A Review of Guillermo
del Toro's Pinocchio by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Netflix
MPAA Rating, PG
USCCB Rating, Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating, Two Reels
The
Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is one of the great Christian allegories
of the 19th century. Like Pilgrim’s Progress or The Chronicles of
Narnia, it was designed to bring Christian themes into family-oriented
literature. It has been adapted to film dozens of times, but the results have never
exceeded the 1941 Disney feature, a masterpiece of animated cinema. Guillermo
del Toro’s version certainly earns its surtitle, blending the original story
with common tropes including complicated morality, existential crises, 1930s fascism,
and lots of monsters. Yet despite the presence of positive Catholic imagery, it
misses the allegory and substitutes a mess of platitudes with no coherent
structure. This Pinocchio isn’t lifeless, but he’s certainly not a real boy.
The
story begins in Italy during the Great War. Geppetto (David Bradley) and his beloved
son Carlo (Gregory Mann) are carving a new crucifix in the local church when a
rogue bomb drops from above, killing the boy. Twenty years later, the broken-hearted
father still has not finished this project. In a drunken rage, he cuts down the
tree next to Carlo’s grave and poorly carves a haphazard wooden puppet. That
night, a Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) gives Pinocchio life despite Geppetto not entreating
this gift. While perhaps not having a rational soul, he certainly acts like a
mischievous eight-year-old: curious, naïve, argumentative, and always getting
into trouble. All children struggle with morality, but this is especially hard
when you live in a society where “good” and “bad” are up for grabs. He gets
limited help from Sebastian (Ewan McGregor), a cricket who lives in his head
but seems more interested in writing his memoirs than guiding Pinocchio on the
straight and narrow. Like Forrest Gump, he ebbs and flows through society,
trying to make sense of everything before offering the ultimate sacrifice.
The
first thing the Wood Sprite tells Pinocchio is to “be good,” but no one takes the
time to explain what that means. At one point, Geppetto tells him that war is
bad because it took Carlo from him. Yet, the local government authority Podesta
(del Toro regular Ron Pearlman) tells him war is good because it makes the
country strong. Thus, Pinocchio is more in the vein of Huckleberry
Finn than an obvious morality play like the Disney original. Further
complicating the matter is the afterlife. As a golem-like creature, Pinocchio
cannot die. When a fatal event occurs, he temporarily goes to the afterlife, a
Hades like realm governed by Death – here a Sphinx like creature – only to
return hours or days later. Without Heaven or Hell, the stakes are not terribly
high.
This
changes, however, when Pinocchio dies trying to save Geppetto at sea. He
demands to be sent back immediately to rescue his “papa.” Death warns that to return
before his appointed time means becoming mortal. He agrees and drowns while
getting Geppetto to safety. This act mirrors Jesus famous adage that there “is
no greater love than this: to die for one’s friends.” Perhaps he did learn
something after all.
Another
theme del Toro explores is Pinocchio’s desire to be “a real boy.” In the Disney
version, a human being is obvious: flesh and blood with a rational soul. Again,
this adaptation never makes clear what real means, so Pinocchio must discover his
identity. He teams up with an abusive puppet master who teaches him that wealth
and fame bring meaning. Podesta, echoing Mussolini, insists it comes through
power. Pinocchio is voiced by the same actor as Carlo, suggesting he has
something of the soul of Geppetto’s son, but at no point does he become human, implying
that souls are not limited to Homo Sapiens, an idea promoted frequently
in del Toro’s work. In the end, it is defined by love and mortality. Having limited
time makes life precious, and loving others demonstrates consciousness.
The
films of del Toro are famous for their fantastical religious universes. His syncretistic
worldview blends Christianity with pagan entities. Catholicism is portrayed
positively but as an extension of cultural cohesion rather than a spiritual
reality. The town’s priest is kind but also never resists the rise of fascism.
Instead, the world is full of spirits like Japanese kami. The highest beings, the
Wood Spite and Death, borrow heavily from Old Testament angelic imagery with dozens
of eyes and wings. All this could be confusing for small children, one of the
many reasons they should probably stay away.
Pinocchio
tries desperately to address many difficult issues but never fully realizes anything.
It doesn’t commit to being a classic Christian allegory nor does it fully embrace
its pagan ideas. The key can be found in Pinocchio’s creation, which was not
made from love, but from a haphazard attempt at meaning born from sorrow. Geppetto
would have done better to pray for Carlo, bring his grief to the cross, and
help the other children of the village. It’s not as interesting a story but
would have saved a lot of fuss.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on December 17th, 2022.
Comments
Post a Comment