Pinocchio del Toro.. The famous wooden child in the confrontation with fascism | art

Some viewers may find this film inappropriate for children, but it actually reveals that the most naive versions are not suitable for raising children who understand the value of real life. Pinocchio del Toro is a mature work from the philosophical and artistic side and a film that pleases the eye and the mind at the same time.

The story of “Pinocchio” is one of the simple stories that have acquired a mythical aura in cinematography, so it is shown again and again in different adaptations that need to be explored again and again. “Pinocchio” is a story written by Carlo Coldi in 1883 in Italy, and first appeared in the cinema in 1911.

In 2022, two films dealing with the story of Pinocchio were released, the first produced by Disney with Tom Hanks in the role of Geppetto, a maker of old wooden artifacts, and the second produced by the competing platform “Netflix”, an animated film directed by the Mexican Guillermo del Toro, under called “Pinocchio del Toro” (Pinocchio Guillerma del Toro), which has already secured at least one of this year’s Oscars.

Pinocchio against war

The story of Pinocchio takes place in the past in the house of the old antique maker Geppetto, who loses his son and wife and lives a boring life among his wooden crafts, until one night he carves a statue of a child and wishes to become his son. The wish is fulfilled by a kind fairy, and the little one is left in the care of the cricket insect, which represents his conscience, and from there the adventures begin through the search of the living wooden statue to turn into a real child.

The modern film was written by Guillermo del Toro with Patrick McHale, and in it the events start from a slightly earlier point, because we meet Geppetto and his son Carlo, who live, in a small Italian town during the First World War, a simple, happy life that ends with Carlo killed by a bomb.

The old man falls into a well of sadness, becomes addicted to alcohol, is rejected by the townspeople, and in one of his fits of madness he makes a statue of Pinocchio, so it appears randomly and not quite perfectly, and when he wakes up and finds him alive, he is not as happy as in the original story , but he is tormented by his inability to understand and accept that creature that represents an alternative Not ideal for his lost son.

The harbingers of the Second World War, Mussolini’s fascist government and conscription for both children and youth begin.

The movie “Pinocchio” in its latest version belongs to the anti-war movies, because it mocks its leaders and exposes their fragile principles that contradict the most basic rules of humanity, such as the cruelty of a military commander to a small son, an attempt to make him a proud warrior.

The treatment of the new story of Pinocchio is similar to the story of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. Each of Dr. Frankenstein and Geppetto are made a being against the laws of nature, and then try to reject this relationship and seek the feelings of fatherhood and filial piety, while Frankenstein’s monster becomes frustrated and decides to take revenge, and his relationship with his creator turns into hatred instead of love, Pinocchio and his the father brings together a different relationship that binds the terrifying adventures they experienced separately, and then to each other.

Del Toro’s print

The plot of “Pinocchio del Toro” has a dark plot that some may not consider appropriate for a work for children with an age rating, but the film sticks to the original novel’s gritty look at loss and war, despite the happy ending, and del Toro’s unique cinematic style, which his puts the name before even the title. The film, as before with the Netflix horror series “Chamber of Wonders”.

Del Toro, the Oscar-winning director and owner of a group of the most famous fantasy and horror films, will certainly not present a film about the childish Pinocchio similar to Disney’s works, but a special work in which he sent his spirit and art.

The film uses the “Stop Motion” technique, which relies on moving the puppets by small millimeters at a time, while each movement is recorded. Del Toro’s puppets were characterized by a mixture of exoticism and realism, and the techniques used to make and move each of them differed in order to convey Del Toro’s very special visual experience.

Pinocchio and the essence of life

Pinocchio is about loss, death, war and new beginnings. Pinocchio may not have turned into a real child, but he realized that he didn’t need to.

This is the key point that makes it different from the old adaptations of the story. The wooden child here expresses any teenager or child who is different from those around him and celebrates his unique personality instead of trying to hide it and hide himself as an ordinary person among the ordinary.

The older generation or the generation of parents want children who easily fit into their society, so this line becomes an important part of the plot, even though it is marginal in the literary work.

Previous treatments of the story, including the pioneering 1940s Disney film to the modern version directed by Robert Zemkes in 2022, have prioritized providing educational ethics for children such as respecting the father, not lying and staying away from laziness, but Del Toro’s version it introduced Pinocchio, a revolutionary hero who resists, who wants to fit in with his environment in order to maintain his individuality.

The work focused the children’s attention on equally important principles, namely the value of life and death. Without the latter, life has no meaning. It is a view that may seem dark, but the truth is that young people should learn to celebrate every day in their lives.

In the original novel, Pinocchio kills the cricket that represents his living conscience at the beginning of the event, but in later films closer to childhood, this point of view has changed. The fairy is not perfect either, but a dual personality with two images, one representing life and the other death, with a terrifying design befitting the two entities the film focuses on.

Perhaps some viewers will think that this film is not suitable for children, but it actually reveals that the most naive versions are not suitable for raising children who understand the value of real life. Pinocchio del Toro is a mature work in the philosophical and artistic sense, and a film that pleases the eye and mind at the same time, and deserves a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.