For Disney’s Pinocchio, check here. If there is a list of one of the most influential directors working in the industry right now – Guillermo del Toro would be in the top 3. He is a master when it comes to creating horror through mythology or lore. He knows how to tell a visual story creating frames that last with you for a long time. His films are mostly about fantasy and horror. However, not conventional horror. I mean it is not one those experimental films that promise us a scary time but due to their “intellectual ideology” or “inventive” storytelling, it faulters in the most fundamental part of a horror film… to scare us. However, del Toro uses great characters, myth, visuals, lore and fantastic concepts to scare us. He is not the one to be afraid of using jump scares as well but there is more to his horror. Guillermo del Toro won his long awaited Oscar in 2017 for his film Shape of Water.
The film was more of a romantic fantasy. However, after his Oscar win del Toro has been working on an adaptation of the classic Italian story: The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi. He is planning to bring out his interpretation of the classic through this collaboration with Netflix. We will be getting two Pinocchio movies one was Disney’s live action remake of their classic 1940 animated film and the second is del Toro’s Pinocchio. The Disney remake was criticized by both fans and critics as the film didn’t have any soul like the original or the source material but del Toro’s Pinocchio just had its world premiere and some of the critics who got to see the film have shared their thoughts. Spoiler alert- it is nothing like the Disney remake.
Pinocchio Reviews Roundup – The “del Toro” Factor?
All the critics who got an opportunity to see the film have nothing but praised the film. They’re in love with the direction that Guillermo del Toro has taken with this new retelling. As promised by the director himself this won’t be a retelling of the story we’ve been hearing. It will be his interpretation. We all know a story is always better when it is personal and this is something that feels personal. In contrast to the Disney remake, this film is called soulful despite not been completely faithful to the source material. The film has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%. It doesn’t have an IMDb rating as of now. Numbers aside, let’s see what the critics loved about the film?
Wendy Ide
Screen International
“A prickly, bracingly macabre spin on the much-adapted tale.”
Alistair Ryder
The Film Stage
“Might be the finest Pinocchio to have ever graced our screens, largely because it refuses to stay reverential to the material even if it is inherently inspired by and indebted to it.”
Original Score: A-
Ben Rolph
Discussing Film
“Guillermo del Toro’s vision isn’t compromised by the so-called limits of animation, in fact, his film only further proves the ever-reaching power of the animation medium as a whole.”
Original Score: 5/5
Marc Burrows
HeyUGuys
“A lovingly-crafted and brilliantly told twist on a classic tale, this is del Toro at the top of his game. Equal parts charming and creepy, and masterfully put together.”
Original Score: 5/5
Jennifer Heaton
Next Best Picture
“From its earliest moments, it’s evident that this “Pinocchio” is a del Toro production, tonally sitting close to the fantasy of “Pan’s Labyrinth” but with the horror and gore obviously scaled back for the kids.”
Original Score: 9/10
Leslie Felperin
Hollywood Reporter
“It is what it is, and that’s perfectly imperfect.”
Guy Lodge
Variety
“Unfolding over a faintly indulgent but never dull two hours, this is a rare children’s entertainment that isn’t afraid to perplex kids as much as it enchants them…”
Hannah Shaw-Williams
Slashfilm
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio brings weirdness, darkness, and joyfulness to Carlo Collodi’s tale of the little wooden puppet.”
Original Score: 9/10
Nicholas Barber
TheWrap
“A soulful stop-motion masterpiece.”
IndieWire
“Guillermo del Toro’s best movie in a decade is a stop-motion triumph”
Ben Rolph
Discussing Film
“Guillermo del Toro puts his own heartfelt, yet dark twist on the classic tale of #Pinocchio. The visual and thematic language of the film is rich, meaningful and clearly made by Del Toro. Also, the stop-motion animation is a miracle of craftsmanship!”
Jordan King
Emipre Magazine
“GDT’s Pinocchio, his finest film since Pan’s Labyrinth, is a song of innocence and experience as beautiful and poetic as it is brooding and portentous. Boasting stunning stop-motion animation and cleverly framed as an imperfect father-and-son tale, I adored every last frame.”
Luke Herafield
“I am in love. Pinocchio is Guillermo Del Toro at the peak of his storytelling powers. He breathes new life into the old wooden tale. A near-perfect creation of stop-motion animation, fantasy, musical, and fairytale. The most adult family film I’ve seen since Petite Maman.”
“Just saw @RealGDT’s Pinocchio. Visually astonishing, dense with beautifully complex ideas about moral goodness, and an emotional ending that is truly sublime,” tweeted by Scott Derrickson- director of Doctor Strange, Black Phone and Sinister.
“Guillermo’s PINOCCHIO is a masterpiece. Beautiful, surreal, brilliant. The last 5 minutes wrecked me. A wonderful meditation on love, mortality, and, as is common in Guillermo’s work, being loved for who you are. Will be paired annually with FANTASTIC MR. FOX. A true delight,” tweeted by C. Robert Cargill- Derrickson’s long time collaborator and writer.
“Just walking out of @RealGDT’s extraordinary you-never-saw-nuthin-like-it #Pinocchio. It’s an absolute masterpiece… probably the weirdest, wildest, wonderfullest stop-motion film ever made. It’s gonna wallop your heart,” tweeted by Author Joe Hill.
Ewan McGregor is the voice of Sebastian J. Cricket and the rest of the cast also includes David Bradley as Geppetto, Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, and Burn Gorman, with Christoph Waltz and Tilda Swinton.
Pinocchio has released in limited theatres from 15th October but the film will be available for streaming on Netflix from 9th December 2022.
If you have any questions regarding Pinocchio, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
