Thanks to the 1940 Disney animated classic, the story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who comes to life and dreams of becoming a real boy, has become one of the most famous in the history of cinema.
More than a decade ago, Guillermo del Toro decided that it was time to tell his own version of the tale. But when he first took his proposed incarnation of Pinocchio out to studios, they balked at the idea of his dark take.
“We were turned down everywhere,” says Matthew Robbins, who wrote the first few drafts of Pinocchio and shares a co-writer credit on it with del Toro. “The Disney imprimatur was so severe that our version took studios by surprise, to put it mildly. Then there was the issue of cost. Because this is not a cheap process and Guillermo is very demanding about how he wanted to make it in stop motion. He wouldn’t compromise on that.”
Del Toro was so stubborn about his version because of how much he insisted on honoring the original source material, Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures Of Pinocchio, which was initially released in 1883. There was one change that del Toro did want to make, though. He wanted to set Pinocchio in 1930s fascist Italy so that he could examine the themes of the novel in an even darker and more terrifying manner.
“Very few people have taken the trouble, or have the interest, to go and read the original story,” adds Robbins. “I did a lot of reading — and not only of the original books. I read about Collodi, which wasn't even his real name. It’s shocking how the Disney version simplifies a story about politics, fascism, and how corrupt the adult world is. We wanted to show the chaotic, liberating spirit of this little puppet, who is loving but irresponsible and is instinctively rebellious against all corruption.”
But with studios unwilling to take a chance on del Toro and Robbins's version, Pinocchio was put to “the bottom drawer for quite a few years,” says Robbins. That was until October 2018, when it was suddenly announced that Netflix had agreed to del Toro’s vision, and were going to finance it.
The resulting film features Gregory Mann voicing Pinocchio, while the all-star vocal cast also includes David Bradley as Geppetto and Ewan McGregor as Sebastian Cricket, with Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, and Cate Blanchett rounding out the ensemble.
Unfortunately, Robbins was too busy with another project to work on the next draft of Pinocchio. Instead, Patrick McHale (Adventure Time, Over The Garden Wall) was brought on-board to scribe with del Toro.
“I think he and Guillermo took the script to another wonderful new level. They just got the most out of it and made a really lovely film,” insists Robbins. Having frequently collaborated with del Toro since co-writing 1997’s Mimic, Robbins is perfectly placed to know what makes the Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker such a unique talent.
“Guillermo is a never-ending source of ideas and fun. He’s very fertile. He’s well-read. Has a wonderful memory for everything. He has such a powerful vision. The best answer I can give you about working with del Toro is that it’s like getting into a very high performance race car. You don't know quite where you're going all the time. It's slightly out of control, but you get a lot done and you’re completely absorbed. That's why we’ve worked together for so many years. We have a lot of fun. We're very simpatico."
One slight concern for del Toro arose when it was announced that Robert Zemeckis's own Pinocchio film, starring Tom Hanks as Gepetto and heavily inspired by the Disney version, was actually going to be released only two months before his hit Netflix. It has since been received poor reviews. However, Robbins was never actually concerned about any comparisons.
“I've known Bob Zemeckis for a long time. When you see the movie that he made, in my opinion, he got thoroughly engrossed in what can be done technically. It’s a tour de force, in terms of the achievement of the marriage of live action, animation and CGI. But it isn't bringing anything new to the story.”
Ultimately, Robbins believes that his and del Toro’s Pinocchio is just that, as it explores finding “love and understanding in a corrupt world.” While that might sound a little saccharine, Robbins insists that the film is able to maximize these themes because it also isn’t “afraid of portraying things that are savage and brutal and unjust".
“It shows the love between a father and a son in a way that’s not as sugary, sweet, sentimental, and unmitigated as in other films or in greeting cards or in the more banal forms of other media. I hope audiences will appreciate how different it is, from what could have been familiar territory.”
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is available to stream now on Netflix
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Scorecard
Scotland 220
K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35
UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs
C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEjari%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYazeed%20Al%20Shamsi%2C%20Fahad%20Albedah%2C%20Mohammed%20Alkhelewy%20and%20Khalid%20Almunif%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESanabil%20500%20Mena%2C%20Hambro%20Perks'%20Oryx%20Fund%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The years Ramadan fell in May
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
