![]() One theory is that political satire had become incompatible with Lorenzini’s regular job as a civil servant. His motives could probably have been deduced from his correspondence, but his brother Paolo burned his letters after discovering, in the words of a nephew, that some “could have compromised ladies who were still alive and very well-known.” Why he began writing for children in the mid-1870s is unclear. ![]() Born in Florence in 1826, he was a prolific contributor to political and cultural periodicals and a tireless critic of his country’s leaders, frequently rebuking them for their indifference to the poor and socially disadvantaged. The book’s intended message has largely been lost under the coating of saccharine that Hollywood spread over it.Ĭarlo Collodi was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini, a journalist and satirist who made ends meet as a government office worker. First conjured into existence 138 years ago, in the pages of a newspaper for children, Pinocchio was the invention of the Italian writer Carlo Collodi, who published the puppet’s escapades as “The Adventures of Pinocchio” two years later. What del Toro, who has spoken of a lifelong fascination with Pinocchio, doubtless recognizes, and what Garrone as a cultured Italian would not need to be told, is that the original story is a work of considerable complexity, comparable to “Alice in Wonderland ” or “Gulliver’s Travels ” and much darker than Disney’s cheery fable about the price of youthful mendacity. (A third Pinocchio film, a live-action remake of Walt Disney’s 1940 cartoon, is currently under discussion at Disney.) Can it be a coincidence that two of the world’s leading movie directors are at work on productions inspired by the famous puppet? Guillermo del Toro, who directed the Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water,” has chosen the Pinocchio tale for the subject of his first animated film, and Matteo Garrone, the director of the widely acclaimed “Gomorrah,” is also planning one about the marionette, to star another Oscar winner, the Italian comedian Roberto Benigni. This lovely animated story of a cheerful puppet who wants to be a boy, throughout all his mischievous acts in the following hours and various challenging temptations he faces, is about teaching kids how a real boy should behave.Pinocchio, that lying rascal, would seem a ready-made icon for an age of fake news and bots, of alternative facts and internet trolls, of doubts about the reliability of conventional media. ![]() She made Pinocchio a living puppet who now, backed by Jiminy, a tiny cricket assigned to act as his conscience, must prove to be worthy of becoming a real boy. The star, which was not a star at all, but a kindly fairy, had heard the man’s longing and chose to make his wish come true. Figaro, you know what I wish,” he asked his little furry kitten, “I wished my little Pinocchio might be a real boy.” He looked lovingly at his doll and sighed, adding “Wouldn’t it be nice,” to which a tiny little cricket that had made Geppetto’s workshop his home responded, saying, “A very lovely thought, but not at all practical,” after which he sat back and let the story unfold. Since it was rare for such a star to be seen, he got up, looked right through his window, and made a wish: “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight.
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