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The latest cinematic rendering of “ Pinocchio, ” from Italian director Matteo Garrone, is informed not by the friendly 1940 Walt Disney retelling, but the original source material. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio” is a much darker affair than the song-filled animated version and Garrone’s film is also a more intense experience, even if he too has softened some of Collodi’s edges. The result may not be suitable for all children, but it is a strange, visionary and enchanting old-world fairy tale that any fan of Guillermo del Toro’s films or Wolfgang Petersen’s “The NeverEnding Story” should give a chance.

• The Pinocchio Recovery September 23, 2009 at 10:52 am Category: Market Commentary But I keep seeing all those strings pulling the economy, and wonder if and when they can be cut.
• This is the English Translation of the Chinese game The Recovery of Pinocchio for the NES. Help young Pinocchio, as he travels the land to find medicine for his sick Father. Along his quest, he meets various characters, and discovers that his quest will be a whole lot more arduous than what he first though. It seems that an evil witch has overrun the land with darkness, and Pinocchio may be.
• Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson. With Cate Blanchett, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz. A darker version of the classic children's fairy tale of a wooden puppet that transforms into a real living boy.

Pinocchio opened weeks ago, so this post is very long coming. Right after opening the show I was incredibly stressed and I needed some space and time away from the experience before coming back to reflect on it. Let me say first that the multiple noses I made didn't work. I spent many hours and lots of money and ended up not using any of it.

It’s unfortunate though understandable that the Italian film has been dubbed into English for its North American theatrical release, making it slightly annoying for adults but ultimately more accessible to children. The best you can do under these circumstances is to just try to ignore it because, for now, it’s the only way you can experience it in the U.S.

Blending realism and fantasy, Garrone’s film takes us back to an impoverished Tuscany where Roberto Benigni as Geppetto sculpts a young boy puppet out of an enchanted piece of wood and begs it to come to life. He’s desperate for a son and overcome with joy when he gets what he wished for. But Pinocchio, played by Federico Ielapi, does not emerge grateful: He is restless and naughty, which is partly naivete and partly mischievousness. It’s not too long before his disobedience finds him far away from home in the company of less than savory characters who he is too trusting of. And Pinocchio must embark on a dangerous and epic odyssey to try to find his way back to Geppetto and safety.

This Pinocchio is perhaps one of the more realistic depictions of what a wooden puppet that’s come to life might look like. His look is almost identical to Enrico Mazzanti’s original drawings and translated to this live-action film through a combination of computer graphics and makeup from Mark Coulier, the Oscar-winning makeup artist behind “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” It is a remarkable achievement in special effects.

The production design is equally noteworthy, from Geppetto’s workshop to the stunning home of the blue-haired fairy who watches over Pinocchio. Although the naturally beautiful Italian landscapes threaten to upstage a lot of the work. Benigni is also particularly strong in the film, although his screen time is brief and just at the beginning and end.

“Pinocchio” was never my favourite as a child and I’m probably not alone but there is an obvious continuing appeal to the story and its lessons. And although the world was not lacking for “Pinocchio” adaptations, there are still many more to come. Soon we’ll have a Robert Zemeckis version with Tom Hanks on Disney+ and a Guillermo del Toro stop-motion animated one on Netflix with Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett. Before we’re overwhelmed by such starry fare and accessible fare, however, you might also make time for this one too. It has the makings of a stealth classic.

“Pinocchio,” a Roadside Attractions release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some disturbing images.” Running time: 125 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

© Provided by Boston Herald Alida Baldari Calabria as the little fairy and Federico Ielapi as Pinocchio in PINOCCHIO

MOVIE REVIEW

“PINOCCHIO”

Rated PG-13. At Landmark Kendall Square and suburban theaters.

Grade: A

From the great Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone (“Gomorra,” “Tale of Tales,” “Dogman”) comes a gorgeously gritty, award-winning, live-action version of “Pinocchio” that is both enchanting and a perfect match for these troubled times. Featuring a delightful Academy Award winner Roberto Benigni, who directed and starred in his own 2002 version of this tale, as the lonely woodworker Geppetto and a wonderful, 9-year-old Federico Ielappi as Pinocchio, the film might be described as an example of fairy-tale neo-realism. It is both a tribute to Italy’s post-WWII dramas about the plight of its children and a picaresque portrait of a wooden boy on the rocky road to human fulfillment.

Using real locations for the most part in Italy’s rocky Apulia region, as well as Tuscany, beautifully shot by Nikolai Bruel, Garrone gets to the heart and soul of Carlo Gollodi’s 1883 tale, most famously adapted by Walt Disney, whose 1940 animated film has scared the stuffing out of several generations of children. Geppetto can be seen at first trying to con his way into work at the local eatery and instead only accepting a freebie bowl of soup. In these scenes Benigni expertly establishes the film’s semi-comic, semi-tragic, Chaplinesque tone. Inspired by a magical, visiting puppet show headed by the frightening Mangiafuoco (Gigi Proietti), Geppetto carves the puppet of a little boy, who comes alive under his chisel, making the aging bachelor Geppetto a proud, first-time father.

© Provided by Boston Herald Roberto Benigni as Geppetto and Federico Ielapi as Pinocchio in PINOCCHIO.

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The film is a complete marvel and triumph of prosthetic make-up design. Instead of CGI, Garrone and Donatello Award-winning make-up artists Mark Coulier (“Suspiria”) and Dalia Colli (“Dogman”) have created the most remarkable cast of fairy-tale characters. Pinocchio does indeed look like he is made out of wood (he creaks and clacks). His so-called friends Fox (co-writer Massimo Ceccherini) and Cat (Rocco Papaleo) exist on some plane between animal and human. Along with Davide Marotta, who plays the “Talking Cricket,” Mangiafuoco’s puppets (one is played by Marotta) are among the film’s most captivating creations, pint-sized wooden characters played by real actors. The effect is dreamlike.

© Provided by Boston Herald Federico Ielapi, center, as Pinocchio, Gianfranco Gallo and Massimiliano Gallo as the Policemen.

Pinocchio is a liar, a shirker and a bit dim. He disobeys Geppetto and ends up on the road, where he has a series of encounters and adventures. In disturbing scenes, Pinocchio grows long furry ears and turns into a donkey that is sold into bondage by the cruel proprietor of the Land of Toys. Marine Vacth adds an element of maternal love as the turquoise-haired fairy with the giant snail governess (Maria Pia Timo). This English-language-dubbed “Pinocchio” may not be kiddie friendly. But older fans of Collodi’s wooden boy will be find themselves spellbound by this darkly Grimm take on a beloved fairy tale.

(“Pinocchio” contains scenes of cruelty and physical violence.)