December 10, 2022
Wood sculptor Gepetto lost his beloved 10-year old son Carlo when a bomb fell on their town from a passing war plane. Twenty years later, Gepetto still could not move on from this loss, so he built a wooden puppet out of the pine tree which grew on Carlo's grave. That night, the blue wood sprite visited the workshop and made the puppet come to life, calling him Pinocchio. She also appointed wise old Sebastian J. Cricket to be the boy's conscience.
Having difficulty adjusting to his new life, Pinocchio disappointed Gepetto who called him a burden out of exasperation. Pinocchio ran away from home to join the puppet show of Count Volpe and his pet monkey Spazzatura. He was then taken into a camp which trained boys to become soldiers, where he became friends with the Podesta's son Candlewick. Meanwhile, Gepetto went out looking for Pinocchio and wound up in the belly of a monster fish.
The main points of the story may be familiar, but this is not the Disney version we knew in the 1940 animated classic and its 2022 live action remake. Guillermo del Toro made it a much darker tale, with his signature style in every aspect. We get a more fleshed out back story of Gepetto's son Carlo, and saw how senseless his death had been. Instead of Pleasure Island where boys turned into donkeys, we see a World War II training camp where boys turn into killing soldiers. There was even a cameo appearance of Benito Mussolini himself.
Child actor Gregory Mann gave Pinocchio a very British accent, one of innocent wonderment and mischief. The voice actors behind each character all did excellent work: David Bradley as Gepetto, Ewan McGregor as Cricket, Christoph Waltz as Volpe, Ron Perlman as the Podesta, Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick, Tim Blake Nelson as the Black Rabbits, and Tilda Swinton as the Wood Sprite. It was surprising to find out that it was no less than Cate Blanchett who was doing all the animal sounds of Spazzatura the monkey!
The most memorable aspect of this film is its meticulously-crafted stop motion animation, a product of 15 years of work. It was amazing how it looked so effortless like this was a live action film with all those little body movements, hand gestures and facial expressions. The camera angles, editing, production design, the music and songs of Alexandre Desplat were all very expertly done. This looks like a sure win at the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film. However, a nomination for Best Picture is very likely as well. 9/10.
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