---
title: "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"
year: 2022
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio"
fi1m_id: "guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio"
imdb_id: "tt1488589"
tmdb_id: 555604
wikidata_id: "Q73895818"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 31
published: "2026-09-24T02:07:42.927898+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-24T02:07:43.494045+00:00"
region: "AZ"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Directed by Mark Gustafson, Guillermo del Toro · 1h 57m · Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama

## Identity

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio
- **IMDb ID:** tt1488589
- **TMDB ID:** 555604
- **Wikidata ID:** Q73895818
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488589/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/555604, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q73895818

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 80 from 31 reviews

*In a sentence:* Del Toro leaves the splinters in, keeps the fascists, and forgets to sand off the songs

> Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson carve the fairy tale out of rough pine and set it in Mussolini’s Italy. The puppets are the most expressive we have seen in years; the songs are thin and the middle sprawls, but the father is worth it.

## Synopsis

An Italian mountain village, during the war. Geppetto (David Bradley), a woodcarver, loses his son Carlo (Gregory Mann) when a plane drops a bomb on the church where they are working, and grieves for years at the boy’s grave. One night, drunk, he cuts down the pine that has grown over it and hacks a puppet out of the wood. A Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) gives it life and asks a cricket (Ewan McGregor) living in the trunk to keep the boy honest. Pinocchio (Mann again) wakes up loud and curious in a town now hung with Mussolini’s posters. The priest (Burn Gorman) calls him an abomination, the Podesta (Ron Perlman) wants him drilled like his own son Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard), and a carnival showman, Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz), wants him on his stage.

## Review

Everybody knows the story. A puppet comes to life, lies, falls in with bad company, is swallowed by a sea beast and learns to be good. Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, directing in stop-motion from a script by del Toro and Patrick McHale, keep the outline and change the moral. Their Pinocchio is not a boy who must learn to obey but a boy who will not, in a country where everyone else has, because the country is Mussolini’s Italy. It is a handsome, strange, crowded film and we recommend it, with reservations about the songs and the length.

It opens before the puppet exists. Geppetto (David Bradley) is a woodcarver with a son, Carlo (Gregory Mann), and the two of them are finishing a wooden Christ for the village church when a plane drops a bomb on it. The film gives the boy perhaps ten minutes and then spends years at his grave, and Bradley’s voice, low and dry and cracking at the edges, does most of the work. We were moved earlier than we expected, and by less: an old man planting a pinecone at a grave, and the pine growing. When Geppetto finally gets drunk and takes an axe to that tree in a thunderstorm, hacking a boy out of it with his teeth bared, we were frightened of him.

Frank Passingham lights nearly everything with lamps, candles and firelight, so the grain of the wood is always visible. The village that Curt Enderle, Guy Davis and Karla Castañeda have built is ochre plaster and grey stone with a church at the top, and the carnival that rolls into it is red paint and gilt over rot. The puppets are the point. Pinocchio has nails driven into his head, gaps where the carving stopped and no attempt at cuteness anywhere. The Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) who wakes him is a blue creature with wings, and the wings have eyes. Swinton also voices Death, who has the same face and less patience.

Ewan McGregor’s Cricket narrates like a man dictating memoirs nobody asked for, and is flattened, repeatedly, for laughs; we laughed each time. Mann gives Pinocchio a real child’s voice, loud and unable to hear a rule without asking why, and for twenty minutes we found him wearing, and then on his side. Christoph Waltz purrs as Count Volpe, the showman who wants the puppet for his stage; Cate Blanchett is credited as Spazzatura, his monkey, and does not get a word. Ron Perlman’s Podesta has a jaw like a shovel and a son, Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard), he is trying to make in his own image. Burn Gorman’s priest looks at the puppet in church and sees the devil, while the puppet looks up at the wooden Christ and asks why everyone likes him.

The songs are the weak part. Alexandre Desplat’s score waltzes when the film lets it, but the film keeps stopping for songs that are short, thin and forgettable, and it knows it: more than one is cut off mid-verse as a joke. Once Pinocchio leaves the village the film moves between Volpe’s carnival and the Podesta’s plans for him, and Holly Klein and Ken Schretzmann cannot find a rhythm across the two; it is 117 minutes and feels longer. Pinocchio is also carried from place to place more than he chooses, which is odd in a film about a boy who refuses.

Set against del Toro’s own films, this is the gentler cousin of *Pan’s Labyrinth*, which also put a child between a fascist and a creature and asked which was the monster. Set against the Disney version of 1940, it is the more honest: that Pinocchio learned that good boys do as they are told, and this one is told, plainly, that they do not. The one strong dissent among the reviews so far found it unmoving; the film is busy, and there are stretches where the busyness is all there is. But the last movement, which we will not describe, sent us out quiet.

It is a PG, and rightly, but it will frighten under-eights in the way the old tales did, on purpose. Watch it with a child old enough to ask what the posters in the square are for, and be ready to answer.

*Fi1m score 80, published 24 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like this Pinocchio a good deal, and 28 of 31 reviews are favourable. The praise lands almost entirely on the stop-motion, described again and again as tactile, handmade and jagged in a way that suits the story’s macabre streak. Beyond the craft, critics credit del Toro with reworking the fable rather than retelling it, moving it to fascist-era Italy and giving real weight to mortality, disobedience and the failings of fathers. Gregory Mann’s voice work as Pinocchio earns a mention or two.

The reservations are consistent and modest. The songs are the most common complaint, several critics calling them misplaced or unnecessary, and a few find the second half either frantic or slow, with Slant Magazine singling out the fascist training-camp section as a drag. A handful think the busyness blunts the emotion. Deadline is the only outright dissenter, finding the film strangely unmoving and cluttered with visual flourishes, while still admiring the animation.

## Straight answers

**Is Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio worth watching?**

*Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* is worth watching, and we scored it 80. The stop-motion puppets are the most expressive we have seen in years and David Bradley's grieving Geppetto carries the film, but the songs are thin and the middle sprawls across a carnival and a fascist drill yard without finding a rhythm. It suits families with children old enough to ask what Mussolini's posters are for.

**How long is Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and what is it rated?**

*Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* runs 1h 57m. It is an animation and fantasy film.

**Where can I watch Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio in Azerbaijan?**

*Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* is streaming on Netflix in Azerbaijan. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio compare to Pan's Labyrinth?**

*Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* is the gentler cousin of [*Pan's Labyrinth*](https://film.one/film/pans-labyrinth): both put a child between a fascist and a creature and ask which is the monster. The earlier film is the tighter and the bloodier, and we recommend it warmly but not to children; the puppet film is a PG that frightens on purpose but stops short of cruelty. Take a child to one and not the other.

**What should I watch after Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio?**

After *Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio*, try [*Pan's Labyrinth*](https://film.one/film/pans-labyrinth) (2006, Fi1m 87): A girl, a faun and Franco’s Spain; the same argument with more blood. Then [*Pinocchio*](https://film.one/film/pinocchio) (1940, Fi1m 88): The Disney version this one argues with, and still frightening inside the whale; and [*Kubo and the Two Strings*](https://film.one/film/kubo-and-the-two-strings) (2016, Fi1m 83): Paper, shadow and a grieving boy; stop-motion that does not talk down.

### Reviews we read (31)

- **Little White Lies**, Kambole Campbell (4/5/5): Campbell considers the film among Guillermo del Toro’s finest, praising its heartfelt reworking of the story. He especially singles out the tactile, handmade stop-motion craft and production design. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/pinocchio-gdt)
- **IndieWire**, Rafael Motamayor (A): Motamayor praises the film as a life-affirming, rebellious reimagining and del Toro’s best movie in a decade. He especially highlights the expressive stop-motion performances and the animation’s remarkable craftsmanship. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/pinocchio-review-guillermo-del-toro-1234772874/)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (90/100, inferred): The critic considers the film a soaring success, with its stop-motion craft raising the bar. They especially praise the lively animation and its expressive interplay of lighting, camerawork and puppetry. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-heartfelt-adaptation-that-raises-bar-stop-motion-animation)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (90/100, inferred): Kermode gives the film an enthusiastic verdict, praising its peculiar magical strangeness. He especially singles out the tactile stop-motion and the film’s distinctive sensibility for making the fable sing. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/27/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-a-superbly-strange-stop-motion-animation)
- **Slant Magazine**, Josh Wise (3.5/4): The critic finds the film striking and inventive, though its late fascist training-camp section drags. He praises the painstaking craft and the film’s wild visual inventions. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (85/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a wondrous, charming adaptation with darkness. It praises the intricate design and the sense that the film is a genuine passion project. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/pinocchio-review-netflix/)
- **The AV Club**, Luke Y. Thompson (B+): Thompson finds this a worthy, distinctive take on Pinocchio despite some musical and finale missteps. He especially praises its richly designed stop-motion world and del Toro’s visual style. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-movie-review-netflix-1849757761)
- **Empire**, Alex Godfrey (82/100, inferred): Godfrey finds the film a distinctive, soulful and philosophically rich adaptation, though its songs feel misplaced and its emotional impact is uneven. He especially praises the jagged, imaginative stop-motion designs and the touching ending. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio/)
- **Time Out**, Olly Richards (4/5): Richards calls it the best adaptation of Collodi’s fairy tale in 70 years. He praises its stop-motion blend of magic and the macabre. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-2022)
- **Variety**, Guy Lodge (80/100, inferred): Lodge finds the film an eccentric, imaginative adaptation that makes the familiar story feel distinctive and worthwhile. He particularly praises its macabre stop-motion textures and vivid visual design. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-1235404540/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Robert Abele (70/100, inferred): Abele finds the film inventive and heart-conscious, though its second half becomes overly frantic and blunts its emotional force. He praises its Old World stop-motion detail and its thoughtful treatment of imperfect fathers, mortality and family. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-11-08/review-guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-netflix)
- **Screen Daily**, Wendy Ide (70/100, inferred): The review presents the film as impressively distinctive. It singles out its stop-motion animation as a notable feature. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-london-review/5175204.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Leslie Felperin (70/100, inferred): Felperin finds the film imperfect but often beautiful, with its inventive reworking of the story outweighing its indulgences. She especially praises the exquisitely crafted stop-motion animation and its deliberately stuttery movement, while faulting the editing and pacing. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-netflix-cate-blanchett-christoph-waltz-ewan-mcgregor-tilda-swinton-1235242088/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): Lane finds the film overstuffed but ultimately compelling, with its angular stop-motion giving the retelling a distinctive punch. He singles out Pinocchio mimicking the Crucifixion as an astonishing moment of wonder. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/12/brendan-frasers-soft-quizzicality-in-the-whale)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. The text also provides no information about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-2022)
- **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review, but the page content is unavailable. I can’t verify the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/movies/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-puppets-and-power.html)
- **The Wrap** (95/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a soulful, life-affirming pleasure and a stop-motion masterpiece. They especially praise the natural-looking animation and its sympathetic, rebellious take on Pinocchio. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-2022-netflix/)
- **Digital Spy**, Ian Sandwell (90/100, inferred): The review strongly praises the film as an affecting, visually distinctive adaptation with real substance. It singles out the stop-motion craftsmanship and emotional finale as especially effective. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a42177528/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-review-netflix/)
- **HeyUGuys** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it an instant classic and praises del Toro’s fully realised vision. The stop-motion animation is singled out as visually stunning, while the original songs are the main weakness. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review/)
- **Paste**, Kathy Michelle Chacón (9.4): Chacón calls the film an artistic triumph and a fresh, moving retelling. She especially praises its stop-motion beauty and its thoughtful treatment of mortality. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/guillermo-del-toro/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review)
- **Polygon**, Oli Welsh (90/100, inferred): Welsh finds the film unruly and occasionally messy, but ultimately wild, tender, and deeply moving. He especially praises the tactile stop-motion animation and its intimate visual details. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23406878/pinocchio-review-guillermo-del-toro-netflix/)
- **The Playlist** (90/100, inferred): The headline presents the film as a heartrending reimagining and a classic in the making. It singles out the reimagining’s emotional impact for praise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-heartrending-reimagining-is-a-classic-in-the-making-lff-20221016/)
- **/Film**, Hannah Shaw-Williams (9 out of 10): The critic praises the film as a challenging, joyful retelling that embraces dark themes rather than smoothing them over. She singles out Gregory Mann’s energetic, endearing voice performance as Pinocchio. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1055614/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-a-classic-childrens-tale-meets-frankenstein-and-fascist-italy/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (B+): Bonaime calls it the best adaptation since Disney’s 1940 version, despite some new ideas that do not fully work. He especially praises the stop-motion animation and the fuller exploration of Geppetto and Pinocchio’s relationship. [Read](https://collider.com/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-review/)
- **Consequence**, Clint Worthington (80/100, inferred): Worthington finds this version assured, personal, and a welcome renewal of the fable. He singles out its dark-fantasy sensibility and fascist-era setting as especially effective. [Read](https://consequence.net/2022/12/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio-review-netflix/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (4/5): Kaye finds the film a visually beautiful, heartfelt achievement that stands proudly alongside Disney’s classic. He especially praises the stop-motion animation and sumptuous imagery, while noting that the film sometimes drags and its songs feel unnecessary. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-make-you-forget-disney/)
- **NME**, Alex Flood (4/5): The critic calls it a grown-up fairy tale and says it was worth the long wait. They particularly praise the gorgeous stop-motion animation and hand-painted backdrops. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/pinocchio-review-guillermo-del-toro-netflix-3330960)
- **The Skinny**, Carmen Paddock (★★★★): Paddock finds the film a fantastical, heartfelt reimagining, though its breakneck pace and broad humour diminish some of the original’s poignancy. She praises its early-20th-century setting and its celebration of rebellious, non-conformist humanity. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/guillermo-del-toro-pinocchio)
- **Film Stories**, Lauren Miles (76/100, inferred): Miles finds the adaptation a dark, emotional, and distinctive success, though Pinocchio’s passive nature and the episodic structure sometimes weaken it. She especially praises its richly textured stop-motion animation and bittersweet finale. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-a-unique-adaptation/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film imaginative and inclusive, though its plot can feel thin and slow. She praises the animation and its rethinking of what makes someone a real boy. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-2022-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (35/100, inferred): Wise finds the film strangely unmoving despite its heartfelt themes, leaving it short on charm and wonder. He praises the stop-motion animation, while criticizing the film’s excess of visual flourishes and lack of emotional impact. [Read](https://deadline.com/2022/10/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio-review-london-film-festival-1235145870/)

## Details

- **Director:** Mark Gustafson, Guillermo del Toro
- **Director:** Mark Gustafson, Guillermo del Toro
- **Screenplay:** Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale
- **Cinematography:** Frank Passingham
- **Editor:** Holly Klein, Ken Schretzmann
- **Music:** Alexandre Desplat
- **Production design:** Karla Castañeda, Guy Davis, Curt Enderle
- **Producer:** Gary Ungar, Guillermo del Toro, Alexander Bulkley
- **Cast:** Ewan McGregor as Cricket (voice); David Bradley as Geppetto (voice); Gregory Mann as Pinocchio / Carlo (voice); Burn Gorman as Priest (voice); Ron Perlman as Podesta (voice); John Turturro as Dottore (voice); Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick (voice); Cate Blanchett as Spazzatura (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 57m
- **Release (Azerbaijan):** 9 December 2022
- **Genres:** Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
- **Budget:** $35 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od2NW1sfRdA

## Where to watch in Azerbaijan

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-24.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2023: Best Animated Feature (won)
- Golden Globes 2023: Best Animated Feature Film (won)
- Annie Award for Best Animated Feature 2022: Annie Award for Best Animated Feature (won)
- Critics' Choice Awards 2022: Best Animated Feature (won)

## If you liked this

- *Pan's Labyrinth* (2006), Fi1m 87: A girl, a faun and Franco’s Spain; the same argument with more blood. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pans-labyrinth.md)
- *Pinocchio* (1940), Fi1m 88: The Disney version this one argues with, and still frightening inside the whale. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pinocchio.md)
- *Kubo and the Two Strings* (2016), Fi1m 83: Paper, shadow and a grieving boy; stop-motion that does not talk down. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kubo-and-the-two-strings.md)
- *Alice* (1988): Švankmajer’s Czech Carroll, with a stuffed rabbit; not one for bedtime.
- *The Boy and the Heron* (2023), Fi1m 81: Miyazaki sends a boy who has lost a parent into another underworld. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-boy-and-the-heron.md)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio