Sunday, 8 January 2023

VOD: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (dirs: Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, 2022)

"All good things require patience."

Del Toro's gorgeous stop-motion re-telling of the Pinocchio story is an absolute delight.  As ever, del Toro's storytelling ability is note-perfect, as it balances whimsy, sunny innocence and pure happiness with grief, war and loss effortlessly, weaving in his allegorical touchstones of war and religion purposefully and meaningfully.  David Bradley (as Gepetto) and Ewan McGregor (as The Cricket) voice their characters with aplomb, and young Gregory Mann imbues Pinocchio with a wonderfully energetic and inquisitive youthful tone.  Alexandre Desplat's charming score and brief songs are lovely, and the rich and vibrant design (and particularly use of lighting effects) is executed superbly.  It all leads to an understated but very poignant ending that is simply beautiful and a perfect conclusion to this exquisite film.
 

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