PINOCCHIO

A father, a puppet, and some imagination

Everybody knows the story: One day, a poor carpenter called Geppetto sculpts a puppet that comes to life and sets off on thousands adventures. But the mise-en-scene that Enzo D'Alò has chosen for his version of Pinocchio is completely original.

The film, that opens with the image of a kite flying over hills and fields, was written by the director with Umberto Marino, respecting the original dialogue written by Carlo Collodi, whose work has so often been adapted for both television and cinema. With its drawings by the inimitable Lorenzo Mattotti ("A great illustrator who for me is a legend," says D'Alò), this new animation film's particular style stands out from the very first scenes. Thanks to nimble editing that rightly renders the continuous mobility of the inexhaustible puppet, Pinocchio alternatively features both vast fantastic landscapes and detailed close-ups. The colours are bright and contrasting, and the illustrator's stroke is simple but firm.

The illustrator has given life to his pencil strokes thanks to advanced digital techniques, all the while referencing great Italian painters and metaphysical paintings, which renders the film different from American or Japanese animation. The result seems closer to the spirit of Collodi's original book than to its Disney adaptation. It makes the film, produced with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, all the more Italian.

All this is accompanied by beautiful, moving music that perfectly matches the images and successfully marks the different moments in the story. We owe these notes to one of Italy's most cherished composers and songwriters: the late Lucio Dalla. "The music came before the storyboard," explained D'Alò. "It was constructed at the same time as the film."

SYNOPSIS

Carpenter Geppetto builds a puppet and names him Pinocchio. Upon his numerous adventures, the marionette runs into quite a bit of trouble, but fortunately, a Fairy with Turquoise Hair helps him extricate from his many mischiefs. The Fairy comes along with a Crow, an Owl and a Talking Cricket. Pinocchio later finds himself on the Island of Toys and is transformed into a donkey. After a brave escape, he ends up in the belly of a shark where he saves Geppetto, who had also been swallowed by the shark while searching for Pinocchio at sea.

DAZZLING COLOURS, BRILLIANT MUSIC

ENZO D´ALÒ, the Director

He is an Italian director.

He was born in Napoli, ITALY.

He has directed movies as  "Momo alla conquista del tempo", released in 2001, "La Gabbianella e il gatto" (1998).

Interview with Pinocchio's Enzo D’Alò 

from ABU DHABI Film Festival.

Original title:	Pinocchio
Country:	Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, France
Sales agent:	Rezo Films International
Year:	2012
Genre:	animation
Directed by:	Enzo D'Alò
Film run:	75'
Release date:	IT 21/12/2012
Screenplay:	Enzo D'Alò, Umberto Marino
Music:	Lucio Dalla
Producer:	Antonia Luisa Muccardo, Roebben Anton, Malika Brahmi, Goesens Eric, Nicolas Steil
Production:	Cometafilm, Iris Productions, Walking the dog, 2D3D Animations
Backing:	Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali - Direzione Generale per il cinema
Distributor:	Lucky Red

We watched this film on Wednesday 21st of November in Gijón. We liked it very much. You can read about it . CLICK ON