I’m sure we all agree that Pinocchio shouldn’t have any more adaptations, especially now that we finally got a nearly perfect one. Del Toro uses Pinocchio as a universal figure and manages to reimagine his own tale while retaining the spirit of the original. The setting has been changed to Fascist Italy, with Pinocchio acting as the spiritual opposite of Mussolini’s “Believe, Obey, Fight” slogan. The most abused puppet in literature questions everything, doesn’t listen to anybody, and is emotionally incapable of entering into a conflict. He will ultimately find out the true meaning of life and humanity, yet without having us go through the same episodes that we’ve already witnessed countless times in other adaptations.

Although the anti-totalitarian message is on point for most of the movie, it sadly loses its focus near the end. While I was expecting things to take a grittier direction and deliver the final message, the plot suddenly changes route to bring back the dogfish from the novel and leave the rest behind.
Other than that, I found the movie brilliant and capable of speaking to all kinds of audiences, often striking my heart with the simplest considerations about life. The production design is astonishing, even though it might scare off young children in a couple of moments.