Producer Guillermo del Toro no stranger to dark themes in literature. Throughout his career, his films have been influenced by the themes and characters of fairy tales. One of the hallmarks of del Toro is that he adds to the plots of his films the political climate of their creation, and the characters struggle with the problems surrounding the children around whom his fairy tales are centered. As he tells his stories, he adds his touches to iconic monsters that are both beautiful and terrifying, often making the viewer question the nature of the beasts, their “human condition”. His films then tend to be rife with symbolism seen through the eyes of children, making the viewer question the reality of the symbol itself. The result is a deeply affecting fantasy chimera. His characters can undergo metamorphosis or even be reborn as a result of their own decisions; more or less like an epic tale.
In a classic novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, we see a darker story than the modern reinterpretation popularized in modern literature. Geppetto is a lonely, destitute man who dreams of making a living as a puppeteer. The bar is given to him by a frightened carpenter, who is horrified when the log screams. The carpenter then gives the wood to Geppetto, who carves it into a doll for the boy. The puppet comes to life, and by all indications, except for the body, he is a naughty youth. He then embarks on a series of hedonistic adventures, constantly trying to earn money for Geppetto and learn to “be nice”. In his adventures, he meets a number of characters who try to use or trick him for their own benefit.
Pinocchio The original goal is to teach children to think about their parents, learn and be obedient. Since then, after numerous adaptations, Pinocchio has become less rebellious, more selfless and loving to Geppetto. Today it can be seen as a metaphor for the human condition, asking what it really means to be “alive”. In addition, it improves the human condition, ending with a higher message: if you love and act kindly, you will be rewarded with love and growth in return. What’s interesting about the original story is that it has no answer and no karmic question as to why Pinocchio ends up in Geppetto’s hands in the first place. The reader may assume that this was a case of not knowing that the two spirits needed each other, or a completely accidental occurrence.
The story of the loss complements del Toro’s story
Guillermo Del Toro Pinocchio answers this question by giving Geppetto (David Bradley) son of Carlo, who died as a result of an accidental bombardment of his city during the First World War. Geppetto mourns the loss of his son, effectively putting his life on pause because of the pain of this loss. This is never directly stated, but given the events in the film, it can be understood that this period of mourning lasts for about 20 years, like Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) enters his life during World War II, emerging from a pine tree growing near Carlo’s grave. One drunken night, a grieving Geppetto cuts down a piece of wood and carves a boy out of it. When he wakes up the next day in a drunken stupor, the puppet has come to life again and is called “Pinocchio”. Pinocchio still goes on adventures, longing for his place in the world and the love of his father, Geppetto.
Initially, Geppetto projects his love for his son onto Pinocchio, knowing logically that he is not Carlo, but hoping that he will become like him. As the story progresses, Geppetto recognizes that Pinocchio is not the incarnation of Carlo, but is unabashedly himself. In doing so, he begins to deal with his grief, eventually finding happiness again. Although he is aware that losing Carlo will never fully heal, his love for Pinocchio allows him to move on. As a result, Pinocchio entering his life serves a purpose that makes him more content. This is a departure from the original story because the focus is not on his obedience, but on how each human spirit can participate in each other’s healing and self-acceptance.
War obscures topics
Del Toro does not shy away from some of the story’s original themes, though he continues to represent different aspects of human existence. True to the original story, Pinocchio’s life includes a number of characters who try to use him to their advantage. In past versions, the evil puppeteer appears as an antagonist who seeks to make him the star of his puppet show. Del Toro includes this character as Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz), but adds a few characters to further illustrate the dark side of humanity as represented in the fable.
Pinocchio (2022) presents The Podestà (del Toro’s favourite, Ron Perlman) to a story that is the father of the classic Candlewick character (Finn Wolfhard). In keeping with many of del Toro’s themes, the podestà under Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime was a kind of authoritarian mayor of Italy’s municipalities. The podesta in Pinocchio does not please Pinocchio at first. He considers him rebellious and undisciplined. He then demands that he go to school and eventually thinks that he would be the perfect soldier to fight in the war after seeing that Pinocchio cannot die. Pinocchio is then enrolled with Candlewick in a training camp, which results in Podestà bullying his son and pushing him into violence, believing him to be weak and therefore disappointing. Unlike previous versions of the tale, Candlewick starts out as a bully but later befriends Pinocchio. Pinocchio teaches him to resist his father and shows him that kindness and compassion are not weaknesses, but full-fledged attributes of humanity. At the same time, del Toro shows his viewers that pride is also part of the human condition, showing us the Podesta, who sees in his child only an extension of himself, not his own personality.
As always in his career, del Toro honors the meaning of fairy tales by teaching his audience a series of lessons about what it means to be human. As in the story of Pinocchio, the idea of what it means to be “real” goes deeper than the flesh. Pinocchioand reminds us all that love, selflessness, and acceptance are not just words, but pillars to strive for as human beings. Maybe we all have something to learn from a little wooden boy with a heart the size of a tree trunk.
Source: Collider
