result was amazing as well. This movie (and perhaps the other one, The boxtrolls) definitely recommended watching for the whole family!
Del Toro's is simply the finest Pinocchio adaptation that I've seen. This film combines gorgeous stop-motion animation, peerless voice acting talent, a warm-hearted story to appeal to younger viewers, and enduring themes that will resonate with older audiences as well.
From the moment the Wood Sprite answers the mournful Gepetto's wish, Pinocchio dances with manic joi de vivre. Against the background of fascist Italy, the wooden boy embodies spiritual freedom and defiance -- challenging the village Podesta "Who's pulling your strings?"
Of course, as in most versions of the tale, Pinocchio's naive pleasure-seeking exposes him to manipulation and exploitation. The circus manager Volpe lures Pinocchio away with promises of chocolate and fame. Pinocchio performs as the "puppet without strings," thinking that half of the money his shows earn goes back to Gepetto. Sadly, the con man Volpe never pays anyone.
In Disney's 1940 Disney feature, Pinocchio goes from "Honest John's" circus to a worse trap called Pleasure Island. There, he and other foolish boys grotesquely mutate into donkeys, ready to be put to unpaid work. Instead of becoming a Real Boy, Pinocchio nearly becomes even more of a puppet, a voiceless instrument in someone else's hands. Thoughtless pleasure-seeking enslaves the boys. Jiminy Cricket ultimately helps Pinocchio to escape -- but his friends do not.
By contrast, Mussolini-era setting enables del Toro to develop a story with different themes. While Mussolini's rhetoric is as omnipresent in the film as in Fellini's Amarcord, Pinocchio seems only interested in its spectacle. Clownish and chronically defiant, he ruins a performance for Il Duce himself by lacing a patriotic song with fart and poop jokes. But circumstances ultimately force Pinocchio into a fascist youth camp. There, he bonds with the village podesta's son, Candlewick. Both boys long to please disappointed fathers. But life in the camp only teaches them that they love life and friendship more than war and death, that defiance is braver than fascist obedience. And, in this version, Pinocchio finally starts on the path toward Real Boyhood when he realizes that life is precious because it's fleeting. A final act reunites him with Gepetto, on a seaborne caper reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The conclusion dwells on life, death, and renewal -- and leaves you wondering what being a Real Boy means, after all. Beautiful.
All in all, I wish that I'd been able to see this version instead of Disney's 1940 adaptation when I was a kid. I might not have run out of the room midway through. That Pleasure Island bit really upset me when I was five or so ...
It's good, even if I wouldn't say it's anything better or worse than its Disney animated counterpart - at least it is a marked improvement on that aforementioned company's remake, mind.
The big win of 'Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio' is the stop-motion animation, which is extremely nice indeed. As for everything else? Nothing leaps out of my mind if I'm honest, even within 30mins of watching it. I personally found the design of the titular character to be 'just' OK, same goes for Sebastian J. Cricket & Co.
I did like the casting of Ewan McGregor and David Bradley, particularly the latter. Christoph Waltz, meanwhile, is alright in his role. The more serious vibe of the film is a positive, though I don't think it comes across as deep as it intended (e.g. that last line from Cricket isn't, in my opinion, as effective as the film seems to think it is). As for the music: fine but forgettable, for me.
Again, it's passable. I just unfortunately didn't overly care as much as I wanted to for this story and its characters. The 1940 film did it slightly better, fwiw.
I am 200% sure that this Pinocchio has ADHD, change my mind.
Great movie, made with a lot of patience and love, exactly as Geppetto said. Interesting new point of view at the old fable story.
This one makes Pinoccio by Zemeckis look like a piece of garbage, which it is, despite Tom Hanks being in it.
Also, take a look at behind the scenes on YouTube about this cartoon was made and you gain a new respect for the creators.
I will rate this film Incredible love and sadness/10
Vintage del Toro, which is to say heartwarmingly sentimental, earnestly heartwrenching, and lavishly made. Del Toro is a sentimental man, but he always balances and in fact enriches those sentiments with his unflinching approach to the dark as well. This film engages kids at their level with simple gags like replacing the words in a song with 'poop' but also by knowing they're smarter than people think. And the animation is just gorgeous, the wood carving look being not just thematically appropriate but so warm and lush. I haven't seen the other Pinocchio film released this year, but I have a hard time seeing it match this.
I didn’t even know that Guillermo del Toro had made an adaptation of Pinocchio until my daughter and oldest son told me they wanted to watch it during our traditional movie evening yesterday. Wow, that was a different take on Pinocchio indeed.
Pinocchio, the original, is not surprisingly, one of the movies I watched as a kid and which is quite dear to me. A movie from the time when the name Disney actually meant something and when they made actual family movies instead of woke crud for the small but loud-mouthed and fanatical minority. Needless to say I have not even contemplated to watch Disney’s latest remake of the original.
But then, Guillermo del Toro movies I often like and, well, the kids (who are also very anti-woke) wanted to watch it so I did not have much choice but to watch it.
I do indeed have some reservations about the theme used in the movie but overall it was a good movie.
The movie is more geared towards adults or at least young adults than Disney’s original. It is much more dark and less humorous. But then, with Guillermo del Toro at the helm that is not really a surprise is it?
Since I did not know anything about this movie until I started to watch it I sat through the entire movie wondering if it was done with stop-motion figures or CGI made to look like stop-motion. It turnes out that it is indeed stop-motion and damned impressive stop-motion at that. Really well done.
The story, which has little to do with the original Disney one to be honest, is not bad but here we come to my main gripe with the movie. I did not really like the setting in fascist Italy with a lot of the movie preaching about fascism. It is really beating a dead horse and it made the movie darker than it had to be. I know Pinocchio is an Italian story so they could not really have set it in communist Russia, even though that would have been much more relevant if they really wanted to have some background bad guys. Still, I just wished they would have found some other theme.
The ending is also nothing like the original Disney movie. It is not entirely a tragic ending but it is certainly not an overly happy one either. It is a good ending but, again, more an adult ending than a children’s story ending.
Overall though, I liked the movie. It was a good movie and an intelligent and technically very well done adaptation of the Pinocchio story.
The greatest telling of this story and probably one of the best movies that came out this year
Too lazy to write a long comment; But this is one of the better Pinocchio movies out there, this movie took the most time, effort and love into it. The talent in this movie makes nearly all other Pinocchio movies pale in visual comparison. Also the story is a very unique take on the character, the adventure our Pinocchio goes on never leaves you bored. The story is also emotionally straight to the point, they do not beat around the bush with the concepts of Life, death and evil. It's a very grounded movie, Pinocchio in this movie truly feels special in the world he lives in. Even if this movie doesn't peak your interest in story, the talent itself my enlighten you.
This is a lesson for producers and directors, give your team TIME. This is a classic quality over quantity. Instead of giving your team an impossible deadline, ask them what time they need and try to negotiate.
With a real team you can make a masterpiece like this project.
"You cannot rush something that will last forever"
This film was absolutely phenomenal and Disney should be absolutely embarrassed by what they put out this year in comparison. Voice cast really shines, and the look and visual art direction is just beautiful. The kid who voiced Pinocchio was phenomenal. The running gag of Ewan McGregor being horribly maimed whenever he tried to sing his song was hilarious every time to me
"You did bring me joy. Terrible, terrible joy."
BREAKING NEWS: Robert Zemeckis Pinocchio has been found dead in a ditch covered in piss and shit.
On a serious note, I wish more studios greenlight more of Guillermo's passion projects because his passion and love for stories, characters, and deeply rooted themes shine through effectively. A stop-motion animated movie that's adventurous but mature and ends with the gut punch that someday, we will all die. Paraphrasing American author Jack London, we all must live, not just exist, and not waste our time.
Animation is cinema!
I did NOT expect a Rogue One ending, lol. No wonder they call it a dark adaptation.
The animation style in this is beautiful and definitely brings out Pinocchio in a different light and i loved the new twist on the tale and all voice actors did great, even cate blanchett playing the monkey that’s a strange one from her ha
Shout by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2022-12-10T22:12:38Z
A great movie that reduces the Zemeckis version to a minor footnote. Setting it in fascist Italy adds a whole new layer of depth to this story, but I also noticed Del Toro’s pulling some ideas from his own work here, The Devil’s Backbone in particular. Voice acting’s great, I love that he cast the greatest working actress as a non-speaking monkey. Visually it’s perfect, that’s almost to be expected from this director. However, this film in particular has a stop motion animation style I’ve never seen on film before, the textures are unique and beautiful. My only real complaint comes with the songs, not only because they’re generally poorly written and performed (I’m very clearly hearing the pitch correction, which isn’t intentional), but they also felt more sentimental and Disney-ish than what the rest of the film seemed to be going for. Thankfully, most of them were quite short.
8/10