Guillermo del Toro is a master of horror and fantasy filmmaking, known for visually stunning and thematically rich films such as Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water. His take on the classic story of Pinocchio promises to be equally imaginative and thought-provoking.
The movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, was released on 22nd November 2022 and collected appreciation of a large audience. Del Toro has long been a fan of the original Pinocchio story, written by Carlo Collodi in 1883. The story follows a wooden puppet who longs to become a real boy, and the trials and tribulations he faces along the way. He once said that he sees the story as a "fable about being human" and a "parable about the struggle for identity."
What is it to be a human? What is it to be part of a society? How the rules are being set? How the we accept our loved ones without forcing them to change dramatically? How is it to love your family for who they are and how they are? What is the role of death in understanding life?
One aspect of Del Toro's Pinocchio is the dark and fantastical presentation of Great War times in Italy, in 1930s. The director explores the themes of fascism and totalitarianism in the story, saying that "Pinocchio is a story about a puppet who wants to become a real boy, but it's also a story about a country that wants to become a real nation."
The movie opens with the presentation of the unbreakable bond between a woodcarver named Geppetto and his son Carlo. This admirable relationship comes to an end with death of Carlo during an inadvertent aerial bomb. Mourning turns out to be an unending process for Geppetto. He honors his son's memory by planting a pine cone near his grave and spends the next twenty years mourning his loss. An anthropomorphic cricket named Sebastian J. Cricket takes up residence in the resulting pine tree.
One night, Geppetto subsequently cuts down the tree in a fit of drunken rage in order to make a new son out of its wood. With frustration and pain, he passes out drunk, leaving the puppet unfinished without knowing what will happen next.
During the night, a bluish Wood Sprite brings the unfinished marionette to life, christening him Pinocchio. The Sprite meets Sebastian J. Cricket and promises to grant him a wish, which he intends to use in order to become a famous writer, in exchange for acting as Pinocchio's guide. The sweet twist is that we listen to the story from the perspective of Sebastian and read it through his diary.
The rest of the story consists of the adventures of Pinocchio while grasping the rules of life, of belonging to a society and becoming an individual. He is made of wood, has a very distinct look compared to other kids. However, he is no less than a son to Geppetto. Considering this excluded, alienated position of Pinnochio; the movie perfectly presents his struggle to figure out the world on his own and grasps this feeling that the things you are told to are not enough while exploring life.
Puppet-making and animation
In terms of the visuals, del Toro is known for his imaginative and fantastical worlds and his Pinocchio promises to be no different. What is magical about the movie is being a stop-motion that unites the art of puppet making with digital animation.
As Guillermo explains, the stop-motion crew consisted so many talented creators who are located in three different cities: London, Portland, and Guadalajara. One of the earlier steps was the creating of hand drawn designs of each character. Every character had to have a physical appearance that is reflecting their characteristics and habits.
Second phase was making of inanimate objects. However, not every design is feasible to work on a stop motion scene. Thus, third step required turning these objects into puppets by calculating required movements such as bodily movements, gestures, weight, and scale.
The puppet was created using a combination of traditional puppet-making techniques and cutting-edge technology. The team used wood, metal, and silicone to create the puppet's body, with the wood providing the structure and the silicone used to create the puppet's skin and facial features. The puppet's eyes were made of glass and were able to move and change expression using a system of servo motors and pulleys.
For instance, for Volpe and Gepetto, mechanical puppets with silicone texture of skin were made to enable the variety of gestures that they can perform. Whereas, for Pinocchio, face transplant was a better solution to highlight that he is made of wood. So almost only gesture available for him, was related to size of his mouth. On the other hand, his rapidly changing mouth movements gives the message that he is only a 6-7 years old kid whose emotions are rapidly changing in exploration of the world.
The artistic value of the puppet was that it was able to convey a wide range of emotions and expressiveness, which was essential for the film's themes of identity and humanity. The use of a life-sized puppets also allowed for greater physical presence on-screen and helped to make the story more relatable and tangible. The combination of traditional puppet-making techniques and cutting-edge technology was able to achieve a high level of realism and realism that was praised by critics and audiences.
For certain shots, such as the interaction of Pinocchio and Sebastian J. Cricket, it was required to make a huge puppet of Pinocchio in order to focus on the perspective and the difference of scale between them. Only this detail itself is enough to display the complicity of film-making and the unicity of Guillermo de Toro's Pinocchio.
Considering the directors' aim was to capture the reality at its finest, producing the puppets that looks shiny and new were not enough. Living requires aging, getting your hands dirty, having experiences carved in your clothing and to your body. In fact, one very important step in preparation of marionettes were mimicking dirt and traces on skin by the use of make-up.
Animators are the actors
In stop motion, professionalism in creation of characters, decoration of the scenes, and costumes are undoubtedly crucial. However, use of light, camera and continuity of the movements are huge part of capturing the reality. In a walking scene, no matter how lively the puppet is, calculating the right posture, taking anatomy and physics are what makes it authentic. Designing a walk is such hard task to handle as it also reflects the personality, age and style of the character directly.
In Guillermo de Toro's Pinocchio, animators are the real actors. In order to determine the reactions and movements of the characters, animators were shooting LAVs (live action videos); recreating the scenes by acting for certain characters. Thus, it is getting easier to plan and realize a scene in stop motion.
Some shots are particularly challenging as the movement of the characters and the camera has to be achieved simultaneously. For instance, during the shot that Spazzatura comes back to the circus, the audience has the chance to get familiar with the circus artists, and the ambiance at the tent. That's also the moment, we meet with Volpe who is the villain of the movie. Indeed, this complicated and long-lasting shot took over 3 months to complete as there are so many camera movements and details to be perfected.
Sebastian J. Cricket, what a character!
It is not a very rare thing that I cry over movies. However, what gave me the tears at the end definitely was my bond with Sebastian J. Cricket.
He is an adventurous soul with elegance and intellectualness in his heart. I found it a genuinely amazing idea that he was created to be the narrator of the story. Him, moving into the pine tree, writing his diary was a very sensational and brilliant introduction of a character, whereas him ending up in the heart of Pinocchio is symbolic and dear to me. His posture, body language and the way he express himself are so sincere and hart warming.
Can we understand the life through death?
From ancient poets like Homer to modern writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the theme of death has been a constant source of inspiration. Understanding life through death can help us appreciate the preciousness of each moment and the importance of living our lives to the fullest.
One of the most famous works that explores the relationship between life and death is the ancient epic poem "The Iliad" by Homer. In this work, the death of the warrior Hector serves as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life and the ultimate inevitability of death. The poem also explores the idea of heroism, and it shows how the heroic actions of Hector are only truly appreciated once he has passed away.
Another writer who explored the relationship between life and death is the French philosopher and author Albert Camus. In his novel "The Stranger," Camus explores the idea that death is an inescapable part of life, and that it is a constant reminder of the absurdity of our existence. Through the character of Meursault, Camus shows how accepting death can help us understand the meaning of life, and how embracing our own mortality can help us live more fully in the present moment.
Similarly, the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez also explores the relationship between life and death in his works. In "One Hundred Years of Solitude," Marquez uses the recurring theme of death to show how the memories and experiences of those who have passed away live on in the lives of those left behind. This idea is also present in "Love in the Time of Cholera," where the narrator's memories of his lost love serve as a reminder of the beauty and transience of life.
Death is a powerful reminder of the fragility of life, and it can help us appreciate the beauty and preciousness of each moment. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio approaches the concept of life and death in a unique and thought-provoking manner.
The representation of life, Wood Sprite, appears as the sister of Death in the movie. All the spiritual subjects are given the color of electrical blue that creates highly mystical ambiance. Also, the physical appearance of the angels with several wings and eyes resembles the angel description in the Bible.
The movie explores the idea of what it means to be alive, and it uses the wooden marionette as a physical representation of the concept of life. The marionette is brought to life through a magical transformation, but it is still not considered a real boy until it has gained a soul. This concept is a nod to the idea that life is more than just a physical presence, and that it is the spirit and soul that truly make us alive.
Pinocchio, grew up throughout the movie, without physically changing. One distinct character of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is that, at the end, it's not the wooden boy who changes and adapt the world around him; rather he is the one who discovers his potential and change the people around him. Gepetto learns how to love without forcing Pinocchio to change as well as acknowledges death as ultimate part of life. Sebastian J. Cricket learns bonding and uses his one grand wish to save his friend Pinocchio's life. Spazzatura makes his way out of an abusive relationship and discovers true friendship. The wooden boy's pure heart inspires everyone around him. All these show how one's unique existence can make a difference even though we are just one in 8 billion people.
At the end, by understanding life through death, we gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of living our lives to the fullest, and for the memories and experiences that we leave behind for future generations. As Mark Gustafson said on the Netflix interview: "You don't have a film about life if you don't have a film about death." Such a take on a "kid's movie/ story" is what makes this piece deep and unique.
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