Yes, it was necessary to provide the director's name in the title. This same year saw a mostly live-action Disney remake. There's also Pinocchio: A True Story, which is officially dated 2021 but keeps getting counted with the others. Since del Toro's version is easily the most popular, I invited a friend to watch it with me.
The first distinctive thing about this retelling of the Carlo Collodi story is that it's set in World War II, with a brief appearance by Benito Mussolini (Tom Kenny, who also voiced Gepetto in P:ATS). Here, carpenter Gepetto (David Bradley) drunkenly creates a rather crude, asymmetrical pinewood puppet to replace his war casualty son, Carlo (Gregory Mann, whose voice had to be digitally altered as it changed during production). The fervency of Gepetto's desire persuades a wood sprite (Tilda Swinton) to infuse life in the puppet. Gepetto is initially scared and then frustrated that Pinocchio is nowhere near as ruly or considerate as Carlo (despite the same voice), but his care for Pinocchio is clear when cold-hearted men, namely Count Volpe the ringmaster (Christoph Waltz) and a fascist official (Ron Perlman), want to employ the puppet's unique advantages.
I never read much of Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, but from a synopsis, it's apparent that this movie owes a little more to the book than to Disney's 1940 animation. For example, Pinocchio's young human buddy (Finn Wolfhard) is called Candlewick, not Lampwick, and the sea monster at the climax can't possibly be a whale. Still, if not for Disney, Volpe wouldn't have been quite so villainous.
At 117 minutes, this holds the record for the longest stop-motion animation. That's probably the best format for conveying wooden movement. It also befits del Toro's signature gothic qualities. It doesn't get too scary for a PG family movie, but make sure any kids watching are ready for explicit indications of death, along with a few freaky creatures such as a multi-eyed chimera (Swinton again). You might actually be more concerned at the overt Catholicism: Gepetto carves a crucifix, and some moments with Pinocchio draw parallels to New Testament scenes.
I wouldn't say it's primarily dark. Many elements are played for laughs, from Pinocchio's enthusiastically clumsy naivety to Volpe's highly competent yet beleaguered monkey (Cate Blanchett?!) to the slapstick misfortunes of an even more humanoid Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor). Sebastian, BTW, is the narrator and has an extra reason to serve as Pinocchio's conscience: He lived in the tree from which the puppet was made. Also lightening the mood are several songs, some of which get cut short.
My friend had expected to laugh at the movie rather than with it. It does make some questionable decisions, such as Gepetto looking and sounding extraordinarily old for Carlo's father but still acting spry. Nevertheless, we quickly learned to enjoy it unironically.
GdTP is edgy yet wholesome fun, with impressive artistry. I wouldn't be surprised if it became a classic in its own right.
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