Why is cinema so fascinated with the little wooden boy who wants to live as flesh and bone? Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is already the second adaptation of the fairytale released this year, following the dead-eyed, live-action monstrosity that flopped onto Disney Plus three months ago. But for those who seek to do more than exploit nostalgia, this tale offers a special kind of wonderment.
Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel served as a moral warning to Italian peasants: if they didn’t work hard, they might just end up like poor Pinocchio, who was turned into a donkey as punishment for his impulsiveness. But, through his many iterations, the puppet child has transformed into the antithesis of Frankenstein’s Monster – proof that mankind’s ability to craft life out of the lifeless can be a source of joy and not an act of reckless pride.
