Review: Pinocchio

It's not totally uncommon to have two films of the same story be released in the same year.

I can recall seeing two 'end of the world' films be released at the same time and two Snow White films be released close to each other. Now we have our second Pinocchio film to be released and our third in the last three years.

To be fair, the story itself is profound and an easy bit of money for a studio to acquire. But as the Disney live-action re-make is still fresh in our memories, I wasn't sure if the more hyped of the two being released last would get the success it deserves. The reason for the superior hype is purely that Guillermo Del Toro is at the helm of this passion project.

We know his love for film and for particular genre's. Also, with this version being stop-motion animation, I was naturally excited as this art form is most patient of them all.

So while I was obviously loving the animation and the almost haunting production design, the themes coming through were surprising me. The themes of loss and needing to move on, fatherhood, love, death and war gave them the type of maturity that you rarely in animations that have a rating that is suitable for kids.

The setting is totally different and while the structure is very similar, some of the characters are different despite performing roles in this story that we know from another version. I felt this was working well and should keep a mass audience fully engaged despite the changes made.

There is also some spiritual moments that were glorious to experience. The design and overall vibe felt very satisfying for me. I just wish we got more of that. But I do that would have detracted our attention from the main story at hand.

I also liked that they committed to its ending compared to the recent Disney re-make. This kept to its ideas and whilst it isn't a happy ending, it focuses on a more realistic and truer outcome which I appreciated.

The voice cast on paper is incredible and so many I didn't realise were involved until I saw their name in the credits. David Bradley was a particular highlight as you could feel all the emotions he was giving to his character, and it made for probably the best Geppetto we've ever had. The same could possibly be said for Ewan McGregor who voices the Cricket. With the combination of the fantastic design and McGregor's voice, it gave us a very engaging character. I also have to give props to Burn Gorman, Gregory Mann, Ron Perlman, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro and Tilda Swinton. They all did a great job.

There are also a few songs in this and while they were nice and fitted the tone well, they weren't wholly memorable to be honest. But it wouldn't surprise me if some got an Oscar nomination for 'Best Original Song'.

I will admit that were moments in the second half of the film that slowed the pace down a bit. That could lose the attention of younger viewers.

So did we need this so soon after the Disney release? Absolutely. This is the version of the two you need to see. The animation is glorious, the story is heartfelt and mature in its telling and doesn't hold back from its darker subject matters.

I don't feel it's scary enough to emotional scar younger viewers. So I think if your kids can cope with films such as Coraline and Kubo And The Two Strings for example, then they'll be engrossed by this.

While I still feel the Disney animated classic from 1940 is still the best version and remains an animation triumph. This is a notable version that stands alone with a refreshing look at the story that was most definitely needed to keep this celebrated tale alive with creativity.

In fact, this could hurt the Disney re-make even more than the critics and general consensus has already done.

Rating: 8/10