Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
The greatness of this Pinocchio is a lie.
Presentation:
This is a splendidly captured world that is really not appealing to me. The stop motion in this film is choppy and the characters feel blocky and wooden just like Pinocchio. I never felt immersed in the movie because there is some mismatch whether it is the audio, dialogue, lighting or movement, I just can’t pinpoint what feels off. Something feels particularly uncanny with this one that makes it harder to enjoy. The pace is also too fast in storybook speed to create any emotional attachment. The musical numbers are also weak and even unpleasant. Adult themes aren’t enough to make adults enjoy what is very clearly a stop motion cartoon designed for children. Most crucially, the father and Pinocchio are not charismatic or likable. The only enjoyable character was the bug and maybe the villain.
Conclusion:
As a family film, this is quite a full experience. But it has been marketed universally toward adults, perhaps due to attaching Guillermo’s name to the title. It is definitely mostly for kids and if you think this is like Coraline or a Studio Ghibli film that adults can enjoy as well you will be sorely mistaken. It’s actually very cartoonish in presentation, misleadingly audiences by the rave reviews as one of the best stop motion of all time. Hard disagree. The technical creation is impressive but about one hour in I had to skip forward to the ending.
Recommendations
Saving the princess is always a feel-good fairy tale.