Guillermo del Toro’s career is evidence that the Oscars still favor the romance of the left. He has just won the Best Animated Feature award for his Pinocchio, which he set in Fascist Italy. If liberal opinion can treat political opposition as fascism, why shouldn’t del Toro do likewise? His previous success was The Shape of Water (2017), which won him Best Picture and Best Director awards for portraying ’50s America as fascist. His Oscar nominations are similar: Nightmare Alley (2021) hints at America as fascist and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) was set in Franco’s Spain.
This prestige persuaded Netflix to pay for this new Pinocchio and its impressive cast. Ewan McGregor plays Walt Disney’s Jiminy Cricket, Tilda Swinton the Blue Fairy, Christoph Waltz and Cate Blanchett are the villainous fox and monkey that tempt Pinocchio with theatrical glory, and Ron Perlman is a fascist villain (del Toro’s conceit), with John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson in other small roles. They are voice actors here: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is stop-motion animation, and it’s better animation than anything available. It makes Disney, including its own new Pinocchio, look amateurish.
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