Pinocchio (2019 film)

Pinocchio is a 2019 Italian fantasy film co-written and directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi.[3] It stars child actor Federico Ielapi as the title character, Roberto Benigni as Mister Geppetto, Gigi Proietti as Mangiafuoco, Rocco Papaleo and Massimo Ceccherini as The Cat and the Fox, and Marine Vacth as the adult Fairy with Turquoise Hair.

Pinocchio
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed byMatteo Garrone
Produced by
  • Matteo Garrone
  • Jean Labadie
  • Anne-Laure Labadie
  • Jeremy Thomas
  • Paolo Del Brocco
Screenplay by
Based onThe Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi
Starring
Music byDario Marianelli
CinematographyNicolaj Brüel
Edited byMarco Spoletini
Production
company
Distributed by01 Distribution
Release date
  • December 19, 2019 (2019-12-19) (Italy)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryItaly
France
LanguageItalian
Budget€11 million ($12 million)[1]
Box office$18.2 million[2]

Pinocchio is a passion project for Garrone, who drew the first storyboard of the story at the age of six.[4] Unlike previous Garrone films, which were directed to adults, Pinocchio is directed to both adults and children.[5] Most characters, including Pinocchio himself, were created through prosthetic make-up rather than CGI.[6]

The film was released in Italy on 19 December 2019 by 01 Distribution, and grossed €15 million million domestically, making it the highest-grossing movie of the Christmas week in Italy,[7] as well as Garrone's highest-grossing film domestically (the previous record belonged to 2008's Gomorrah, with €10.2 million), and the sixth highest-grossing film in Italy in the 2019–2020 season.[8] An English-dubbed version was released by Vertigo Films in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 14, 2020.

Pinocchio was met with positive reviews. It received 15 nominations in the 2020 edition of the David di Donatello Awards,[9] winning five: Best Sets and Decorations, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Hair Design and Best Visual Effects.[10] It was also nominated in nine categories of the 2020 edition of the Nastro d'Argento Awards,[11] winning six plus a special mention.[12]

Plot

Geppetto, a poor Italian carpenter, at the sight of Mangiafuoco's puppet theater, decides to build a wooden puppet to tour the country and earn a living. He visits his friend and colleague Master Cherry to ask him for a piece of wood to work on. Frightened by an living log, Cherry gifts it to Geppetto and he begins to build the puppet, which he decides to name "Pinocchio". During the process, Geppetto realizes that Pinocchio is alive and sentient and decides to take him as his son. Now that he has a body, Pinocchio starts running outside and returns home while Geppetto is still looking for him in town. Geppetto's roommate, a hundred years old Talking Cricket, tries to help Pinocchio by giving him advice, but the puppet, considering him annoying, throws a hammer to shut him up.

Later, Geppetto returns to his place and finds Pinocchio with his feet burned, since he had fallen asleep near the ashes of the chimney. After having to rebuilt them, he forgives Pinocchio for his actions. In order to educate him, Geppetto sells his jacket to buy Pinocchio an ABC book. The puppet, struck by this sacrifice, sets off on his first day at school. However, his good intentions are diverted by the puppet theater, for which he sells the book to buy the ticket. In the theater, the other puppets notice Pinocchio in the audience and call him to come up on stage, impatient to meet their new brother. Furious that his show went upstream, the puppeteer Mangiafuoco locks Pinocchio in his caravan and leaves the town. At night, Mangiafuoco plans to use Pinocchio as firewood in order to cook his dinner. Pinocchio begs the puppeteer to release him in order to return home from his father, certainly worried about his non return. Sneezing with emotion, Mangiafuoco decides to let him go, choosing to burn another puppet in his place: however, Pinocchio does not accept that someone should pay for a disaster he did and accepts his punishment. Surprised by Pinocchio's action, Mangiafuoco lets him go and, pitied for Geppetto, he gives him five gold coins to give to the carpenter.

The next day, Pinocchio returns home. Along the way, he meets a fox and a cat, both faking to be disabled. Attracted by the coins, they suggest that he should try to sow them in the Field of Miracles, a place where they will sprout in a tree full of money. Pinocchio, enticed by the idea of becoming rich, allows himself to be accompanied by the two to the Field of Miracles which is located in the Land of Barn Owl. The three stop to eat at a tavern at Pinocchio's expense. After agreeing to resume the journey at midnight, the Cat and the Fox separate from the puppet saying they have to go to find a sick relative. Pinocchio resumes the journey alone. Ignoring the warnings of the Talking Cricket, Pinocchio ventures into the woods and has an unpleasant encounter with two hooded assassins (the Cat and the Fox in disguise). Pinocchio hides the remaining four coins in his mouth and attempts to run away, but is caught and hanged on a tree.

The puppet is rescued by a young blue-haired fairy, who lives nearby. The next day, the Fairy calls in some doctors, an Owl, a Crow and the Talking Cricket, who each give their diagnostic. Pinocchio refuses to drink a medicine until he's scared into taking it at the prospect of dying and being put in a coffin carried by a group of undertaker rabbits. Once healed, Pinocchio is asked why he was in the forest and not at home or in school. Embarrassed, he lies but his nose becomes bigger and bigger with each lies he tells, until the Fairy is forced to summon a flock of woodpeckers in order to shorten his nose. The Fairy befriends Pinocchio and sends him to reunite with Geppetto.

On his way home, however, Pinocchio meets the Fox and the Cat once again who, seeing that their plan has failed, stick to the original plan and convince him to go to the Field of Miracles. Pinocchio, arrived to the Field, plants the coins and goes to get some water. In the meantime, the Fox and the Cat steal the coins and run away. Discovered the theft, Pinocchio runs to the local court to report the fact to the gorilla judge. Since justice does not favor the innocent in Barn Owl, he is sentenced to life sentence. Pinocchio manages to get exonerated by saying that he previously committed a crime, making him guilty, and he is then released.

Pinocchio returns home but, through his neighbors, discovers that Geppetto has left to go look for him everywhere and decided to continue his search overseas in North America, still thinking that he's in Mangiafuoco's hands. Pinocchio reaches the port and dives into the sea to find Geppetto, but is unsuccessful and shipwrecked on the Island of the Busy Bees. Fortunately for him, Pinocchio is saved by a woman, who is none other than the Blue Fairy in adult form. Pinocchio express his wish to become an adult as well, and the Fairy promises to turn him into a real boy if he studies and behaves well.

At school, Pinocchio befriends with Candlewick, a naughty and disobedient boy who invites him to come along with him to Toyland, a place where children can have fun all day long without schools or adults ruining their fun. Pinocchio, initially undecided, chooses to follow him and in the end, after having spent a day of fun in Toyland, they both turn into donkeys. The Coachman sells the kids-donkeys, and Pinocchio is sold to a circus where he is forced to perform acrobatic shows. One day while noticing the Fairy in audience, he trips and cripples himself. The circus director decides to drown him in the sea and then use his skin for a drum. While in the water, the Fairy summons many fishes that nibble away Pinocchio's donkey skin, bringing him back to normal.

After getting rid of the director, the puppet begins to swim, continuing his search for the father, until he's swallowed by the Terrible Dogfish, a gigant and ravenous sea monster. Inside the sea monster, Pinocchio first encounters a talking tuna and, to his great joy, finds his father too. The two, taking advantage of the Dogfish's asthma, which forces him to sleep with his mouth open, flee from his mouth together with the tuna, which accompanies them to shore.

In search of a place to rest, Pinocchio and Geppetto find an abandoned country house. With the intention of heal his father, who has gotten sick from the sea trip, Pinocchio gets hired by a farmer to earn milk for his father. Pinocchio also meets the Fox and the Cat again, now badly reduced and no longer faking disability, not missing the opportunity to mock them and ignore their apologies. Pinocchio continues to work and study hard to help his father until he recovers.

Later, the Fairy visits him at the farm and grants his wish. Pinocchio returns home to his father and shows him that he has become a real boy.

Cast
  • Federico Ielapi as Pinocchio[13]
  • Roberto Benigni as Mister Geppetto[13]
  • Rocco Papaleo as the Cat[13]
  • Massimo Ceccherini as the Fox[13]
  • Marine Vacth (dubbed by Domitilla D'Amico[nb 1]) as the Fairy with Turquoise Hair (adult)[13]
    • Alida Baldari Calabria as the Fairy as a child
  • Gigi Proietti as Mangiafuoco[13]
  • Alessio Di Domenicantonio as Candlewick
  • Maria Pia Timo as the Snail
  • Davide Marotta as the Talking Cricket, the Pantalone Marionette and one of the Rabbits
  • Paolo Graziosi as Mister Cherry
  • Massimiliano Gallo as Doctor Crow, the Director of the Circus and a Mastiff
  • Gianfranco Gallo as Doctor Owl, a Mastiff and Medoro
  • Teco Celio as the Judge Gorilla
  • Enzo Vetrano as the Teacher
  • Nino Scardina as the Coachman
  • Maurizio Lombardi as the Tuna
  • Guillaume Delaunay as a Circus Performer (the tallest man in the world)
  • Giuliano Del Taglia as a Circus Performer (the shortest man in the world) and the Devil Marionette
  • Domenico Centamore as Giangio
  • Gigio Morra as Moreno (the Innkeeper in the scene with Geppetto)
  • Mauro Bucci as Remigio (Geppetto's neighbor)
  • Sergio Forconi as Cecconi (the Seller)
  • Luisa Ragusa as the Columbina Marionette and a Rabbit
  • Massimo Viafora as the Gendarme Marionette
  • Claudio Gaetani as the Harlequin Marionette
  • Giovanni Iovino as the Pulcinella Marionette and a Rabbit
  • Betty La Padula as the Gianduja Marionette and a Rabbit
  • Aldo Marinuccio as the Gendarme Marionette
  • Ciro Petrone as Mangiafuoco's crier
  • Barbara Enrichi as Barbara (Geppetto's neighbor)
  • Pietro Fornaciari as the School Janitor
  • Marcello Marziali as the Innkeeper of the Red Lobster
  • Giuseppe Pirozzi as a Child at School
  • Luca Esposito as a Child at School
  • Gennaro Filippone as a Child at School
  • Francesca Turrini as Candlewick's Mother
  • Vito Ciaccia as the Innkeeper who gives leftovers to the Fox and the Cat
  • Angela Lepore as the Glen of the Circus
  • Brigida Pappalardi as the Horse Woman
  • Lucia Pennacchia as the Three-Headed Woman
  • Andrea Di Ferdinando as a Fisherman
  • Stefano Martinelli as a Fisherman
  • Domenico Maiolo as a Fisherman

Production

On 24 October 2016, it was announced that Toni Servillo was cast as Pinocchio's father Geppetto.[3] Two years later, in October 2018, it was announced that Geppetto would be played by Roberto Benigni (who had played Pinocchio in a previous adaptation directed by himself) who said “A great character, a great story, a great director: playing Geppetto directed by Matteo Garrone is one of the forms of happiness.”[14]

Nick Dudman worked on the make-up and creatures of the film.[15] Later on it was announced that Mark Coulier worked on the make-up for the film.[16]

Filming began on 18 March 2019[17] for 11 weeks in Tuscany, at Tenuta La Fratta, Lazio and Apulia.

Release

The film was theatrically released in Italy on 19 December 2019.[18]

English dub

Garrone paid €150,000 out of his own pocket to dub the movie in English before even finding a distributor. He chose to use Italian voices to preserve the Italianness of the film, and to take advantage of the fact that Italians are master dubbers. Some actors, including Ielapi, dubbed themselves. The dub was directed by Francesco Vairano.[19]

In May 2020, Paolo Del Brocco, one of the movie's producers, said they were very close to selling Pinocchio to the U.S., but the coronavirus outbreak put the selling on hiatus.[20]

On July 27, 2020, it was announced that Vertigo Films had bought the UK and Ireland rights to the film, with plans to theatrically release it in late August.[21] On July 28, the British Board of Film Classification gave the film a PG rating.[22] On July 30, Vertigo published the English trailer, and revealed that the movie would be released in UK and Ireland on August 14, with previews from August 10.[23]

Marketing

On 29 March 2019, the first promotional image was released.[24] The first trailer was published online on July 3, 2019.[25]

Reception

Box office

Pinocchio grossed $18.2 million,[2] of which $17 million in Italy,[26] against a production budget of €11 million.[1][27]

The film grossed €15 million million domestically, making it the highest-grossing movie of the Christmas week in Italy,[7] as well as director Garrone's highest-grossing film domestically (the previous record belonged to 2008's Gomorrah, with €10.2 million), and the sixth highest-grossing film in Italy in the 2019–2020 season (behind Tolo Tolo, The Lion King, Joker, Frozen II and Il primo Natale).[28]

Critical response

Pinocchio received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 6.88/10. The website's consensus reads, "Sticking closely to Carlo Collodi's original story, Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio pulls every string to create a visually stunning film that proves that some tales really are timeless."[29] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Matteo Garrone's new Pinocchio brings genuine emotion to one of the most ambitious film adaptations to date of Carlo Collodi's 1883 kid classic."[30] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave it a B rating and wrote: "Pinocchio imbues its circumstances with a surprising degree of naturalism, thanks to the filmmaker's careful handling of practical effects that suit the unusual tone."[31] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 4/5 stars, saying: "Pinocchio is a thoroughly bizarre story; Garrone makes of it a weirdly satisfying spectacle."[32] Josefine A. of OneRoomwithaView.com stated that: "Pinocchio is still an enjoyable film, boasting an appropriately whimsical score and beautiful production design, and succeeds in creating a fairy tale even among the realism of poverty-stricken rural Italy."[33]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result
David di Donatello Awards 8 May 2020
Best Film Nominated
Best Director Matteo Garrone Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Matteo Garrone and Massimo Ceccherini Nominated
Best Producer Archimede, Le Pacte, Rai Cinema Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Alida Baldari Calabria Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Roberto Benigni Nominated
Best Cinematography Nicolaj Brüel Nominated
Best Score Dario Marianelli Nominated
Best Sets and Decorations Dimitri Capuani Won
Best Costumes Massimo Cantini Parrini Won
Best Makeup Dalia Colli, Mark Coulier Won
Best Hair Design Francesco Pegoretti Won
Best Editing Marco Spoletini Nominated
Best Sound Mariacetta Lombardo, Luca Novelli, Daniela Bassani, Stefano Grosso, Gianni Pallotto Nominated
Best Visual Effects Theo Demeris and Rodolfo Migliari Won
Nastro d'Argento 6 July 2020
Best Film Nominated
Best Director Matteo Garrone Won
Best Producer Matteo Garrone and Paolo Del Brocco Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Roberto Benigni Won
Best Sets and Decorations Dimitri Capuani Won
Best Costumes Massimo Cantini Parrini Won[nb 2]
Best Editing Marco Spoletini Won[nb 3]
Best Sound Maricetta Lombardo Won
Best Score Dario Marianelli Nominated
Guglielmo Biraghi Prize Federico Ielapi Special Mention

Notes
  1. Vacth's voice can be heard in the teaser trailer, while D'Amico's voice was first heard in the final trailer
  2. Tied with himself for his work on Bad Tales
  3. Tied with himself for his work on Villetta con ospiti

References
  1. "Nella bottega di Mastro Garrone". Rolling Stone Italia (in Italian). 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  2. "Pinocchio (2019)". Box Office Mojo.
  3. Barraclough, Leo (2016-10-24). "Matteo Garrone to Direct 'Pinocchio' Starring Toni Servillo". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  4. "Matteo Garrone: "I drew the first Pinocchio storyboard at 6 years old"". July 1, 2020.
  5. "Pinocchio di Garrone: tutto sul film con Benigni". November 27, 2019.
  6. "Ecco il Pinocchio di Garrone. Tutto make up, niente effetti speciali". la Repubblica. July 30, 2019.
  7. "Pinocchio è primo al boxoffice della settimana di Natale - La sequenza del naso - la Repubblica". Repubblica TV - Repubblica. December 30, 2019.
  8. https://i.imgur.com/S4dinei.png
  9. "David di Donatello 2020: Il Traditore, Il Primo Re e Pinocchio dominano le nomination!". February 18, 2020.
  10. Vivarelli, Nick (May 8, 2020). "Marco Bellocchio's 'The Traitor' Dominates Italy's David di Donatello Awards".
  11. "CANDIDATURE 2020 | Nastri d'Argento".
  12. "Nastri d'Argento 2020: i vincitori | Nastri d'Argento".
  13. Tosini, Matteo (2019-07-17). "Pinocchio: Matteo Garrone impegnato sul set in una foto dal dietro le quinte". Cinema – BadTaste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  14. Vivarelli, Nick (2018-10-26). "Oscar-Winner Roberto Benigni to Play Geppetto in Matteo Garrone's 'Pinocchio'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  15. Mitchell, Robert (2017-05-17). "Cannes: 'Harry Potter' Effects Wizard Nick Dudman Joins Live-Action 'Pinocchio' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  16. "Ecco il Pinocchio di Garrone. Tutto make up, niente effetti speciali". Repubblica.it (in Italian). 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  17. "Pinocchio di Garrone, Benigni sul set – Cinema". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  18. "Pinocchio, Paolo Del Brocco sull'uscita a Natale: "La merita, è il film per famiglie perfetto"". Cinema – BadTaste.it (in Italian). 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  19. "Berlinale #3 | Hollywood Party - Rai Radio 3 - RaiPlay Radio". Rai.
  20. Vivarelli, Nick (May 8, 2020). "David Awards Celebrate Cinema Italiano's Spirit of Rebirth".
  21. Woodham, Karen (July 27, 2020). "Matteo Garrone's PINOCCHIO has been picked up by Vertigo Releasing".
  22. "PINOCCHIO | British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk.
  23. Warner, Sam (July 30, 2020). "Live action Pinocchio remake gets a UK release date". Digital Spy.
  24. "Il Pinocchio di Garrone, la prima immagine ufficiale con Benigni – Cinema". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  25. 01Distribution (2019-07-03), PINOCCHIO di Matteo Garrone (2019) – Teaser Trailer HD, retrieved 2019-07-16
  26. "Pinocchio (2019) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  27. "Pinocchio (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  28. https://i.imgur.com/S4dinei.png
  29. "Pinocchio (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  30. "'Pinocchio' film review". Hollywood Reporter.
  31. "Pinocchio review". IndieWare.
  32. "Pinocchio review". The Guardian.
  33. "Pinocchio - Berlinale 2020". oneroomwithaview.com.
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