Directed By Matteo Garrone

Starring – Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Rocco Papaleo

The Plot – Shot in stunning Italian locations, Matteo Garrone’s rich world of mystery and wonder stars Roberto Benigni as Geppetto, the old woodcarver whose puppet creation, Pinocchio, magically comes to life with dreams of becoming a real boy. Easily led astray, Pinocchio (Federico Ielapi) tumbles from one misadventure to another as he is tricked, kidnapped and chased by bandits through a wonderful world full of imaginative creatures, from the belly of a giant fish, to the Land Of Toys and the Field Of Miracles.

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images

Pinocchio Official Trailer | Only in Theaters This Christmas – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Faithful remake. What Garrone has done here can’t be overstated enough, combining the whimsical atmosphere of the Disney animated feature film with the meaningful material of Carlo Collodi’s novel, to create a hybrid that doesn’t discredit the integrity of either. With that said, this simply is not a movie that I would recommend to kids. It’s very much a grim fairytale in the context of fantastical images and characters existing in a world as gritty and hostile as our own, which more times than not pays off unnervingly in the form of character direction that never sugar coats the darkness of the environment that he’s growing to be a part of. It remains accurate to the bittersweet material that all of us grew up enjoying, but maintains a maturity in evolution and artistic integrity that is very much the reflection of such a timeless growth handed down to generations. A blueprint for how Disney should be remaking their intellectual properties.

– Award worthy production. This is in the form of the make-up and prosthetics work for character designs that is done almost entirely with practicality. Because these are human beings playing animal characters, the producers have to get creative in the level of detail they are attempting, after all, this could very well turn into “Cats”. Thankfully, what they conjure zeroes in on the fantastical qualities of these animated characters coming to life, all the while preserving the air of believability in not going overboard that allows them to live in this world. Pinocchio’s design is the culmination of such a sentiment, emitting a wooden looking embodiment that moves and reacts accordingly to the human side from within the character longing to get out. It attains a quality of perfection that one would assume is computer generated, but thrives in being a testament to practical effects that I wish more films were doing still today.

– Whimsical wonder. The light-hearted musical score from composer Dario Marianelli channeled a feel good fluff of children’s innocence to play vibrantly to a world that is anything but. It works brilliantly, and a lot of it is because these bittersweet flute and piano heavy compositions trigger a resounding somber from within that also plays into the movie’s despair. From the movie’s opening shot, Marianelli cements a precedent in familiarity that will be matched consistently throughout sequences of transition, but if you pay attention it’s the way the track matures and expands (Like Pinocchio) in length, allowing it to become something entirely fresh, that properly ages and influences because of the world of learning taking shape surrounding it. It’s unique to see this perspective in a live action property, especially one that is rated PG-13, but Dario and accompanying musicians’ melodic remedies channel a whimsy nostalgia for the titular character that audibly transports us to a simpler time of child-like embodiment.

– Social dissection. Without a doubt the biggest pleasure that I got from delving into this newest remake is the series of mature topics and social commentary that shows itself through the eyes of its child protagonist. In this regard, the screenplay cuts through conventions dealing with poverty, greed, ideals of parenthood, and an overall backlash for sociological treatments and labeling that influence and weigh heavily on one’s vantage point perception of the world. It unapologetically tears through the fabric of restrain that limited the Disney cartoon to just speculation, and instead shows much of the cold and unforgiving circumstances of life that isn’t always smiles and happy endings for people viewed as “Different”.

– Three-dimensional art designs. In the world of cinema, 13 million dollars is not a lot of money, especially within the realm of a fantastical re-imagining. That doesn’t stop this crew of doing a seamlessly wonderful job with every aspect of production, especially that of lighting and decoration, which make these otherwise hollow sets pop with a sense of lived-in vibrancy within a weathered color coordination. The sun sparkle through windows in the various settings shines beautifully as the constant metaphorical glimmer of hope that lives and perseveres within this boy’s soul. Likewise, the attention to detail paid in illustrating the stark economical divide between these various sets housing different characters was something I greatly appreciated, especially considering the budget limited the full appeal of showing off the level of elaboracy that Italian styles and symmetry can provide. It gives a visual personality that I compare colorfully to “Pan’s Labyrinth”, for the weathered interior inside of a fantastical exterior, and made for a seamless adaptation to the in-depth discussions that were a part of Collodi’s novel.

– Intricate sound design. There’s a finely illustrated conveyance of hollow property making up Pinocchio’s four foot frame, particularly in the sound levels articulated with some truly enveloping sound mixing. No scene takes for granted the opportunity to showcase the echoing bottling of the boy running, or tapping his head and/or growing nose on physical properties that it comes into contact with feels entirely different from one to the other, keeping it from ever feeling like a series of sound bites that it plays when convenient. The volume capacity appears presently enough without drownining out the integrity of the scene in obviousness, and every influential impact It’s a subtle example of excellent post production work that goes a long way in capturing the authenticity of the boy’s all wooden exterior frame, the consistency of which working wonderfully persistent throughout the entirety of the film.

– Gifted ensemble. I’m one of the hardest critics on child actors, but Federico Ielpi silences any doubts that I had in him embodying this character, with a combination of endless heart and spirited delivery that played towards the advantages of having a child actor playing the titular character. Ielpi’s uproarious squealing in between sequences of chase, capture, or torture really makes you view this as a child above anything else, and instills great concern and immense empathetic investment toward the uncertainty of the character despite him being a character incapable of pain. The bond between he and Roberto Benigni’s Gepetto quickly cements status as this father/son dynamic between the two, and outlines this general necessity between them that supplants what each of them is missing. Benigni is magnetic as the boy’s caretaker, supplanting a gentle stature of sensitivity that brings to life the parental instincts of the character. These two, as well as the rest of the collective ensemble add a series of perfectly precise ingredients for the property, each playing into the smooth transition of the movie’s tonal shifts that the material takes us through.

NEGATIVES

– Occasionally overstuffed. In trying to embody as much of the novel as possible, the script by Garrone and Massimo Ceccherini at times feels too convoluted to keep moving smoothly through two hours of cinema. There’s nothing that I would remove completely from the finished product of this picutre, but rather cut into time between certain sequences and donate it to others that could’ve required further enhancing. For my money, I’d pull from Pinocchio’s time with the Ferry, which while sweet does occasionally feel repetitive once they have a compassionate late second act reunion, and give more time to the initial engagement between Pinocchio and Gepetto, which feels sharply rushed when compared to the pacing of every other arc under this story’s creative roof. It would magnify the tragedy of their sudden distancing all to the benefit of the movie’s dramatic encompassing, and offer more for us to miss between them than just a day or two of experiences that feel like momentary strangers instead of a star-crossed family.

– Design flaws. While I previously stated the benefits of the practical effects work and prosthetics that make-up this legendary character of fiction, it’s the same designs that limit visual emotion, which in turn limit our emotional attachment to the character. Thankfully, Ielpi is leaps ahead of his years in terms of on-screen captivation, but it’s a problem that live action remakes like “The Lion King” or “Lady and the Tramp” haven’t been able to shake, and this version of Pinocchio is the newest in this respect, but possibly all the more shameful considering its entirely practical effects that obscure this boy’s facial registries. This means it’s removing the integrity of the actor and performance inside for the sake of a production aspect that we can easily fix, instead of an artificial one that would take literally millions of dollars to adjust. It’s a bit too thick for my taste, and could use more influence by the eye brows and cheek bones to play into the unorthodox design of the concept.

– Pivotal absence. This is a personal preference for me, but another element that adds into the film’s flailing pacing during the second half of the movie was the absence of Gepetto or any other anchoring force for the audience to play against the meandering circumstance of Pinocchio repeatedly getting into trouble over and over again throughout. It’s this same way in the book, but Gepetto disappears after the first act of the movie, and without this commanding presence from the other side of the conflict that mirrors Pinocchio’s cross-town adventure, it removes any element of clearly defined urgency from the picture that also plays into the same frailty of life that the story seems so focused on. The creator is just as important of a character to this story as the creation, but the film takes for granted the former’s importance in distancing many of the similarities in the story’s stucture.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-