Review: A new version of 'Pinocchio' is visually inventive, and a lot darker than the Disney version

If your knowledge of “Pinocchio” is limited to Walt Disney’s 1940 animated version of the story, then Italian director Matteo Garrone’s live-action rendition will be disturbing — and for that, you can only blame Carlo Collodi and his 1883 novel.

Garrone is best known to American audiences for his sprawling 2008 Mafia epic “Gomorrah.” (People should also check out his 2012 satire “Reality,” about a man obsessed with getting on the Italian version of “Big Brother.”) So having Garrone tackle a beloved children’s character seems like a stretch, but it turns out to be right in his wheelhouse.

The origin is familiar: The old and poor woodcarver Geppetto (played by the Italian comic actor Robert Benigni) is given a large log by his aged mentor, Mastro Ciliega (Paolo Graziosi) — who wants to be rid of it because the log seems to have a will of its own.

Geppetto, inspired by a traveling puppet theater, carves a marionette from the log — though he’s shocked to find the wooden figure has a heartbeat. Then the puppet springs to life, and Pinocchio (played by young actor Federico Ielapi) calls Geppetto his “babo.”

Pinocchio turns out to be a handful, good at heart but easily distracted by ne’er-do-wells. First he’s taken in by the touring puppet show, but is shown mercy by the owner, Mangiafuoco (Gigi Proietti). Then Pinocchio runs into Cat (Rocco Papaleo) and Fox (Massimo Ceccherini), grifters who try to trick the wooden-headed lad into “planting” his gold coins in the “field of miracles.” Meanwhile, Geppetto leaves their village to search far and wide for his missing little boy.

Pinocchio learns the hard way that Fox and Cat are not to be trusted — through mishaps that must have horrified Walt Disney back in the day, which is why they’re omitted from Walt’s animated telling. (Word to the wise: Take the PG-13 rating seriously.) Pinocchio is rescued and taken under the care of the Blue Fairy (played by Alida Baldari Calabria as a little girl, and French star Marine Vacth in adult form), who promises him he can become a real boy. The fairy also shows Pinocchio what happens when he lies: His nose grows like a dowel coming out of his face.

Garrone and Ceccherini co-wrote the screenplay, which remains faithful to Collodi’s plot. This means plenty of fantastical things happen to Pinocchio, and the special effects and make-up have to keep pace with his transformation into a donkey or the inclusion of many animal/human hybrids. The visuals are inventive, though not as spectacularly scary as Disney’s depiction of the fish as Monstro the whale. And Garrone neatly captures the grim existence for an impoverished 19th century woodcarver, caught on film in drab browns and grays, contrasted by Pinocchio’s traditional red jacket and pointed hat.

Benigni — who played Pinocchio in a 2002 version he directed, when he was 50 and too old for the role — is in fine form as Geppetto, bringing some physical humor to his early scenes but never forgetting the sadness at the heart of the character. He’s a fine foil and mentor for young Ielapi, who deftly captures Pinocchio’s mischievous spirit and his inner longing to be a good boy.

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‘Pinocchio’

★★★

Opens Friday, December 25, in theaters where open. Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images. Running time: 125 minutes; dubbed into English.