Over the Christmas break, i caught Guillermo Del Toro's retelling of the classic tale Pinocchio on Netflix, and the production blew me away with the incredible design and storytelling. Immediately after watching the film, i watched the making-of video and it was really fascinating to hear about all the work that went into creating and animating the scenes. This film is a testament to how far the medium of animation has come and how much it continues to push the envelope of visual storytelling. Every scene in the film was so packed with details and it was evident that every single prop was crafted with love and respect for the production. My favourite detail i noticed was how the character design of Pinocchio had the puppet look clumsily made, despite Gepetto being an accomplished wood carver. I like that this incorporates the story of generational trauma passed on to children and visually illustrates the lingering emotional scars by using crooked nails sticking out of Pinocchio's back, left in there by Gepetto in his drunken rage at Pinocchio's moment of creation. Invisible to Pinocchio himself, they stand as a lingering, heartbreaking reminder of the moment of cruelty and violence visited upon Pinocchio before he had a voice or consciousness, yet the character throughout the film carries on in a child-like and innocent manner, oblivious to all this yet still affected by it.
Below: Concept art of the character of Pinocchio, with visible imagery of breakages and damage
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