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Netflix recently released the highly anticipated stop-motion animated musical fantasy film Pinocchio directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and American filmmaker Mark Gustafson. The story is rooted in the classic children's tale, but the art is inspired by Steven Soenksen's (Gris Grimley) design from his 2022 edition of the 1883 Italian novel.
The movie packs a stellar voice cast featuring Ewan McGregor, Gregory Mann, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and others. The project was announced in 2008 and was expected to be released in 2013-14, but was shelved due to production issues. Things looked bleak for the movie's release.
In 2017, screenwriter Patrick McHale was hired to co-write the script with Guillermo del Toro, but operations quickly stalled that year as no studio was willing to back the project. While announcing the movie in 2008, the director cited the narrative as a primary source of inspiration for his brand of storytelling.
Guillermo del Toro called Pinocchio his passion project and said:
“No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio. I've always wanted to make this movie."
In 2018, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio was picked up by Netflix. It was screened at the London Film Festival in October 2022 and received positive critical acclaim as a 'more mature rendition than previous iterations.'
While the story is undoubtedly familiar to most adults, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a visually stunning adaptation, embracing the source material's darkness.
Guillermo del Toro is a radically transformative filmmaker with an illustrious career directing noteworthy films. He is best known for directing Academy Award–winning fantasy films Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017).
The director's perspective on cinema is unique and has been widely studied. His work is strongly influenced by fairytales and horror, with an effort to infuse poetic beauty in the grotesque.
A master of his craft, appreciating Guillermo del Toro's work requires an exploration of his influences. In 2012, the director participated in the Sight & Sound magazine poll organized by the British Film Institute. The survey, held every five years, asks notable filmmakers to cite their 100 favorite films. The following are ten movies that shaped the contemporary director's artistic process.
Unpacking Guillermo del Toro's influences as Netflix releases Pinocchio
10) 8½ (1963)
Directed by Federico Fellini, 8½ is a surrealist comedy-drama that tells the story of Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director suffering from "director's block." This story was highly unusual for its time, as it was a movie about the making of a movie.
8½ explores themes of creative struggles, technical and personal, of artists as they are expected to deliver material that holds up to public scrutiny and say something profound. The title is in line with Fellini's self-reflexive theme – the making of his eighth and a half film. According to Italian writer Alberto Arbasino, the movie parallels the artistic process used in Musil's 1930 novel The Man Without Qualities.
Released on February 14, 1963, 8½ was widely acclaimed by critics who praised it as a definitive work of avant-garde cinema. Fellini's work eventually became one of the greatest works in cinema. The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage lists it as one of the 100 films that "changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."
9) La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) (1946)
This French romantic fantasy is directed by poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, based on the classic fairy tale published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. This movie is recognized as a classic in French cinema.
One of the most striking elements of this film is its set design, costume, and makeup. Jean Marais, who played the role of Beast, spent over three hours with the crew to apply the character's makeup and prostheses. The team spent considerable time perfecting the look, emphasizing the ears, hands, and claws.
For their efforts, critics showered compliments on Christian Bérard (set designer), Henri Alekan (cinematographer), and René Clément (technical director).
The film opened to widespread acclaim. Upon its 1947 release in the US, the New York Times film critic praised Cocteau's work as "a priceless fabric of subtle images."
In 1999, Roger Ebert added the movie to his 'The Great Movies' list, calling it "a magical film."
While there have been several adaptions down the line, none have come close to the bar set by Cocteau and the team. The British Film Institute advises everyone to watch La Belle et la Bête before turning 14.
The film was nominated for the Grand Prize at the 1946 Cannes.
8) Frankenstein (1931)
Directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., Frankenstein adapted Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. Laemmle Jr. is the founder of Universal Studios and the film distributor.
It was a commercial success, with critics lauding the storytelling and production quality. The impact of this movie on pop culture cannot be understated. This is quickly evident, given the number of sequels and spin-offs. The US Library of Congress preserved Frankenstein in 1991.
Guillermo del Toro has expressed an interest in rebooting the film for Universal Studios. He developed detailed production plans and shared his vision for how his version would turn out. In 2009, the director said production would not begin for another four years, but he had already begun casting for the leading roles.
Although the production of the Frankenstein reboot looks on the cards, it remains unclear whether Guillermo del Toro will be directing the movie. The final piece of information revealed to the public was Universal's desire to make it a series instead of a standalone movie. It is evident by the announcement of James Wan as a producer known for Aquaman, Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious, among others.
7) Freaks (1932)
An American horror movie directed by Tod Browning, Freaks tells the story of a traveling French circus. It is the story of a conniving trapeze artist who hatches a plan to murder a little person in the troupe to gain his inheritance. However, things don't go as planned, and the plot opens up to show the dangerous consequences of devious thoughts.
The film is based on the short story Spurs by Tod Robbins. It was first published in 1923, and MGM later acquired its rights. Several crew members on set were uncomfortable with some of the actors playing the "freaks." Specifically, the Siamese twins at the Earles were not allowed on set often and were relegated to a specialty tent.
Despite its editorial cuts, Freaks was lauded for casting actors and circus performers with actual disabilities. These included little people, the conjoined twins, a man with microcephaly, and siblings with sacral agenesis. Critics praised the story's starkly compassionate view of sideshow performers instead of it being exploitative.
Film scholars interpreted the movie as social commentary on class conflicts during the Great Depression. Theorists have cited Freaks as promoting an anti-eugenic message, making it a cult classic. In 1994, the United States National Film Registry added the movie to its list of preserved cinemas.
6) Goodfellas (1990)
This American biographical crime film, directed by Martin Scorsese, was an adaption of the nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi. It boasts an iconic cast of Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and Paul Sorvino.
This is an iconic movie as it immortalized De Niro and Pesci in pop culture history. It is widely considered one of Scorsese's best works to date and probably the best gangster movie ever made.
The US Library of Congress chose to preserve the movie in 2000. Since its release, Goodfellas has inspired several iconic films and series like The Sopranos, Boogie Nights, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and others.
While Pesci won an Oscar for his performance as the notorious Tommy DeVito, the film swept the festival circuit and won highly coveted awards from NY, LA, and Chicago movie critics. This is a nearly unimaginable feat by any movie and also what cemented Goodfellas' status as one of the best movies ever made.
5) Greed (1924)
This American psychological drama was written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. It is based on the 1899 Frank Norris novel McTeague. The riveting drama unveils the story of McTeague, a San Francisco-based dentist who married his best friend's girlfriend.
Stroheim considered it a story modeled on a Greek tragedy and was one of the first films to be shot entirely on location. The director shot 85 hours of footage before editing, which resulted in a 9-hour-long movie. The final version was edited to two hours and 20 minutes. Stroheim deeply resented the shortening of his work and said the studio's decision hurt him.
The full cut of the movie contained two sub-plots that were edited. The point of these subplots was to contrast possible dual outcomes. The original version is considered a 'holy grail' among film collectors.
Stroheim used sophisticated filming techniques like montage editing and deep-focus cinematography, but the film was a commercial and critical failure after its initial release.
By the late-50s, Greed was considered one of the best films, with scholars and filmmakers noting its wide-reaching influence. There was speculation that MGM retained a copy of the original, but the studio denied it. In 1994, film editors searched the vault but couldn't find any missing footage.
4) Los Olvidados (1950)
This Mexican teen-crime film was directed by Luis Buñuel and focused on a group of impoverished children in a Mexican slum. The plot is jarring, with several disturbing realities about abject poverty and the never-ending cycle of despair that comes with life.
However, Buñuel does not romanticize any of the characters, as each is presented with its flaws. This breaks the norm of traditional Mexican melodrama.
The visceral emotions are captured magnificently by Buñuel, widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The film can be understood in line with social realism, with elements of surrealism, as present in all of the director's works.
Film scholars state that the movie employs elements of Italian neorealism, characterized by outdoor locations, non-professional actors, low-budget production, and a focus on the working class.
However, the movie was highly controversial after its initial release and was disparaged mainly by the Mexican press. Critics and audiences considered the work to be overly bleak. However, the film was widely appreciated at the 1951 Cannes, with Buñuel receiving the award for the best director.
3) Modern Times (1936)
This American black comedy was written and directed by the legendary Charlie Chaplin. The plot revolves around his little tramp character struggling to survive in an industrialized world.
The film is a social commentary on the deplorable employment conditions faced by the masses during the Great Depression. According to the director, the efficiencies of industrialization meant workers bore the brunt of the process.
Chaplin developed the idea behind Modern Times by witnessing the conditions during the Great Depression and after a conversation with Gandhi. They discussed the rise of modern technology during their conversation. According to official documents, Chaplin composed the score for the film with assistance in the arrangement.
Modern Times is considered one of Chaplin's most significant works and is often cited as one of his most famous films. It was widely appreciated by critics who praised the director's scathing criticism of unchecked modernity.
This was Chaplin's first overtly political film and rankled some feathers after its release. Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany's propaganda minister, banned the film because of its alleged advocacy of communism. The movie also fielded some criticism for mainly being silent at a time when the industry embraced talkies.
2) Nosferatu (1922)
The highly influential German Expressionist horror film was directed by F. W. Murnau and is loosely based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The low-budget horror movie follows Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent and brings the plague to their town.
Nosferatu has been noted for exploring the 'fear of the other.' While the studio behind this legendary movie intended to produce more supernatural flicks, they were forced to declare bankruptcy after its release, making it their sole production.
However, the movie was a critical success, with many praising it as a title that kicked off the fascination with vampires in popular culture. Notably, this was the first movie in which a vampire is shown to be negatively impacted by sunlight.
Along with the adulation, Nosferatu was occasionally criticized for its lack of technical perfection and clarity, as, according to critics, the images did not exemplify the horror theme.
1) Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
The legendary Alfred Hitchcock directed this American psychological thriller film.
It bagged an Oscar nomination for Best Story and is widely regarded as one of the best works by the director. It was preserved by the US Library of Congress in 1991, given its mammoth cultural and artistic significance. Hitchcock also had a cameo in the film.
The film was remade twice in 1958, under its original name and as Step Down to Terror. It was also turned into a TV movie in 1991 and inspired the 2013 film, Stoker.
The critics widely appreciated Shadow of a Doubt, and it instantly won universal acclaim. It also raked in profits at the box office. During an interview in 1964, Hitchcock admitted that he considered this movie his favorite work.
