Pinocchio et Gepetto

To say this is a silly movie is an understatement. The premise, that Gepetto is now turned into a puppet, has a great deal of promise, in that it could have explored the mirror images, so to speak, of the poignant emotions that have made Collodi's original tale immortal. Sadly, none of this occurs. Instead, every millimeter of depth is drained, leaving only an insipid story of a boy and man who seem less real than the puppets they sometimes occupy. Gabriel Thomson, in the title role, comes across as trying very hard to rescue anything he can out of this part, which must have felt pretty humiliating right after "Pip" of "Great Expectations." He showed much more what he was capable of in "Enemy at the Gates" (2001), and then went on to a TV series. I suppose the very young might find a few laughs in this "Pinocchio," but if you're looking for a further lesson in life or what constitutes being human, you won't find it here.

I watched this film on TV with my two children (aged 12 and 10) and I think I enjoyed it as much as they did, maybe more. The whole production is beautiful and feels like a fairy tale should. The plot kept my children engrossed and amazingly stays true to the story. It probably wasn't pre-tested or had to have its ending changed to suit the market. In short, well-made, well-acted and well-filmed with special effects that are good enough to create some magic without being too spectacular and distracting. It also makes good use of its location setting (admittedly in Luxembourg and not Italy). A really pleasant way to spend an hour or so with the kids. So why bother to comment at all? The thing is a lot of people of my generation grew up with the Disneytized versions of what were mostly European fairy tales or children's stories, such as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Winnie the Poo, etc, etc. In the end, it's hard for us non-Americans to convince our kids that these are not the original stories. Apart from incongruous American accents (okay, we're used to these a lot more than Americans are used to our "foreign" accents), names get changed (Jimminy Cricket instead of Pepe, which was good enough for the author), locations get switched and elements of the plot are shifted about or simplified. Sometimes the tough parts are made just plain cute. Maybe it shouldn't matter but when one culture dominates the film and TV outlets as much as is happening today then there's a feeling that when a film goes half-way to keeping its balance (with a nice mix of European and American actors) it serves as a terrific antidote. the recent Midsummer Night's Dream (dir. Michael Hoffman) was another good example. What a lot of Americans perhaps realize is just how many plots (children's movies aside) that are simply lifted from the original settings, maybe French, maybe British, by the US film and TV industry and then represented as original output. It's a pity because that way, you don't get to know as much about us as we do about you. Incidentally, my kids voted for this movie over the Disney version. It made me proud.

A poorly made g rated movie. Martin Landau as Gepetto is either unconscious in bed or doing a voice over. Talk about phoning in a part. Jonathan is a prince who briefly visits the show, and he has few or no lines. This is what he deserves for walking away from a hit TV show. The drag queen circus master, Udo Kier, looks exactly like Hillary Clinton if she painted an eyeball on her cheek every day. The computer generated wooden puppets look weird, and the blue fairy speaks in clichés. On the plus side, Felinet can snuggle in my lap anytime. This movie is only suitable for little kids and the weak minded; it is excruciating for adults. BC

I was part of the "extras" together with my 6 year old daughter. It's true that the site, the weather, were fantastic BUT... you could feel from the beginning that this movie will not be that successful due to many various factors. That was the first time I participated in a movie production and found out that all the people working on the set had an over dimensioned ego, finally, only the actors were nice and friendly. The official photographer was chasing the extras who were taking pics of themselves in their funny costumes. He was threatening us. The casting girl was atrocious, nasty and arrogant. Some extras thought they were THE movie stars and were constantly pushing the others to arrive all the time in front of the cameras. Extras were getting poor food while the crew was nicely treated in term of food. We were so naive, just wanting to participate in a dream, trying to make nice souvenirs. Well, I participated in other movies and yes, I have to say that this movie environment is really a pitiless world, the jungle where the strongest bites the poorest. A simple replication of the world I must say.

The previous writers comments were not based on The New Adventures of Pinochio. In this version Martin Landau (Jeppeto) becomes a puppet when he accidentally drinks a magic potion. An English boy plays his son in the title role and gives a marvelous sensitive performance. Except for some poor special effects, this Pinochio is really fun, believable and a must see. Forget the previous versions. Jeppeto is captured by a traveling circus, and Pinochio with his friend spends his time trying to rescue him, and remove the evil spell. While attempting to rescue Jepetto, Pinochio is captured, falls under this spell and he becomes a wooden boy, This movie is really fun,hard to find. If you are in Europe I think you will be able to see it.