Brilliant in more than one way, it is easy to see why this one is up for numerous awards. It should be. Beautiful, sad, touching -- it's all in there. Far more on point than the Disney version, this one returns to the true Italian roots of the story and has dark moments and true pathos. It's not a tale of black and white but of the subtleties which can come with fathers and sons, creators and their creations. There is true joy and delight in young Pinocchio and real questioning of the world around him. He comes to conclusions which are definitely not correct but come from his heart, which is saying something about a wooden boy. There is magic and, inexplicably some songs. They aren't musical numbers which will stay with you. Rather, they are the kind of melody-less tunes which spring forth now and then when simple words won't do. The narrator/cricket takes on an entirely other persona here, being both wise and a helpless observer of the world around him. The striking impact of the stop-motion and the art of the entire film would leave you breathless even if the script wasn't good, which it is. This work gets it right on every level. Bravo, Guillermo del Toro. A tender, quietly powerful tale.
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