Fans Have Crowned Guillermo Del Toro The Winner Of 2022's Pinocchio Wars
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The world threw many curveballs at us in 2022, but one of the most head-scratching events had to be the fact that there were three different new "Pinocchio" movies to choose from. That's right, three! As crazy as this sounds, it wouldn't be the first time multiple movies were released in the same year dealing with the exact same subject. Film pairings like "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" or "Ants" and "A Bugs Life" have proven a couple of things to fans. First, it's possible to watch separate tellings of, basically, the same story in the same year. And second, one of the films will always be better than the others. And in the case of "Pinocchio," it seems as if Guillermo del Toro's production reigns supreme.
For the few that don't know, "Pinocchio" is a classic tale, originally adapted from the 1883 novel of the same name, written by Carlo Collodi. The story was most famously adapted as an animated Disney movie in 1940. Flash forward to 2022 and, apparently, the world was ready for three more goes at this more-than-a-century-old tale. The first one was, for sure, the most obscure option. "Pinocchio: A True Story," an animated Russian movie that got an English-dubbed release in 2022, features the voices of Pauly Shore, Jon Heder, and Tom Kenny. The straight-to-DVD released film received virtually no attention. This left the two studio films to go head to head, looking to be crowned 2022's "Pinocchio" winner.
Reactions prove that del Toro's emotional take earns it royalty status
When matching up the two big "Pinocchio" releases of 2022, Disney surely had the advantage when it came to both studio and star power. With the direction of Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks playing the role of Geppetto, and Joseph Gordon Levitt voicing Jiminy Cricket, the live-action/CGI combo surely had potential. But, when both fans and critics gave it a try, reactions weren't too great.
In contrast, the opposite can be said after "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" was released on Netflix. And movie fans have clearly voiced their opinions about the matter over various platforms. Within the many online discussions that compare the two films, locating a comment choosing the Disney version over del Toro's is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Over on Reddit, u/dinosaurfondue stated a pretty clear opinion about the live-action Zemeckis version, saying, "The Disney one with Tom Hanks was just so, so mediocre. I didn't hate it. I just didn't find anything to love about it and that ending was the most bland, non-exciting thing about the movie." Meanwhile, u/dandaman64 presented a clear winner by stating, "Guillermo absolutely dumpstered the other Pinocchios and it wasn't even a competition." On YouTube, @lordsinister707 wrote about the clear winner, writing, "This film had so much more soul and passion than Disney." And @johnfelix503 summed it up by writing, "[The "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"] trailer is more emotional than the whole Disney's live action movie version."