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A review by bickleyhouse
Pinocchio (Illustrated) by Carlo Collodi
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Everyone's familiar with Pinocchio, right? The cautionary tale of the puppet who would be a real boy. Some are more familiar with the Disney-fied version of the story. A few weeks ago, I watched Guillermo del Toro's new production of the story, which was delightful. After watching that, I decided that I needed to read the original story to see how del Toro and Disney differed from it.
I was actually surprised to see how much del Toro varied from the original. I'm never surprised to see how much Disney varies. But it appears that Disney's version may have actually been closer to the original than del Toro's.
At any rate, it is a fantastic (and by that, I mean "fantasy") story of an old man who wants to make a puppet. The original piece of wood was picked up by someone else, but every time that person tried to do something with it, it talked to him. He wound up giving it to Geppetto, who then carved it into Pinocchio. In the book, the puppet is not given life by a fairy or witch, it is simply alive from the beginning. And contrary and precocious, as well. Pinocchio constantly veers off of the path he is supposed to be following, only to bemoan the consequences, saying, "If only I had obeyed! If only I hadn't done _________!" This happens constantly, throughout the tale. And, of course, every time he gets rescued, he determines that he is never going to do that again.
But he does.
There were some details in the story that weren't included in either del Toro's or Disney's version. In one scenario, Pinocchio is forced to act like a guard dog, as punishment for sneaking into a farmer's land to try to steal some food. And he does such a good job of it, that the farmer releases him. The giant fish that swallows Geppetto and Pinocchio (a dogfish in Disney's) is a shark in the book. A very, very large shark (one character says it is a kilometer!).
Del Toro's version includes a lot of material involving Mussolini, who is not at all mentioned in Collodi's original tale. And, in del Toro's version, rather than getting enticed to go to Toyland, Pinocchio travels with a puppet show, and never turns into a donkey (which is included in the Disney version). The fairy does turn up in the book, but in the middle of the story, and promises Pinocchio that he can, in fact, become a real boy. Oh, and the Talking Cricket (which is all he is called in the book) is killed off (or so we think) early in the book, and appears in later chapter as a ghost (or so we think).
It was a fun read for me, though, and quick. The version I read had 170 pages, but had many full-page color illustrations in it, a very pretty volume. This volume was originally published in 2009, and the original story was published in 1882. By the way, Mussolini wasn't even born until 1883.
I was actually surprised to see how much del Toro varied from the original. I'm never surprised to see how much Disney varies. But it appears that Disney's version may have actually been closer to the original than del Toro's.
At any rate, it is a fantastic (and by that, I mean "fantasy") story of an old man who wants to make a puppet. The original piece of wood was picked up by someone else, but every time that person tried to do something with it, it talked to him. He wound up giving it to Geppetto, who then carved it into Pinocchio. In the book, the puppet is not given life by a fairy or witch, it is simply alive from the beginning. And contrary and precocious, as well. Pinocchio constantly veers off of the path he is supposed to be following, only to bemoan the consequences, saying, "If only I had obeyed! If only I hadn't done _________!" This happens constantly, throughout the tale. And, of course, every time he gets rescued, he determines that he is never going to do that again.
But he does.
There were some details in the story that weren't included in either del Toro's or Disney's version. In one scenario, Pinocchio is forced to act like a guard dog, as punishment for sneaking into a farmer's land to try to steal some food. And he does such a good job of it, that the farmer releases him. The giant fish that swallows Geppetto and Pinocchio (a dogfish in Disney's) is a shark in the book. A very, very large shark (one character says it is a kilometer!).
Del Toro's version includes a lot of material involving Mussolini, who is not at all mentioned in Collodi's original tale. And, in del Toro's version, rather than getting enticed to go to Toyland, Pinocchio travels with a puppet show, and never turns into a donkey (which is included in the Disney version). The fairy does turn up in the book, but in the middle of the story, and promises Pinocchio that he can, in fact, become a real boy. Oh, and the Talking Cricket (which is all he is called in the book) is killed off (or so we think) early in the book, and appears in later chapter as a ghost (or so we think).
It was a fun read for me, though, and quick. The version I read had 170 pages, but had many full-page color illustrations in it, a very pretty volume. This volume was originally published in 2009, and the original story was published in 1882. By the way, Mussolini wasn't even born until 1883.