PINOCCHIO



Steve Barron's film from Carlo Collodi' Le Avventure de Pinocchio


Identification sheet:


1996, France and UK
Running Time:
Direction: Steve Barron
Scenario: Sherry Mills, Steve Barron, Tom Benedek
Sound Track: Rachel Portman

Main characters:


Geppetto is played by Martin Landau, in his second carreer marked by the humanity of his acting (as in Tucker, winner of an Oscar, and Ed Wood, where he played Bela Lugosi). Together with this big name, the puppet created by Jim Henson (the father of Muppets Show) speaks through Jonathan taylor's voice. He himself appears (as a real actor) at the end of the film. Udo Kier plays the circus manager, renamed Lorenzini (Carlo Collodi's real name!) instead of Mangiafouco. This adaptation innovates the ending, for Lorenzini is metamorphosed into a devil whale instead of into a shark, who swallows the heroes of the film. Genevieve Bujold, starring Leona, is another innovation in cinema, for Disney omitted this character who gives Geppetto sexual connotations.
The "Talking Cricket" as Collodi called him, is named Pepe in Barron's film. He is the result of 3D tricks. Pinocchio's conscience is here a warm, colourful and modern character who speaks modern American slang.
The Cat and the Fox, just simple animals in Collodi's, are here given human shape. The cat becomes Feline and the fox is called Volper. Their animal ascendency is shown trhough in these characters and they end up metamorphosed in animals.
Two French actors, Jean-Claude Drouot and Jean-Claude Dreyfus, play the judge and Lorenzini's friend respectively.


An adaptation based on special effects:



This adaptation of Collodi's novel suffers from too much special effects, but willing to be accurate to the original book, they try not to differ a lot from Disney's version of 1940.
In the line of its accuracy, notice the appearance of Leona, Geppetto's beloved. As in Collodi's Pinocchio, Geppetto is going to carve the puppet ibn the tree truck were he, years ago, drew a heart for Leona. In all, barron's adaptation remains accurate to Collodi's book and to Chiostri's original illustrations. The Blue fairy animates the wooden puppet and Pinocchio is dressed in a tyrolian costume with white gloves.

As far as the plot is concerned, as in Disney's version, Barron has favourized certain adventures (the original text had 36) and has marginalized others. Only Comencini's version for a TV serial had been able to be exhausitve. As said before, then, the only problem that Barron's adaptation presents is the importance given to special effects. The powerful effects to animate the puppet and create the cricket make the tale heavier. Everything happens as if the plot was in the service of technique and not the other way round! Thus the narration is articulated from scenes where courage is shown: Pinochio on the roofs, Pinocchio at the baker's, and so on. The audience notice it and the lack of continuity prejudices the film.


Pinocchio in the Habsbourg Bohemia



The aims of moving Collodi's tale to another setting and to another time may seem unexplainable. From Italy of 19th century, we are moved to Central Europe of Enlightenment. This change of setting is based on an aesthetic search. The green and yellow colours, typical of Barroque, prevail and Cesky Dolny (the Czeck village were the film was shot) offers a remarkable scenery ready for dreamlike experiences, like the judge scene in a room painted with biblical chapters.