…………………………………………………

From the Page to the Screen – Pinocchio

Pinocchio is an 1883 children’s fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is one of the most iconic children’s books of all time, a novel that has stood the test of time, influencing other stories in the process and countless movie adaptations. Let’s see how those adaptations fare against the source material. I won’t talk about the Disney live-action remake here as it is obvious that that movie was mediocre.

THE 1940 VERSION

The original Disney animated film was released in 1940 and it ended up being one of the best Disney films of all time, the greatest in my opinion. It’s a classic that not only adapted the story effortlessly, but it also elevated it to even greater heights.

PLOT

While the book does have that interesting fairy tale quality to it, it was also too episodic. The Disney adaptation is more streamlined, and thus more effective. This is one of the rare instances where the studio adapted the source material mostly faithfully while retaining its inherent darkness and adding new iconic material in the process.

WINNER – TIE

CHARACTERIZATION

The book does develop the protagonist superbly. He is much less likable in the original novel than in the Disney version, and thus probably more striking. However, the movie has a supporting cast of characters that are better developed and more important to the story than they ever were in the book, which way had too many side characters to make any impact.

WINNER – FILM

EMOTION

I did find the book impactful, but it is in the movie where you really feel for the central character and his plight to become a real boy. The ending was so heartwarming and just perfect.

WINNER – FILM

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

THEMES

While the book can be too repetitive in its messaging, the messages that you should never lie and listen to your parents are important for children to learn. The movie also deals with these themes effortlessly well thanks to strong dialogue and script.

WINNER – TIE

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

While Collodi’s writing style is definitely charming, the structure of the book was too episodic, resulting in a novel that lost some of its steam later down the line. The movie itself featured iconic animation and a classic score that stood the test of time with flying colors.

WINNER – FILM

BOOK 2: FILM 5

The original novel is a classic of children’s literature, but it is the Disney movie that trumped the source material thanks to a more streamlined storyline, more memorable characters and iconic animation and score. It’s a cinema masterpiece.

THE 2022 VERSION

Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning animated adaptation of Pinocchio ended up being his second best movie after ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. It’s a movie that shows us all that sometimes you can drastically alter the story of the source material while still retaining its core themes and ideas.

PLOT

This movie is a different beast altogether. It is set at a different period, dealing with Italian Fascism of the forties. This fresh new perspective was terrific and so was the emphasis on existentialist themes in its ending. The movie is different for sure, but it still retained the original theme of what it means to be human.

WINNER – TIE

CHARACTERIZATION

While the characters in this version aren’t quite as iconic as they were in the Disney movie, they are still better developed than they were in the novel itself with Geppetto being particularly endearing here.

WINNER – FILM

EMOTION

This goes without saying, but the movie wins this one as it is even more resonant than the Disney version. I ended up crying during that incredible ending that was both heartbreaking and poetic.

WINNER – FILM

…………………………………………………

…………………………………………………

THEMES

This movie did somewhat discard those messages for children and how they should behave, but del Toro ended up dealing with the existentialist themes of life, death and the concept of humanity, which made it more mature.

WINNER – TIE

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

This is a stop-motion movie and one that was carefully crafted with absolutely stunning details and character designs. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is quite weak, which was the movie’s only big flaw.

WINNER – TIE

BOOK 3: FILM 5

The original novel remains a classic and so does the Disney version, but Guillermo del Toro made a different type of Pinocchio story while still creating a timeless classic that will resonate with viewers for decades to come. It’s another masterpiece, showing us that this story was ripe for the cinema treatment.