The Trailer For Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio Will Give You Life
"Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" has come a long way. Not only was it held up in development hell for over a decade, but its proximity to the release of the Disney+ live-action reboot staring big talent like Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Keegan-Michael Key set it up for tough competition. So far, though, it's getting pretty favorable reviews from sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. It also marks the first time that Netflix has jumped on the bandwagon and joined services like HBO Max in streaming a feature film to its subscribers shortly after a theatrical release.
The hype has been building for the movie since the first teaser trailer came out nine months ago, and even more when the official teaser trailer dropped three months after that. There was a bit of pushback when Netflix revealed that Guillermo's attempt to craft an anti-Pinocchio story would change pivotal parts of the original source material; most fans, however, are still excited to see del Toro's twist on the classic tale. And the newly released official trailer might just persuade even the biggest skeptics to give it a chance.
The trailer wants to remind audiences that life is a wonderful gift
We initially saw Jiminy Cricket (Ewan McGregor) in both the first and second teasers, who insists that audiences will get a very different version of the "Pinocchio" story they're familiar with. The new trailer includes a whole minute of extra footage and a deeper introduction to the plot and the characters. We start with the social stigma Pinocchio faces from the townspeople who don't understand him, his attempted departure from Geppetto's (David Bradley) home to avoid being a burden, and his turbulent interaction with Count Volpe, voiced by Christoph Waltz (fun fact: "volpe" is Italian for "fox," an appropriate moniker for a character who was portrayed as a literal talking fox in the original story).
Finally — if the timeline of the trailer syncs up with the full-length movie — the eventual happy reunion between father, wooden son, and Spazzatura (Kate Blanchet) will bring a happy resolution to what looks to be an emotional rollercoaster of a movie. But the part that really tugs at your heartstrings happens near the end. Splash screens with stylized text say, "This holiday season, love will give you life" amidst the prophetic wood sprite (Tilda Swinton) explaining to Pinocchio that "you may have eternal life; your loved ones, they do not. You'll never know how long you have with someone until they're gone." At the very end, Jiminy Cricket reminds the viewing audience that "Life is such a wonderful gift!"