AT Pinocchio, created by Robert Zemeckis and available now on Disney+, the influence of the beloved classic animated version is clear. The camera travels through iconic places in history to breathe new life into them. But, especially to demonstrate the resemblance of the 1940 film to the remake live action. Obviously, the director needs to show his respect for the famous production. And so it is every time a script by Simon Farnaby, Chris Weitz, and Zemeckis himself celebrates history through homage.
AT combination of several parts of the original fairy tale and iconic animation, Pinocchio gives a rare feeling of an eternal capsule. This is despite the careful design of the sets or the judicious use of lighting as the focal point of several episodes. But Zemeckis doesn’t want Pinocchio to be recognizable as part of the era.
Rather, he maneuvers with the only possibility of being as perfect as the feelings he carefully tries to construct. Within the first ten minutes, the film makes it clear that this is a story within a story. A combination, sometimes sporadic, of enthusiasm for telling a favorite story and doing a visual experiment.
A tour of the world of Pinocchio invented by Disney
This is not a random decision or a way to use nostalgia in favor of production. It can be seen that the director seeks to reconstruct a world endowed with individuality. It is very important to Zemeckis that despite being taken from one of the most famous Disney films, Pinocchio from 2022 can function as a single work. To do this, try small subtleties, such as a more grown-up than expected sense of humor. Even with some puns related to the very center of perception of reality and fantasy.
But the little flashes of wit don’t outweigh the film’s immediate intent, and it certainly is to bring Pinocchio to life as a story. In particular, the famous and already historical version of Disney, which marked the before and after in his journey through animation.
An undertaking that Zemeckis took so seriously that the result sometimes seems limited and harsh. If something is puzzling Pinocchio it’s her inability to go beyond the specific lines that connect her to the cult animated film. The production has little ambition and is much more focused on being bright, funny and sensual. Which, without a doubt, it is. However, this combination is not enough to create an interesting cinematic storytelling.
Pinocchio reaches a new generation with nothing special
The film lacks a life of its own. A real pun in the midst of an argument that connects the spark of life with desire and intent. But in the hands of Zemeckis, the allegory fails, it becomes a journey through ordinary places without the slightest distinctive feature.
Again and again the film is interrupted at its most exciting moments. The script does not delve into what creates the possibility of a miracle based on love. With inexplicable coldness, the premise moves towards the need to show the spectacular, and not the humility of the subtle. The cute scene in which the lonely Geppetto (Tom Hanks) desperately begs for alms lacks sensitivity. This appeal to the blue star, the scene that is part of the classic cinema reaches live action dull and shallow.
Even Hanks’ acting seems wooden and empty. His Geppetto is a copy of the revived flesh and blood, without any distinguishing features and subtleties. It seems that the actor decided to show the kindness of the character through nondescriptness. An empty version of the larger character.
In the animated story, Geppetto’s pain was shown so vivid and real that a fairy could hear it. This time it’s just a plaintive request, a fleeting scene that might not have mattered if not for its consequences. The difference seems small, but in a story that depends on the impossible – and on how it is expressed – its importance is fundamental.
For your first step, there was a miracle of a wooden boy who comes to life. However, he left no traces in the audience. Apart from the attention to detail of production, of course, to create an amazing scale replica of the great Disney story. Something he achieves with skill and especially with a wide repertoire of technical resources at his fingertips.
The piece comes to life through its personality
From Geppetto’s workshop to the vibrant streets of idyllic Tuscany. The director managed to convey the fabulous atmosphere of both the original story by Carlo Collodi and his most famous film adaptation. The animated version of Hamilton Laske, Ben Sharpsteen, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson is striking in its accuracy.
Without a doubt, Pinocchio is a strict film about his origins. Every detail is thought out with a meticulous ability to do justice. Much more so when it comes to the unique way Disney pays homage to one of its most famous works. On which, moreover, a significant part of its identity as a brand depends.
In fact, the whole feature film seems to be created for the greater glory of the studio. A methodical journey through the elements that made the original a touching classic. cult song blue Star accompanies the character most of the time. Also, Pinocchio himself (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) is point by point identical to the original.
With the exception of the introduction of the Blue Fairy (played by the ethereal Cynthia Erivo), each frame is a near-perfect transition from drawing to digital. With his theater work atmosphere and his ability to maintain an atmosphere with few elements, Pinocchio vigorously tries to move.
After a trip hand in hand to a dim conclusion
But he doesn’t. For all its good intentions and Zemeckis’s undoubted talent for building a self-sufficient world, the film quickly fails. In the third section, after a large part of the most spectacular and memorable scenes, the production moves towards a soft ending.
And this despite making a decision that rethinks the well-known narrative. It’s almost amazing what the argument explores a message more about self-knowledge and acceptance than miracles. A slight narrative contradiction to everything that has been said before, which is ultimately the film’s weakest point.
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Pinocchio, which depends on the sweet as well as the spiritual dialogue with its strongest elements, cannot find a balance between them. The conclusion is notoriously lacking in depth in its premise. A bewildering detail in a tale that, at its strongest moments, is a cautionary tale of identity and grief. Something missing from Zemeckis’ version.
