Yes, I have seen the film you’re interested in knowing about. I have a train journey on Tuesday so will probably write about it then.

So having only planned one film trip on holiday, mum then said that she had seen the advert for Pinocchio and would like to go. As she’d come to Babyteeth the day before, it only seemed appropriate that I go to her preferred film of choice. This time Emma also joined us meaning a diverse group of opinions could come together, or not.

As you probably know, Pinocchio is a story about a craftsman, Geppetto who wants to create the most wonderful puppet in the world. Once he does, Pinocchio magically comes to life. However, he is soon taken away and wants two things, to find his way back home and to become a real boy.

The cinema release is a dubbed version (english voice actors talking over) of the Italian film. While it took me a while to realise, some character lines were off, and the occasional use of words such as Babo (Father) meant I was wishing the whole film would be in Italian for greater authenticity.

Tonally we see much more variance from the old disney film you know and are indifferent to. Out go the songs and primary colours. In come the darker colour scheme and mild threat. The jolly jingles are replaced by a much grander soundtrack as we see a story more in line with the source material. The film takes some rather dramatic turns, a highlight being the attempted hanging of Pinocchio in order to get gold out of his mouth. It was quite something to see in a kids film.

One of the most spectacular parts of the film was the lack of CGI. Mark Coulier’s (The one who made Freddie’s BoRhap teeth) make up and prosthetics were absolutely fantastic. Each character looked fantastic and really melded in with the aesthetic. The wooden puppets especially were brilliantly unnerving.

The heart and the soul of the film come from Roberto Benigni. The opening 30 minutes with him in were the most smile inducing and once the focus shifted more to Pinocchio exclusively, we lost that warm feeling. While the main villains the cat and the fox provided some level of humour, on an emotional level the film was not quite there.

The pacing was also slightly off. The film came in at 125 minutes, when in reality it didn’t need to be longer than 90 minutes. The trials that Pinocchio overcame never really seemed to develop him, instead leaving the plot feeling much more stagnant.

Summary

A tonally interesting and refreshing take on the story, Pinocchio was definitely a stylistic film. However, much like puppet at times it felt rather wooden and was missing a heart. [Grade: C+]