Guillermo del Toro soulfully revives ‘Pinocchio’

When Disney released its abysmal live-action revamp of “Pinocchio” earlier this fall, it felt like the classic fantasy tale needed a multi-decade hibernation.

Instead, acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro discovers new caverns of emotional resonance in the well-worn classic. Co-directed with Mark Gustafson, del Toro’s stop-motion version of “Pinocchio” reimagines the story into a powerful examination of loss and how both burden and redemption can be borne out of lies.

This version moves the Carlo Collodi novel into 1930s Fascist Italy (with an appearance by Mussolini) and opens with an extended sequence with Geppetto (voice of David Bradley) living a peaceful life with his real-boy Carlo. War comes, Carlo dies, and the aging woodcarver buries his sorrow in booze… that is, until he drunkenly chops down a tree growing from his son’s grave and decides to use the wood for a very special project.

Yikes. The kids will be searching for the cute cat and goldfish, that’s for sure.

“Pinocchio” eventually takes some whimsical turns, but del Toro’s framing of the story in a real world makes for a compelling contrast against the intricate character designs and mesmerizing stop-motion animation. When Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) comes alive, he’s initially a terrifying nuisance in Geppetto’s life. The woodcarver seems to only care about Pinocchio as an empty shadow of Carlo, and Pinocchio wants nothing more than to be the son Geppetto misses.

The screenplay, written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, makes several distinct and effective changes to the familiar story. Christoph Waltz voices the central villain here, which combines a couple of the classic “Pinocchio” antagonists, and del Toro regular Ron Perlman voices a fascist government official who wants to turn all the boys of the village, Pinocchio included, into soldiers of war (the movie veers away from that donkey business to a wholly unique — and equally disturbing — set piece that further explores a real-world time and place).

More successful alterations include Ewan McGregor as the warm-hearted Sebastian J. Cricket, the narrator of the story who, thankfully, isn’t the aloof squatter of other adaptations. And, of all people, the great Cate Blanchett voices a memorable monkey.

Death remains at the forefront in this version of “Pinocchio” as well… literally. She appears as a character halfway through, with the voice of Tilda Swinton no less, as something of an underworld guide for Pinocchio. Here, the wooden boy can and does die over and over again… but he’s forever destined to be reincarnated, and Death warns him that he’ll eventually see everyone he will ever love depart forever. Hi, kids, welcome to the beautiful, twisted mind of Guillermo del Toro!

While it may not be for the youngest of audiences, “Pinocchio” still operates as a (dark) children’s story, though willing adult viewers are likely to find a truthful examination of grief, fear and acceptance. Pinocchio’s nose still grows when he lies… and the film posits that it’s maybe not always such a terrible thing.

Whether it’s a movie made for children or not, del Toro’s “Pinocchio” is a storytelling triumph.

Now streaming on Netflix.

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Tyler Wilson is film critic and member of the International Press Academy. He has been writing about movies since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.