A live action adaptation of this classic story directed by Roberto Benigni, who also plays the title role, is the most expensive Italian movie ever made (over $45 million). Benigni is also being accused by the Italian press for “going Hollywood” in the making of this film. The profuse use of special effects has undoubtedly been one of the major causes of this turmoil. A carriage pulled by a team of fifty or so rats, a giant fish swallowing Pinocchio, and the transformations of the boys into donkeys are just a few of the impressive special effects employed in this film.
Pinocchio, filmed in Italian, has been released in America with English dubbing. This, of course, to make it a film that English speaking children can enjoy. Although I have always said that I don’t enjoy “reading a movie”, after seeing Pinocchio, I realize that I would have rather seen it in the original language, with subtitles. The dubbed voices just don’t capture the emotion or flow of the original script. I saw Benigni’s big American hit “Life is Beautiful” with subtitles and I loved it. ***Even though Benigni dubbed his own voice, he still sounded a bit contrived and flat…if not annoying. Nicolleta Braschi, as The Blue Fairy, dubbed her own English voice as well, but did a much better job.*** I would expect listening to it in Italian, the voices would carry much more feeling. Some other voices were dubbed by John Cleese (Jiminy Cricket), David Suchet (Geppetto), Cheech Marin (the fox), Queen Latifah (the dove), Topher Grace (Lucignolo) and Eddie Griffin (the cat).
*** As noted in the commnets "Glenn Close and not Nicholetta Braschi dubbed the voice of the Blue Fairy", while "Breckin Meyer and not Roberto Benigni dubbed the voice of Pinocchio." It's amazing how much incorrect information is found on the web. I should watch the credits more closely, but I didn't intend on writing this review at that time. Anyway, I still found Pinocchio's English dubbing to be tiresome.***
Scenery and cinematography in Pinocchio are absolutely wonderful. The Italian countryside leaves me breathless, and seeing it on the big screen was a real treat. The special effects flow quite seamlessly with it too. This movie, if nothing else, is definitely a beautiful one.
Just so you know, Disney was NOT the original creator of this story. It was written Carlo Lorenzini (Collodi) in 1883, though many of us only know the story as it was told by Walt Disney. The story of Pinocchio that we know from Disney was changed in a few ways, but the main idea, a puppet made by Geppetto wants to become a real boy, is still the theme. The Blue Fairy plays a more involved roll, Jiminy Cricket a much less involved roll, and Pinocchio sure seems to get himself into more trouble. Pinocchio’s avoidance of school, the growing nose, the boys turning to donkeys and the fish swallowing parts are all still there, so unless you are a stickler for Disney’s version, you won’t have a problem with the storyline…and actually it is much closer to the original.
Benigni, in that little boy costume, such looks goofy, but I suppose that’s the point…A grown man playing the part of a little boy. The Cat and Fox were disturbingly well done. Though their parts were not very big, they did very well. The Blue Fairy, played by Benigni’s wife Nicholleta Brashi (who is incidentally one of the most elegant and stunning women in film today, IMHO), is portrayed well, costumed wonderfully and is more than forgiving with Pinocchio than I would have been.
There were two scenes in this movie that might be of concern to parents with sensitive children. One is the scene when Pinocchio gets hung from a tree by some assassins after his gold coins. The other is the giant fish that sneaks up on Pinocchio, as the Blue Fairy is screaming terrified for him to swim faster. This fish sure has a lot of big teeth and the terror in the Blue Fairy might make a child scared or have nightmares. While both of these parts are not all that graphic, I just thought I’d mention them for anyone who may have a child prone to scaring easily.
Rated : G
Length: 108 min.
Roberto Benigni was quoted as saying "I AM Pinocchio!"...yes, Roberto, you are.
Academy Award-winner Roberto Benigni (Best Actor, Life Is Beautiful, 1998) brings one of the world s most beloved characters to the screen with this d...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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