Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 13, 2023

"Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson's "Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio" (2022) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Farran Smith Nehme and del Toro; new program on the production of the film; cast and crew interviews; two Q&A sessions; original trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The similarities are there and are exceptionally easy to recognize. However, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is not a cinematic adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s famous novel. It is another cinematic trip to that most unusual place that Guillermo del Toro visited in The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth.

This time, the entire trip is one giant stop-motion animation project whose rich colors quickly begin to overwhelm. No, this is not an exaggeration. The explosion of colors that provides the structure of the place where del Toro unleashes his imagination is so intense that after a while it truly overwhelms, which is a problem because it is difficult to accept as a unique reconstruction of Il Duce’s Italy. But del Toro wants it to be, and it is where he introduces the aging woodcarver Geppetto (David Bradley), his beloved son Carlo (Alfie Tempest), and the Cricket with a human voice (Ewan McGregor). A plane then drops a bomb that destroys an old church in which Geppetto has been doing restoration work and kills Carlo, instantly rearranging Il Duce’s Italy into a much darker and sinister place where the presence of evil becomes impossible to ignore. It is here that del Toro finally introduces Pinocchio (Gregory Mann), who replaces Carlo, and soon after the shady Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz), who convinces him to leave Geppetto and travel with him to meet Il Duce (Tom Kenny).

While still borrowing elements from Collodi’s novel, the rest of the trip then evolves into an unorthodox platform which del Toro uses to comment on various topics that have appeared in his previous films, like child exploitation and political demagoguery. The shift is very obvious and some of the comments become a bit too preachy, so there won’t be a shortage of viewers who will conclude that a lot should have been handled differently.

Plenty of viewers will rightfully point out that more should have been done to preserve the integrity of the main characters as well. Not only are they quite different, but very, very difficult to like, too. For example, after Carlo’s tragic death, the heartbroken Geppetto is quickly remodeled into a disillusioned drunkard, and even though he recovers his kindness and passion for life, later it is virtually impossible to see him as a caring father again. Pinocchio looks great, but his behavior is often impossible to associate with the iconic character from Collodi’s novel as well. Here Pinocchio utters lines and acts in ways that legitimize him as a puppet, while in Collodi’s novel everything that he does emphasizes his human nature. This magical transformation -- the puppet becoming a human being -- is supposed to be the catalyst of everything that is special about Pinocchio’s story. Oddly, del Toro humanizes the talking Cricket, which is why over time the tiny creature becomes a much more likeable character.

The magic element darkens the trip in a most predictable manner, but the atmosphere that emerges does not feel right for it. For example, the exotic creature/dragon that explains mortality to Pinocchio looks like a visitor from Pan’s Labyrinth, or a wild nightmare that del Toro always wanted to incorporate into a film. The same can be said about the giant monster fish that swallows Geppetto, too.

But the entire trip is a visual tour de force, so even viewers who are typically allergic to cutting-edge animation will undoubtedly find something to admire. There is just too much beauty on display, constantly seducing the eyes and mind in ways that perhaps only del Toro could have envisioned.

Earlier this year, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won an Oscar Award for Best Animated Feature. It was Netflix’s first animated film.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-22 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #26-30 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

I viewed the entire film in native 4K with Dolby Vision. Later, I quickly tested a few areas with HDR and the 1080p presentation. A separate Blu-ray release is listed and reviewed here.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a feast for the eyes in native 4K and in 1080p. Depth, clarity, and sharpness are some of the very best that I have seen produced by a home video release. Add a tremendous range of incredible colors, and at times the visuals become borderline distracting. I expected this film to look outstanding in native 4K, but the 4K and 1080p presentations look breathtakingly beautiful. To be honest, this type of exceptionally vibrant and polished visual appearance makes it awfully difficult not to conclude that the film enters a territory that is typically reserved for contemporary video games. Image stability is outstanding. Also, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English Dolby Atmos. English Descriptive DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is included as well. There are optional English SDH subtitles.

The Dolby Atmos audio track is spectacular. The movement, separation, and wide range of dynamic contrasts easily make it a 'reference quality' track that can test the muscles of your audio system. Even in sequences that are free of rapid movements and similar sustained activities, there are nuances and effects popping up from all kinds of different directions that create quite the audio field. I was very impressed. While viewing the film, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Handcarved Cinema - this documentary -- which premiered in 2022 but was expanded for this release -- takes a closer look at the conception and production of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Included in it are cast and crew interviews as well as raw footage from the stop-motion work and editing process. The documentary was produced by Javier Soto. In English, not subtitled. (45 min).

• Directing Stop-Motion - in this program, Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson discuss stop-motion direction and the work that was done during the production of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Eight Rules of Animation - in this program, Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson discuss eight rules that were crucial for their vision of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio with their team of animators. The program features Zoom calls from 2019. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Guillermo del Toro and Farran Smith Nehme - in this new program, critic Farran Smith Nehme interviews Guillermo del Toro about his love for Pinocchio, some key themes that his film explores, and its conception. Del Toro also explains why the film often behaves as a classic musical as well. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• "Crafting Pinocchio" for Moma - in this new program, curator Ron Magliozzi discusses the creation of the exhibit Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio for The Museum of Modern Art. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Q&A Sessions - presented here are two Q&A sessions with the creators of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
  
  Session One (2022) - moderated by author Neil Gaiman. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).
  Session Two (2023) - moderated by James Cameron. In English, not subtitled. (39 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original Netflix trailer for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booket featuring essays by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz and author Cornelia Funke, as well as technical credits.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Guillermo del Toro states that all characters from Carlo Collodi's famous novel "are capable of being interpreted in many ways", which is probably true. However, how del Toro and Mark Gustafson do the interpretation and where they send these characters while retelling Pinocchio's story makes it awfully easy to describe Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio as a very close relative of The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, and this association feels quite awkward because these films are cinematic portals to drastically different places. Needless to say, while a lot of the visuals that Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio produces are quite striking, the quality of its storytelling is underwhelming. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack offers an outstanding technical presentation of the film, so if you have seen and enjoyed it, give yourself an early Christmas present. (A standard Blu-ray release will be available for purchase at the same time as well).