Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022, Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson) with Caleb Tyson - Criterion Collection Spine #1201

"It's a perfectly imperfect film."In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film editor Caleb Tyson to explore Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022), the Academy Award-winning stop-motion feature and Criterion Collection entry that reimagines one of the world's oldest stories through an entirely new lens.Set in Mussolini's fascist Italy, del Toro's Pinocchio follows a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto who, lost in sorrow after losing his son Carlo, carves a puppet from a pine tree grown near his son's grave. When a wood sprite brings the puppet to life, Pinocchio must navigate a world that sees him as either a miracle or a monster - all while Geppetto struggles to accept this strange new creation for what it is, rather than who he wishes it could be. Caleb Tyson brings his perspective as a working film editor and animator to the conversation. His background in pacing, rhythm, and visual storytelling gives him a uniquely technical eye for how del Toro uses stop-motion, shadow, score, and imperfection to build a world that feels entirely tactile and alive.Together we move through the film scene by scene and discuss:How del Toro uses fascist Italy as a backdrop to ask: who is the real puppet?Guillermo del Toro's craft - his use of lighting, intentional imperfection, and stop-motion animationThe Christ imagery woven throughout the film and what del Toro is saying with itThemes of grief, identity, disobedience, forgiveness, and the father-son dynamic at the heart of the storyThe film's voice cast, including Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and David BradleyWhy a puppet who refuses to obey is more human than the people around himWhy Pinocchio earns its place in the Criterion Collection as a perfectly imperfect filmSend us Fan MailHollywood ManeStays - Not a pin, not a clip. Just Better. Support the showFollow the Podcast:WhyThisFilm.comInstagramYouTube