“Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" at the Figge Art Museum -- March 5.
Thursday, March 5, 6 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Winner of the 2022 Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film, and currently enjoying a 96-percent "freshness" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio enjoys a March 5 screening as part of the "Free Film at the Figge" series at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus calling the film "a visually stunning adaptation that embraces its source material's darkness."
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is a 2022 animated musical dark fantasy film directed by The Shape of Water Oscar winner del Toro and Mark Gustafson, from a story by Matthew Robbins and del Toro, and a screenplay by del Toro and Patrick McHale. It is loosely based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, with the title character's design strongly influenced by illustrator Gris Grimly's work. Set in Fascist Italy during the interwar period, the story follows Pinocchio, a wooden puppet who comes to life as the son of his carver, Geppetto. The film stars the voice of Gregory Mann as Pinocchio and David Bradley as Geppetto, alongside Ewan McGregor, Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton. Pinocchio was the final film credited to Gustafson before his death in 2024.
A longtime passion project for del Toro, who considers that no other character ever "had as deep of a personal connection to [him]" as Pinocchio, the film is dedicated to the memories of his parents. It was originally announced in 2008 with a release in 2013 or 2014. However, it went into development hell. In January 2017, McHale was announced to co-write the screenplay, but production was suspended in November 2017 as no studios were willing to provide financing. It was revived the following year after being acquired by Netflix.
Pinocchio premiered at the 66th BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2022. It was released in select theaters on November 9, and began streaming on Netflix on December 9. The film received widespread critical acclaim for its direction, writing, voice performances, animation, production design, musical numbers, and faithfulness in retaining the darkness of the source material. Among its numerous accolades, Pinocchio won Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Critic's Choice Awards and PGA Awards.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio will be screened in the Figge's John Deere Auditorium on March 5, with audiences incited to stick around after the showing for wine, compliments of Barb Zimmerman. The Figge Bar will also be open at 5 p.m. for food and beverages (cards only), and admission to the film is free. For more information, call (563)326-7804 and visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
