Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Review

If it were not clear by the ownership of the title, this is the definitive Guillermo del Toro feature adaptation. Pinocchio, or rather, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, comes as yet another iteration of a classic text that has not seen a successful adaptation since the 1940s. Utterly charmless the wooden freakshow must be, the heavy lifting of Robert Zemeckis, John Cleese and Roberto Benigni are just a few names slapped onto the classic tale and ruined because of it. Burning through an utterly stellar cast, it is rather warming and hopeful that Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio relies not just on the so-called smaller names of legendary David Bradley and newcomer Gregory Mann, but on a littered, cameo-clad piece of surreal, well-animated joy.

Much of that joy comes through the animated style, the puppeteering and stop-motion provide both a rigorous upheaval in quality but also the etchings of hard work. Fluid and beautiful, much of what makes this iteration of Pinocchio so intense and unique is how grand and touching its animation is. There is both a sense of depth to the world del Toro’s amazing direction provides and also a charming childish nature to it, with backdrops and warm environments pitching a beautiful depth. There is utter tragedy at the heart of this retelling, and del Toro moves through that with great warmth and understanding. It is here that the formidable appearance of wartime and the horrors of it take effect. Managing to bridge the gap between how insane it is to recreate a dead son out of wood and the truly moving depravity of losing a child is as intense as expected.

Fear strikes through, though. That is the key and unique difference for Pinocchio here. Classic those charms of del Toro may be, they find new life in the animated form, versatility and uniqueness bring about sharp character studies and an engaged back and forth between Geppetto (Bradley) and Pinocchio (Mann). Its star-studded cast of oddities and intricacies has a detailed feel to it, a bristling uniqueness that is akin to Fantastic Mr. Fox. Not from a style perspective, although the minor similarities are a treat, but on the front of casting, the sheer quality of Christoph Waltz and Cate Blanchett, the excellence of Ewan McGregor and the formidable nature of Tilda Swinton.

People are afraid of things they do not know, as del Toro’s Pinocchio is aware of. Bradley is a fantastic lead for this, an elderly statesman role that sees a man come to terms with the startling horrors of his own grief. Mark Gustafson must have his name held next to del Toro’s for the work this pair do as directors is stunning. From the camerawork and pacing all the way down to the roots of the animation style, the frame-by-frame brilliance that gives a natural feel, amazing considering this story of a wooden boy is made up of lifeless caricature creatures. Ewan McGregor’s finest animated film since Robots sees the Trainspotting star, along with a host of others, put their faith in a retelling of a tale that has never quite found its cinematic footing. It does here, clearly so.