Pinocchio: The Del Toro Vision

When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you…

Everybody should know that classical song from Disney’s Pinocchio (Picture: Bottom Left Corner), however today I (Ethan Stranger) will be reviewing a different kind of Pinocchio and it’s not the 1940 animated feature nor its recent garbage Live-Action Remake (Picture: Bottom Right Corner), Today, I’ll be reviewing the recent Netflix Stop-Motion Pinocchio by Gullimero Del Toro  (Picture: Top Center) and how I find it very relatable (from the Neurodivergent point of view), while also poking fun at the recent Live-Action Disney remake and how that version was a complete garage, so then…shall we review?

I’ll never forget 1st hearing about Gullimero Del Toro’s Pinocchio all the way back in 2012 (you can check out some of these early concept art clips in this video link below), judging by them, we were close to a very different version of Gullimero Del Toro’s Pinocchio, where Geppetto had no beard and was a bit taller/skinner with a long mustache, human versions of the Fox and the Cat and a scary-looking version of Mangiafuoco (Stromboli in the Disney version) and even a nightmarish looking version of Spazzatura the Monkey (Interesting fact “Spazzatura means garbage in Italian”)  

(For more info about the long production behind Gullimero Del Toro’s Pinocchio, read this article below)

https://collider.com/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-images/

Another interesting fact is that Del Toro’s Pinocchio is based on this Book version by Gris Grimly (Picture: Bottom Center)  

Tell me that’s like a nickname, is this author a fan of Brothers Grimm Tales or Not (what kind of name is that)?

So now that’s out of the way, allow me (in my own opinion) on why Gullimero Del Toro’s Pinocchio is the obvious winner while Disney's recent Live-action Pinocchio remake of their beloved classic is a massive misfire. To begin with (Just by watching the trailers), I originally thought that with Robert Zemeckis directing the live-action Remake, he could’ve brought something new and fresh to bring the beloved animated classic, but instead…I don’t know what was going on with this guy, cause the Live-Action destroys everything that made the original animated Pinocchio a classic, for several roles from the original are shortened, The Pleasure Island scene is played too childish, and new characters like Sofia the Seagull, Fabiana, and her puppet Sabina are boring and that ending was stupid, plus there’s this “Disgusting moment where Pinocchio is “sniffing Horse (PIcture: Bottom Center), why does this scene exist? 

 

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gullimero Del Toro watched Disney’s Live-Action Pinocchio and spotted  that scene and decided to write a song about   , not only as a disparaging toilet-humor ladened parody to Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, but I believe also a secret message to “poke fun at Disney’s Live-Action Pinocchio” and (Like Count Volpe) have both Mickey Mouse and Robert Zemeckis take a bite of the Live-Action Pinocchio script (cause that script taste like):

(an interesting fact is that SpongeBob himself Tom Kenny, voices Benito Mussolini)

You know I once read that Mel Brooks’ film (The Producers) was close to being titled “Springtime for Mussolini” as major studios rejected the film's original Title (Springtime for Hitler), though how would the “Springtime for Hitler” have sounded like if were sung “Springtime for Mussolini and Italy” instead (well you can listen to Springtime for Hitler right here and wonder if Mussolini could’ve worked within the song):

   

Anyways, while Disney’s 2022 live-action Pinocchio is an udder mess, Del Toro’s Pinocchio managed to change completely everything (even managed to add several elements from the original story), like how “Sebastian J. Cricket” gets smashed a lot (in the original Story, he was killed and came back a ghost), plus there are these “black rabbits with skeletal bodies (inspired by the Undertaker Rabbits from the original story)”, point being, the Original Pinocchio was dark and so many unused characters (that really didn’t appear in either Del Toro version or the Original Animated Disney Pinocchio), plus it’s Del Toro’s Pinocchio, he can do whatever he wants with it, also this film really showed me on a lot about “1930s Fascist Italy” (something that was hardly addressed in my History classes) as well as learning several Italian words (Spazzatura means garbage in Italian).

    

Plus Del Toro’s Pinocchio takes the concept of the “Wooden Boy who wants to be a Real Boy” in an entirely different direction, as his Pinocchio never really transforms into a “real flesh and Blood Boy”, instead what this version of Pinocchio teaches us (especially for the Neurodivergent community) is Humanity and Morality (even during Fascist times), while also tackling on how much time we have with our loved ones, though nobody is really immortal like Pinocchio,  it’s important to hold onto the memories of our loved ones who have passed away, like my Friend (K.Welch) once said to me following the passing of my Late Grandpa, “There’s always more we want to do with our loved ones. We have to focus on the good memories even though it's difficult…That’s definitely easier said than done, but we have to try.” Another friend (R. Almanza) wrote “I hope your memories can give you peace…There’s never enough time with the ones we love the most” and that’s something Pinocchio learns for he’s immortal but his loved ones aren’t. Plus the films also deal heavily with “who you are, staying true to yourself and not having to change to be accepted”, something everyone within the Neurodivergent community struggles with, for all we want is accepted into society, and we believe that the only way to “try to be like everybody else, but it doesn’t work like that” similar to how Geppetto wanted Pinocchio to act like his deceased son (Carlo), but in the end, he accepts Pinocchio for who he really is.

Though I would’ve liked to have seen Del Toro does his own version of the “Pleasure Island Sequence” (Del Toro haven director horror films before), besides looking back on the original animated Disney Classic, the Coachman (Picture: Bottom Left Corner) looked pretty scary (like he was the devil in a human disguise), instead, The Coachman is replaced by the Podestà (Picture: Bottom Right Corner) who tries to turn Pinocchio and weak son (Candlewick) into soldiers. I understand that Del Toro was trying to add more “Realism” to his Pinocchio movie and the scene where the Podestà orders Candlewick to shoot Pinocchio, to prove his worthiness to his father and all Candlewick wanted to do, please his father and once again that’s another aspect the Neurodivergent community struggles with and that's trying to prove ourselves to others, whether it’s parents, family members, teachers or groups, sometimes it’s difficult to live up to someone else expeditions, which is why people within the Neurodivergent community prefer to do things there way (not anybody else’s way) and in the end, they manage to get the job done.  

An interesting fact is that I knew this guy (Coachman Q, Picture: Bottom Center) who was like an amalgam of both the Podestà and Coachman (after all, he’s got something bigger than just ego talking )

(Click here to watch the Scene)

(Though, click here to rewatch the Donkey Transformation from the original animated Classic)

Overall I really enjoyed this version of Pinocchio, even the beautiful classic score (very emotional):

(This song is very heartwarming, and reminds me of how much I miss my Late beloved Grandpa), The same goes for this theme: 

(Read more about him in my “Worlds Greatest Grandpa Post”)

(Ethan Stranger Signs off…Neurodivergent community to open your arms to “Better Tomorrow's”, just like in the song)

(Plus feel free to check out my other Gullimero Del Toro-related post, Shaping the Water…with Love)