Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Available on: Netflix

Guillermo del Toro’s typically unique take on Carlo Collodi’s classic fable is perhaps most curious due to its similarities with Pan’s Labyrinth. Much like his magnum opus, a morbid curiosity with both death and fascism runs through Pinocchio, positioning it as something other than just another star-studded Netflix ensemble.

The Mexican auteur’s long-awaited adaptation of this well-known fable is striking for its almost lifelike stop-motion, which is coloured by a visual palette befitting of his other classic works. Turbo-charging proceedings is a stellar voice cast that is led by Ewan McGregor’s wildly entertaining narrator Sebastian J Cricket.

Pinocchio himself is also a different iteration to the one previously served up by Disney, with del Toro electing to celebrate his antihero’s intrinsically chaotic nature, which only becomes more entertaining as the film is gradually engrained in comic, Groundhog Day-esque repetition.

Put simply, this is smarter and more essential than one had cared to imagine prior to watching and offers another timely reminder of del Toro’s cinematic genius.