Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, is not merely a retelling of a familiar children’s story. It is a convivial on loss, living, and the movement onward, a seeing of what it means to be truly alive. In this reflection, I explore Pinocchio not as spectacle, but as a story about fatherhood, preservation, and the quiet weight of becoming through being.
This post is about Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. Starring Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor, and David Bradley.
A Wonderful Gift
A Reflection On Living, Loss, and Becoming
Beloved to the father is the heart of his son; when one life is lost another must grow. For it is the burden that you must carry, planted to heart and you must watch what now grows. Through all of your cries, comes a life of great joy, one you first know not how to feel again. Wonders, miracles, learnings, and gifts; you get what you give, and you give everything to concede one wish. This life is brief and one with burden, as you meet its end you look back and know…
Life is such a wonderful gift.
My Son
“All good things require patience.”
~ Geppetto
Seeings in this life may never be as they seem, not often do you truly eye what meets your end. Wantings can be few, and so your passage, simple and true. You can aim for perfect, but perfect will never do. You will come to find all good things do require patience, very much as bad things come in time. Neither are always your doing, and the blasts are heaviest in what you do not imagine to lose. You come alive in what choose, and see what you are to become as the pine tree grows.
Dreams can so much bring life as they can reprieve it. Bringing about prayers of hope and wails all the same. What such gifts may be given to those who reprieve their grievances? By the power of the Spirit, what is there to be of your lamentations? There is to be an allowance of some things, a pathway for you to choose; to govern in the way of good and to receive that in which you give. To do such as you rise with the sun and wander this earth, bringing joy and company, and filling the days of others with light.
Blissfully Oblivious
“I’ll try my best and that’s the best anyone can do.”
~ Sebastian J. Cricket
The rustlings of what you hope for often lie awake not far from where you stand. Such stirrings may resemble the image you first imagine, yet they take shape by way of their own unique makings, fulfilling a path of their own. To meet this world as new, and with love, is to adventure the makings of goodness itself. Though it may not be readied for you, you can grow ready for the world you are becoming.
There are many things you will grow to learn, and many you will grow to see. Pain will be something you bear, something you are certain to carry. Much can be said of the things of this life: imperfect fathers and imperfect sons, loss and love, and makings that leave us blissfully oblivious.
I Won’t Be A Burden Anymore
“Why are you so blind, so absolutely blind. The boy loves you. He has much to learn, but he loves you for who you are. Would it kill you to do the same for him? You should start acting like a real father…”
~ Sebastian J. Cricket
Unbeknownst to you lurks carnivals of kings seeking the crowds of their own pleasings, to make way about their own beliefs. When you may finally come to glean to love, you can truly start to believe. How are you to respond to what you know is far from right? How does not one sign off to deceit? Choices are what you are given. Choices are yours to take. No perfect path is there, just better and worse. The tellings of life amongst the voice of many requires an experience of knowing — discernment. To be torn of two things brings death, that much is apparent to any astute observer.
Life is not what we are supposed to have, but what we are graciously given. Its brevity brings a knowing of meaning that can send you back to truly live. Though you can come to question this with those you love, are you a weight to be carried and not a seed to be nurtured? How quickly you discover the spoils of a hardened heart, welcomed as they are, yet slow to offer the same mercy to another. Wallowing for far too long, it has come time to say farewell. To lose not all you have in this world, if only to see your child again.
Are You Scared?
“Are you scared of dying?…I’m glad you’re here.”
~ Candlewick
The reality of what there is to face is grand enough to swallow you whole. You dare to act, lest you be charged with a terrible burden. In this life, there will be great suffering; eternity need not be the same. There is no knowing how long this life may last, and you know very little of it — yet still, you go on. Truth be told, you’re afraid, and maybe there is meaning in proving otherwise.
This you may have learned from your father, and if so, I am sorry. They love you — but know that evil can bring despair, offering an experience far from what you need. What there is to understand is that, in some ways, they never really meant it at all. You may be scared, but you are not alone. Be glad you are here.
Concede Me One Wish
“It’s not fair! In this world, you get what you give, remember? And this boy gave everything he could…”
~ Sebastian J. Cricket
Do not be afraid anymore, for things can be as simple and as light as a game, and in that, you can always choose. Despite all the fear you may feel, you can say no and not let evil circumvent you. It may not appear as you expect, but you can live — truly live. See how surprisingly good this living can be. Love can hurt; of course it does. But you will be okay. There is always an escape into the depths dark, and there is always light, and with it, freedom. Know that you can do it.
The sand must fall before you return, and now, in what you have chosen, you are to make the most of it. With every bit of life, you can be alive. You can be free; you are loved; you are needed. For the wish is joy, and such terrible joy there can be. “Great,” you may not do. You will mess up — a little, or perhaps a lot — but you are to try your best, and that is the best anyone can do. These are things we can teach one another, do for one another, and teach again. Because you can be good, each and every day, as you rise with the sun and wander this earth. May you fill those days with light.
Shrouded in malevolence, so easily you can aim to be someone you are not. Be none other than who you have been made to be; seek, and you will be met with such a love. Life is such a wonderful gift. Live this life. Age. Carry in your heart what you have learned. Passing on will come, this you will live to see. Venture out into the world, and see how the world will embrace you back.
To The Believer
“…then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
~ Genesis 2:7
Credit: Script and select images used in this post are from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (© Netflix). Included for reflective commentary and thematic analysis.
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