Everyone should be familiar with the story and character of Pinocchio. Like Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden puppet brought to life has been adapted and interpreted many times, with the most famous example being Walt Disney's hand-drawn animated version from 1940. Earlier this fall, a live-action/animated take (courtesy director Robert Zemeckis) was released on the streaming platform Disney+. But while that film was heavily criticized for being shallow and carbon copy, the stop-motion musical version from Guillermo del Toro is a genuine work of art--and a real labor of love.
A co-production of Netflix and the Jim Henson Company, shot over a period of 1,000-plus days, Pinocchio has been a life-long passion project for the visionary filmmaker. It's easy to see why. Set in 1930s Italy during the reign of Mussolini, del Toro's take (co-directed by Mark Gustafson, and written by del Toro, Patrick McHale, Gris Grimly, and Matthew Robbins) is an emotionally-invested story of fathers and sons, filled with love, loss, and life. Furthermore, it subverts story conventions by emphasizing not only what it means to be human, but also how challenging it is. For one thing, this take on Geppeto has darker layers, as he succumbs to alcoholism and creates the titular wooden boy, not out of hope but rather deep-seated grief, after the tragic loss of his boy.
With that in mind, although this film is rated PG and boasts painstaking-but-amazing animation and craft that rivals the best live-action pictures (it's worth seeing on the big screen, if you can), not to mention a roster of A-list voice talent (Cate Blanchett voices a circus monkey, while Ewan McGregor steals the show as the clever and wise Sebastian J. Cricket), it's not really for children. Themes of death, eternity, and immortality are much deeper than you may expect. The images of Christ on the Cross (and discussions around them) are powerful, but there's also a suggestion that there's nothing more after life on earth. Too much for younger kids to handle, and something for parents and adults to be aware of. Even so, this timeless and challenging story of innocence to experience does have its heart in the right place. Easily one of del Toro's greatest films, and easily in my top 5 for 2022. And that's no lie.
No comments:
Post a Comment