When the National Fascist Party rose to power in 1922, shortly after the devastating effects of the First World War, it changed the face of Italy forever. The Fascist movement, lead by Mussolini, enforced a totalitarian dictatorship that promoted strength and order by removing all individuality and freedom of choice.
Although it was a terrible thing to have happened, the fascist era makes the perfect backdrop for a fairytale likePinocchio, because the darkest times in human history are when people most need some magic in their lives. Guillermo Del Toro made full use of this hopeful and inspiring tale amidst the fear and the war of Italy at the time, following in the footsteps of many other magical tales that are grounded in the reality of wars and tragedies, likeThe Chronicles of Narniamovies, andThe Shape of Water.
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The fascist era was all about conformity, about extremely regimented law and control, and in order to fit into that world, many people had to completely eradicate their way of life in order to uphold the dominated vision of those in power, or face terrible consequences. This is often echoed in many previous versions ofPinocchio’sstory, in which he breaks the rules and is subsequently turned into a donkey and swallowed by a giant whale.
However, Guillermo Del Toro decided to take a slightly different approach to the retelling of this well-loved classic, withmany changes from the cartoon, and said that “NormallyPinocchiois about what Pinocchio learns in the world, and then becomes a good boy and therefore becomes a real boy, and our Pinocchio is not that. He changes everyone because he is so pure. He changes Geppetto, he changes the cricket, he changes Spazzatura, he changes everyone, and he learns who he is as a human being.” Pinocchio the wooden boy is the embodiment of freedom and possibility within a fascist world that aims to crush all hope of resistance to the regime.
There are 3 Pinocchio movies out this year,but none quite like this one, which is rendered in amazing stop annimation, and has the fascist war as a very unique setting for the storytelling to take place. The animation teams created the colorful, enchanting worlds of those who keep their individuality and defy the totalitarian authority of the state, like Pinocchio and Geppetto and the beautiful woodland outside their workshop, as well as the enigmatic and perfectly stylized hues of the circus crew who defy the bounds of normal society.
This of course provides a spectacular visual contrast to the colors of the soldiers, clad in grays and blacks, and living in a world that seems muted in every possible way, to show the oppression and the forced adherence to the fascist way of life, for example in homes like Candlewicks', where the very walls take on a cold metallic appearance. There are of course places where the two separations collide, for example during the fascist songs and performances that Vulpe makes Pinocchio perform, which are a clever tool utilized by the animators to portray the propaganda of the time, and the way in which the National Party tried to portray their authoritarian values as alluring and beneficial to the country, but even within these scenes there is a sense of pastiche and farce, perpetuated by Pinocchio’s beautifully naive youth and ethereal wonder, which contrasts to the guns and the ‘soldiers’ he is dancing with.
There are many characters within the movie who attempt to force Pinocchio into submission, to straighten him out into what their societal expectation of him should be, from Geppetto and Sebastian Cricket, who approach this from an angle of caring and wishing to look out for his safety, but over time learn to love and value him for who he is, to the Colonel of the army who wants him to be a weapon in the war because he cannot die.
The leader of the regiment tells him “Most of us, we have but one life to give for our fatherland, but you! You have no limits. Follow my orders, learn to obey, and you will be the perfect soldier.” But Pinocchio has no interest in being a soldier, nor in being perfect, he simply wants to exist in the magic of life that he has been given, and care for his papa until the end of his days. Even death, to some extent, tries to teach him to obey the rules, despite knowing that they put the lives of those he loves in danger, but even death must learn by the end of the movie that he will break every rule in the book in order to protect his family, and it is this that makes him real, more real and true to himself than the ‘perfect’ well-behaved child that they all push him to be at the start.
Through a mixture of dynamicstop-motion wonder, imaginatively crafted storytelling, beautifully painted scenes and clever commentaries on some of society’s greatest questions, Del Toro and his team managed to perfectly demonstrate why the pressures and conformities of war are futile when placed up against the power of love and hope, and the incredible human resilience that comes with believing in ones own voice, even when all other voices are trying to drown it out. Del Toro aptly sums this up himself when he says that “Pinocchiois a movie that has a huge heart. It deals with who you are, staying true to yourself, and not having to change to be accepted.”
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