Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a stunning stop-motion adaptation of
the Italian children's story about a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy,
but how does it compare to Disney's animated classic?
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and in this video I'm explaining the biggest
differences between Disney's iconic movie and del Toro's magical take on the legendary tale.
Spoilers ahead, so take care if you haven't seen it yet.
While the star of Disney's film is crafted for maximum cuteness, with rounded features,
big eyes, rosy cheeks, and bright clothes, Guillermo del Toro took inspiration from the
darkly humorous illustrations of artist Gris Grimly for his Pinocchio, which means he's all
spindly limbs and stripped right back to his more realistically grainy wooden elements.
And unlike Disney's Geppetto who lovingly paints and names the puppet, a drunken carving session
by del Toro's Geppetto means the marionette has a rough and ready look with twigs, tape,
and nails sticking out, which fits with the film's theme of embracing imperfection.
But del Toro and his fellow filmmakers haven't just revamped Pinocchio's appearance;
they've also put a completely new spin on Carlo Collodi's 19th-century children's story.
Whereas Disney follows the original Italian tale and eventually turns the wooden puppet
into a real, flesh-and-blood boy, del Toro takes things in a different direction as he says he's
"never believed that transformation [should] be demanded to gain love".
Gone too is the idea that obedience and conformity are necessarily always a thing to aspire to,
with the Mexican Oscar-winner showing instead how disobedience can actually be a positive thing.
And as del Toro notes, in this version, 'Everybody learns from [Pinocchio]', who's
winningly voiced by Gregory Mann, rather than just Pinocchio learning from everybody else.
The talking Cricket who pops up just a handful of times in Collodi's book,
where he actually gets killed by Pinocchio, was given a much-expanded role by Disney.
As well as being Pinocchio's conscience and providing much humour, Jiminy Cricket also
bookends the 1940 animation and sings the iconic When You Wish Upon A Star.
Although del Toro's Sebastian J. Cricket does open and close the new film, adds a lot of comedy,
and even gets to sing an enjoyably jazzy musical number, you won't find him wearing fancy clothes
like Jiminy... Solid gold too.
...as the filmmakers have taken back his look back more to his pointy, insect roots,
albeit with some intriguing bluey-purple colouring and moustache-like mandibles.
Sebastian, who's entertainingly voiced by Ewan McGregor,
is also more of a philosopher and raconteur than his Disney counterpart
I'm a novelist, currently immersed in writing my memoirs.
though he finds he learns as much from Pinocchio as the marionette learns from him.
Well I tried my best, and that's the best anyone can do.
Pinocchio taught me that. Disney's Geppetto is a loving, playful, and cuddly
character with two charming animal sidekicks: a cute cat with an attitude called Figaro and
an eye-lash-batting goldfish named Cleo. Del Toro's Geppetto is much more angular
and gnarled and instead of adorable companion creatures, the old woodcarver gets a human son
called Carlo as well as a heart-breaking backstory for why he creates Pinocchio in the first place.
In fact, Game of Thrones star David Bradley who voices Geppetto sees it as a complex,
'real emotional roller coaster of a part – more like King Lear than the Pinocchio
[he] remembered [as a kid].' Disney adapted the original book's Fox
and Cat duo who were murderous robbers into con-men Honest John and Gideon, who bring a
barrelful of scheming slapstick fun to the film. But with the exception of the magical Pinocchio,
Cricket, and Wood Sprite, del Toro wanted other elements of his version
to feel closer to the real world. So, instead of a talking cat and fox,
he created two new characters, Count Volpe and Spazzatura, who channel both the original
animals as well as the Puppet Master Stromboli aka Mangiafuoco from the animation and book.
Volpe, whose name is Italian for fox, is a human ringmaster who runs a travelling carnival and
lures Pinocchio into starring in his show. Both del Toro and Disney's vulpine
characters are melodramatic, actorly types. Can you not see how desperate the situation is?
I'm speaking, my boy, of the theatre. And Volpe's perfectly voiced by Christoph Waltz.
I love how the character's fox-inspired name and tricksy nature are reflected in his appearance,
from his long, reddish nose, to his orange-brown coat with white fur collar,
and his ginger hairstyle that shoots up like fox ears or devil horns.
And then there's Volpe's side-kick, an often-mistreated monkey called Spazzatura,
who apart from vocalisations by Cate Blanchett, speaks only via some marionettes, though the
character does add plenty of physical comedy to the film, similar to Disney's mostly silent Cat,
and it even has some poignant moments as well. In a big change from Disney's Blue Fairy,
and the book's Fairy with Turquoise Hair, del Toro's film instead gives us two ethereal
blue sister spirits called the Wood Sprite and Death, both voiced by Tilda Swinton.
Who on earth are you? A guardian.
I care for the little things, the forgotten things, the lost ones.
The Wood Sprite has huge feathery wings covered with blinking eyes which was inspired by
medieval Mexican painting of angels and is also a deliberate nod to another of del Toro's creations,
the Angel of Death from Hellboy. With its darker themes, del Toro's movie
isn't afraid to introduce the concept of Death, though it's done in a darkly amusing manner.
For example, the odd group of rabbits who work in the Underworld seem more interested in their game
of cards than making sure the people inside the coffins they carry are actually dead.
And the whole scene is a nod to the famous series of paintings "Dogs Playing Poker".
Death herself is a sphinx-like creature with horns and wings covered in eyes
and a forked tail with snakes at the end. Whereas Disney's Blue Fairy ultimately turns
Pinocchio from a wooden puppet into a real boy made of flesh and bone, in del Toro's version
although Death does tell Pinocchio he can choose to change from an immortal being into a mortal
one, he's still very much made of wood. The idea behind this change was that,
according to del Toro, 'You don't have to change who you are to be loved', but at the same time
Pinocchio's new-found mortality also shows that death is crucial to give life meaning and value.
The one thing that makes human life precious and meaningful you see...
is how brief it is. A horrifyingly memorable part of Disney's movie
is Pleasure Island, where the malevolent Coachman takes disobedient boys to turn them into donkeys.
In place of that, del Toro's film, which is set in 1930s Italy, has young boys being sent to a
fascist training camp run by the Podesta, voiced by del Toro regular Ron Perlman,
and there they're turned into killers to fight for Mussolini and the Fatherland.
The Podesta's son Candlewick, who's voiced by Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things, is the equivalent
of Disney's naughty Lampwick boy who befriends Pinocchio on the way to Pleasure Island.
Although he initially bullies Pinocchio, del Toro's Candlewick later becomes a
good friend and frees himself from his father's oppressive world view,
and so avoids a horrible fate like that suffered by his fairy tale and Disney counterparts.
Candlewick's disobedience to his fascist father and the regime is part of del Toro's emphasis
on the virtues of disobedience, similar to the joyous way that Pinocchio pokes fun at
the Italian dictator Mussolini at the carnival, when Il Duce turns up to watch a performance.
These puppets, I do not like. Shoot him!
When it comes to its soundtrack, del Toro's movie has a steep climb to reach
the dizzy heights of the Oscar-winning, much-loved songs of the 1940 movie,
from When You Wish Upon A Star, which not only won an Academy Award but became Disney's
signature tune, to Jiminy Cricket's jaunty Give A Little Whistle, Disney's first-ever villain song
Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me), and Pinocchio's catchy I've Got No Strings.
So, comparing Disney and del Toro's songs is almost impossible
– after all, we've heard Disney's tracks for decades now while del Toro's tunes are
receiving their very first airing. Still, I did enjoy the new songs
and think they work well in their context. Look out for the sweet melancholy of Geppetto's
lullaby 'My Son', Pinocchio's amusing 'Everything Is New to Me' and the touching 'Ciao Papa',
as well as Volpe's 'We Were A King Once' which has real vibes of Fagin's songs You've
Got to Pick A Pocket or Two and Reviewing the Situation from the musical Oliver!
Viewed by many, including del Toro, as a pinnacle of Disney's animation,
the studio's second ever animated feature is still as gorgeous as ever, with its dazzling
hand-drawn 2D imagery coupled with, what was for the time, ground-breaking effects.
Meanwhile, del Toro and his talented team bring an incredible eye for detail to their
new movie which combines rich visuals with both macabre and moving moments.
And I do love the idea of using stop-motion puppets to tell the famous tale,
which fits so well with their particular spin that wooden boy Pinocchio often acts
more like a real human than many of the actual human characters in the story.
So, what do you think of del Toro's film? And what's your favourite
moment in either Pinocchio? Let me know in the comments below.
Tap here for my next video, and if you enjoyed this one
do leave a thumbs-up, I really appreciate it. Thanks for enjoying Pinocchio with me and hope you
have a marvellous movie-loving week! Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!