![]() The musical element is best used in the theater scenes where Pinocchio is forced by Volpe to perform. Compared to this section, the time he and Geppetto later spend in the belly of a whale seems rather quaint.ĭid we mention that this movie is a musical? Freud would probably say there's a reason we forgot - the songs, some catchier than others, often seem to be dropped soon after they're started, petering out softly as we move to something else. If this seems a bit unsavory for the younger kids, you ain't seen nothin' yet - Pinocchio ends up at a fascist military camp, where the boys are set against each other in deadly war games. Luckily, Swinton's Death keeps sending him back to life. Unlike other versions, one audience member happens to be Il Duce (Mussolini.) Also unlike other versions, he orders Pinocchio shot. Like in other versions, Pinocchio gets caught up with a money-hungry impresario, Count Volpe (Waltz) who puts him in a puppet show. A fascist town leader pronounces Pinocchio a "dissident" and "independent thinker." Not as a compliment. Geppetto brings the puppet to church, but he's greeted with hostility: "Where are his strings? Who controls him?" At home, Pinocchio wonders why everyone loves the wooden Jesus but not him. 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. 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. Because now comes Guillermo del Toro, with his blazing creative talent, to really stir things up.
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