I’m sure by now we’re all familiar with the fairy tale about a talking wooden puppet whose quest is to become a real boy. Based on the 1883 Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, it became massive in popular culture as one the greatest coming-of-age tales.
The most famous adaptation is of course the 1940 animated film by Walt Disney, which itself was an achievement for ground-breaking animation for it’s time. The only other adaptation I saw was in 1996 starring Martin Landau as Geppetto, as well as its 1999 direct-to-video sequel, which were enjoyable at the time but didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
This is the first of three different new adaptations, the next one will be a stop-motion on Netflix by Guillermo Del Toro, and the other will be the latest in the long line of Disney’s (let’s be real – unnecessary) live-action remakes of their animated classics; however acclaimed director Robert Zemeckis is directing it so I’ll give it a chance. But this one deserves some recognition as it’s been released sort of under the radar as cinemas are slowly releasing lesser-known films after reopening during COVID.
Being based on an Italian novel I appreciate seeing an adaptation by an Italian director, Matteo Garrone, who also directed dark adult fantasy film Tale Of Tales which is also fantastic (but that’s for another review) and shows he can blend harsh realities in a fairy-tale world.
Garrone creates a beautiful fantasy world without having to rely on bright colours or CGI, but natural colours and practical effects (with minimal CGI). This filmmaking is like a callback to fantasy films from the 80’s such as Return To Oz, Labyrinth and The Princess Bride. It made me so happy to see a film like this again, as I feel films like this will stand the test of time unlike several CG-heavy films of today that will likely fade into obscurity.
Roberto Benigni, who directed and starred in arguably the best ever Italian film, Life Is Beautiful, plays Geppetto in this film. This is the second time he’s done a Pinocchio film, as he directed and starred in a comedy version in 2002, which I’ve not seen but clearly he’s passionate about the story. That passion is definitely felt in his portrayal of Geppetto, he is warm-hearted and likeable.
Young actor Federico Ielapi is wonderful as Pinocchio, very relatable and portrays the character’s growth brilliantly. Pinocchio’s character has to learn life lessons, as he’s like a normal child who makes mistakes – ignores the rules, lies to people, gets conned etc. and he has to overcome several obstacles to earn the right to become a real boy. With Garrone’s directing and Ielapi’s performance Pinocchio’s journey is excellently translated.
The relationships were well handled, Geppetto and Pinocchio were endearing despite the minimal screen-time they have together at the start. I particularly loved the relationship between Pinocchio and the blue fairy, as he sees her as a child (Alida Baldari Calabria) he can play with and as an adult (Marine Vacth) he can look up to.
Also major kudos to Ielapi, this young boy endured a 3 hour make-up process everyday to play this role. The make-up is extremely well done and makes me appreciate this film so much more.
Other characters’ make-up is a little less impressive, like the Talking Cricket, Snail, Fox and Cat etc. which are obviously actors wearing costumes. But that doesn’t matter because that adds to the charm of this fantasy environment – no one complained when they did costumes like this in the 80’s and they’re not complaining today.
I’m really appreciative to see a dark film being made in live-action again that can be appealing to children. It seems like today they’re only willing to do it in animation like Coraline for example. I’m speaking as a child who grew up on films like Return To Oz, The Witches and The Watcher In The Woods just to name a few, that weren’t afraid to push the boundaries of what was dark to children. While those films certainly scared me when I watched them as a child, I still found myself watching them multiple times.
I feel it’s because they don’t talk down to children and in fact most likely challenges them. It does help them understand the message clearer and helps them prepare for harsh realities. As long as it never goes too far (like going bloody or sexual) I think dark films like this should be making a comeback. I did notice at the screening I was at there were children watching the film, the fact that I didn’t hear one of them cry or complain suggests to me they were really into this film.
The version I did see was in fact an English dub, I didn’t expect that going in – I thought it would be Italian with subtitles. But thankfully the dubbing was very well done, obviously the voices are out of sync with their mouths but honestly I got used to it after 5 minutes. It also helps that several of the cast members dubbed themselves, including Ielapi, which helps preserve their performances and keep it all Italian.
This is honestly the best adaptation I have seen of Pinocchio, it’s a beautifully made Italian fantasy with a good message that’s appealing to both children and adults.
Written by Jack Parish
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