Liza Rosas Bustos

Del Toro, once again, creates a double plot that can trap adults and children. It traps adults like a song whose tune we have forgotten. For those who have been colonized by the Disney characters, this movie might seem counterintuitive. This movie runs many miles deep than any Disney slogan. I asked my 10-year-old child to watch the movie with me on Xmas night after we opened presents. He was uninterested. When I begun watching it, he left his new toys aside and soon sat with me to watch it. Somehow he found it different from other movies he is accustomed to watch. He could not take is eyes off it. This Pinocchio taps into some overarching themes: What are the implications of being born in a historical era? How do historical events shape our experiences? Who are we without our makers? How do we find the balance between our essence and our parents' mold in order to adapt to a particular society in time and space? At what cost? Pinocchio is a true child. His nature, untouched by cultural molds, sees the world from the perspective of an angel, he is pure essence. He is seen as a troublemaker. He has not yet been molded by society, its vices, its prejudices, its mechanical needs, nor he is willing to serve it. He rebels and resists, until he realizes that it will help his dad be proud of him. The same act of love sends him into the complex social fabric that hurts him, takes advantage of him. Pinocchio is made of wood, he is the a metaphor of nature so many times shaped, twisted, according to human capricious ways, yet never corrupted. The goddess that gives Pinocchio life and the goddess who counsel him resonated within me and my child like a distant song all of us beings have forgotten. I was taken by this imagery and this movie's deep sense of kinship with all kindred beings, so refreshing! This movie renew my vows with my kindred self I have always known to be. My child and I were one watching it. I will remind him of the goddesses of nature when we take a walk in the woods or when we go camping sometime. If this movie does not win an Oscar, I am never watching the Oscars again.