Delayed Reaction: Pinocchio

Premise: So, you know Pinocchio, right? Now imagine it in Mussolini’s Italy.

There must be a gene I'm missing. I don't seem to have that thing where I marvel at Guillermo del Toro's movies. Maybe it's in those first three movies of his (Cronos, Mimic, The Devil's Backbone) which I haven't seen, because I haven't found it in the rest of his movies, which I've all seen. It remains weird to me how much of an auteur he's considered. Pan's Labyrinth was good, although I'm cooler on it than a lot of people. I felt beside myself the whole season when The Shape of Water ran away with Best Picture. It's an OK movie. And his career other than that is some second-tier comic movies, a fun Kaiju movie (Pacific Rim), and a couple gothic dramas that fizzled as real awards threats. As is, del Toro is in my Quentin Tarantino bucket. I love his enthusiasm for movies. I like that it always feels like he's completely into the movie he's making. He hasn't made anything I've really loved though.

 

I thought Pinocchio could be that movie. It seems like it's making a strong awards run as a sentimental favorite of people's. The stop motion animation is a perfect fit with del Toro's distinctive visual signature. It really is a pretty looking movie. And mixing a fairy tale with real historical war has worked well for him in the past. I couldn't find a way in emotionally though. And by that, I mean, there were emotional aspects of the film but I connected with none of them.

 

Much of it has to do with Pinocchio himself. He's just plain annoying in this. He never grew on me as a character because I was too busy with how annoying he was. I know that's not unique to this version. There's a reason why I haven't seen any version of Pinocchio in a long time. This did nothing to make it better though. The whimsy and humor in the film were a little too gentle. It has the feeling of a movie made for kids that only their parents would like. Unlike other movies of that ilk - Where the Wild Things immediately comes to mind - this didn't hit me in the gut the same way. Perhaps it's one of those movies you have to be a parent to really feel. I don't know.

 

It's a shame I didn't like it more. It's a lovely movie. Had I been slightly more aligned with the film, it looked like a cozy world to lose 2 hours in.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend