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Guillermo del Toro Discusses Pinocchio's Similarities with Frankenstein's Monster


Guillermo del Toro's version of Pinocchio is finally out on Netflix and it's certainly a darker incarnation of the beloved fairy tale. Not surprisingly, the Pan's Labyrinth director confirms that his work was influenced mainly by how the little puppet had striking similarities with Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's novel.

Guillermo del Toro recently spoke to Total Film where he discussed how Pinocchio's creation was similar to how Frankenstein made his monster. Interestingly, the filmmaker confirmed that he had noticed the similarities for a long time.

"Early, early on, in my childhood, these two myths complemented each other, Frankenstein and Pinocchio," del Toro said. "But when we started this journey, we said well, 'Well, what can we shake, in terms of story, and what haven't we seen before?'"

"The characters that change are the characters who normally teach Pinocchio in the fable," he continued. "The cricket changes a lot during the movie, Geppetto completely transforms. And Pinocchio remains in a steady course of disobedience, all the way to the end."

"He learns that the only lie that is dangerous is that he should never lie to himself, he stays true to himself. So these ideas fuse," del Toro added, pointing out that he took notes from the work of original Pinocchio author Carlo Collodi.

"We went back to Collodi for certain gestures that haven't been put in a Pinocchio film – like the fact that Pinocchio dies several times and the cricket gets crushed constantly; like the fact that Pinocchio, in the beginning, is really unruly, and is not a domesticated, pleasant, quiet, angelic. He's an almost feral elemental," he concluded.

It's certainly a dark yet beautiful way to describe a well-known story that has been sanitised through the ages, especially by Disney. With that in mind, it's awesome to see del Toro's work in motion.

Pinocchio is now streaming on Netflix.

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