Sue Ann Reynolds

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a fantastic adaptation of Carlo Collodi's 1883 fable. Del Toro is one of the best at his craft today, and is at his best with this endeavor. He expertly honors the tale's origins by touching upon the warmth of Italy's culture with spot-on archetypes: the love of family and breathtaking civic and pastoral landscapes, while interweaving darker movements in its history: the rise of fascism. With an overlay of the era's demand for conformity and perfectionism, Del Toro imbues his characters with human frailty and the need for love and belonging, transforming them from having to be someone else's version of "good and right" to being deserving of love and acceptance for who they are...and who they aren't. Truly a masterpiece. Fellini himself could not have done better. Film studies/animation followers: don't miss del Toro's Pinocchio Hand-Carved Cinema, also on Netflix.