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Italy, France, United Kingdom · 2019
Rated PG-13 · 2h 5m
Director Matteo Garrone
Starring Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Marine Vacth, Gigi Proietti
Genre Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
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This film is a retelling of the classic tale of Pinocchio. A poor carpenter's puppet creation, Pinocchio, magically comes to life with dreams of becoming a real boy. Easily led astray, Pinocchio tumbles from one misadventure to another as he is tricked, kidnapped, and chased by bandits through a world full of imaginative creatures.
CineVue by Christopher Machell
There’s little here to surprise anyone with a passing familiarity with the story, and its creepiest elements sometimes feel neutered. It may be heresy, but the body-horror of the Land of Toys and sublime terror of the whale were imagined far more viscerally in the Disney version.
Matteo Garrone’s adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s story trembles with corporeal strangeness and unpredictability.
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
For all its flaws and missteps (more nose growing antics, please), the movie gets under your skin and holds interest, if only to find out not if, but how Pinocchio will reunite with his devoted Babbo (dad) and what the future might have in store for Geppetto’s lovingly crafted creation.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
This new cinematic imagining of Carlo Collodi’s classic fantasy tale is alternately enchanting and befuddling.
Austin Chronicle by Josh Kupecki
There is no cumulative emotional resonance to be had here, just a succession of incidents to navigate. Pinocchio’s ultimate transformation from puppet to human boy lacks much of the transcendence inherent in the parable, and thus the film never moves beyond its wooden machinations.
The Associated Press by Lindsey Bahr
It has the makings of a stealth classic.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
Fairy tales have always held the threat of darkness as punishment for misbehavior, and this Pinocchio is no exception.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Pinocchio is a thoroughly bizarre story; Garrone makes of it a weirdly satisfying spectacle.
Get our your handkerchiefs for this live-action take from Italy on the Disney animated classic, starring Oscar winner Roberto Benigni as Geppetto, the woodcutter who builds a puppet to replace the son he never had.
The Observer (UK) by Simran Hans
The source material is a neat fit for the Italian film-maker, who traversed similarly episodic fairytale terrain with 2015’s Tale of Tales. It’s also a critique of society that feels timeless or, rather, timely – and not just for Garrone.
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