Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) Dir: Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson
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Now, this will be the third version of this isonic story that i have watched, and I think I can safely say that this is my fabourite of the three.
As the film's full name illudes to, this Netflix original was co-directed and co-written by legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who's fellow co-director was Mark Gustafson, a far less known filmmaker, who specialises in stop motion animation.
Speaking of which, said stop motion animation was truly beautiful, and is utilised very well in conjunction with some limited CGI.
Similarly to the two Disney Pinocchio productions, this fantasy adventure also features a couple of musical numbers. For the most part, these are well performed, although I don't think they are quite as strong as the 1940 animated film.
Much of the narrative takes place upon the backdrop of Mussolini's Fascist Italy, which makes for an immensely intriguing and unique take on a classic story.
Furthermore, del Toro makes a few changes to the traditional narrative, partially in order to accommodate the aforementioned fascist setting, and I think they really work. It adds a freshness to the story, without making it feel too far removed from the familiar.
The young Gregory Mann plays the iconic wooden boy, and I must say I thought his performance was stellar. His energy was perfectly on tone and I thoroughly enjoyed his endearing delivery and singing.
David Bradley, who many will know as Filch in the Harry Potter franchise, heads up an excellent supporting cast. I don't think I've seen much with him in, but this performance was a great example of how good he can be. He was superb from start to finish here.
Ewan McGregor provides the voice of the story's traditional narrator and sidekick, and uses his wonderfully fatherly tone to give the film a more emotional and human feel.
Ron Perlman provides the voice of one of the key antagonistic characters, and honestly, I really enjoyed his performance. He was excellent and helped his character to feel truly threatening.
Christoph Waltz is always phenomenal, and this display is no different. His ability to convey so much with his voice comes to the fore in what is a brilliant supporting performance.
When I realised who Cate Blanchett played in this, it's safe to say I was surprised. That said, I liked how she threw herself into the role and made her character feel as believable as they could be.
Another big name in Tilda Swinton also lends her voice to a supporting role here, and I think she emulated the character's presentation immensely well. It was also nice to see her character being utilised more than in previous iterations of the story.
The young star Finn Wolfhard has a somewhat small role, but does well to show some vocal variety in his performance - allowing his character to quietly develop nicely.
Finally, I'll mention some names that had relatively minor roles, but were still worthy of note; Burn Gorman, Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro.
Overall, this was a wonderfully heartwarming and enjoyable little adventure with some lovely animation and a refreshingly different perspective on a world-famous tale.
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