This beautiful illustration, created to share and spread the word, is by one of the organizers, Jennifer M. Potter @jennifermpotter (IG)
It's that time of year again: #FolktaleWeek!
It’s that time of year, time to celebrate the changing season by getting cozy with some great stories. That’s right, @folktaleweek is just around the corner! Are you excited? I know we are! Let us know you’re joining by reposting this image or making your own! (Promo by one of the organizers, Jennifer M. Potter)
What is #FolktaleWeek? (Or #FolktaleWeek2020?)
#FolktaleWeek is a week of creation and expression for artists and creatives of all kinds, inspired by a set of prompts for a whole week that everyone uses (released at the end of October so folks can prepare if they'd like). Everyone is encouraged to create something based on that prompt, with folktales and fairy tale in mind, and post it on social media (Instagram is the main one but also Twitter and Facebook) with the hashtags #FolktaleWeek and #FolktaleWeek2020 so folks can find them via a simple search.
The prompts are written in the window below (illustration also by Jennifer M. Potter):
While this started as a challenge for professional children's book illustrators from around the globe to join together and focus on something many of them loved, rather than deadlines and briefs (because, if you didn't already know, fairy tales and folktales are very much loved thing among this group of creatives!), it has grown to be a worldwide community event for artists of all types, all ages, all styles, and all experiences. Everyone is super encouraging and the delight shared by everyone discovering other artists, tales they haven't heard of before, and new takes and twists on old tales, is such a magical boost.
It's a wonderfully uplifting and positive place to be on the internet this week!
It's not just about painting and drawing; every medium is welcome, including writing, poetry, photography, cosplay, baking, papercraft, needle felting, graphic design, cartoons, collage, sculpture, linocut prints and so much more (these examples are just some of the media used to date over the past couple of years and new folktale expressions and creations appear all the time!).
Most folks do something different for each prompt but there are a growing group of folks who are taking the challenge to the next level (like the artist below) and finding a way to link all of the challenges into a story through the week. It's all quite amazing.
Ideally, we would just take the week off and scroll all social media hunting for lovely art and tales, and discovering new and emerging artists, but reality is unlikely to let us do that. (Last year there were tens of thousands of entries for the hashtags (!!) - which was awesome but impossible to keep up with.) HOWEVER, we had to at least prompt you at the beginning of the week, to go hunting yourself and revel in the lovely fairy tale and folklore creations appearing this week as we count down to a very bizarre zoom-based Thanksgiving. (And if we get to post some more pics on another day, we will be thrilled!)
Today's prompt is BIRTH.
(Click to enlarge - any info re the tale included by artists is also below their name)
In a fun tall tale about Paul Bunyan, S.E. Schlosser writes: “His first bed was a lumber wagon pulled by a team of horses. His father had to drive the wagon up to the top of Maine and back whenever he wanted to rock the baby to sleep.”
The traditional Scottish midwife was known as a Howdie (handy woman), and part of the midwife's duty was to open the windows & doors to let the soul of the baby into the room (and also later putting whiskey into baby's mouth after birth)
I have written my own folktale, “CORVELLO & THE BIRD QUEEN” for folktale week. Please bear with me as this is my first attempt at one! It takes reference from two folktales I love, Hans Hedgehog, and the Seven Ravens both from German folklore. But actually the inspiration for this tale first came from a line from Seamus Heaney’s poem Sweetpea: “Stuck a feather in the ground and thought it would grow a hen”
Shawna J. C. Tenney Illustration
This is a scene from The Snow Maiden, a Russian Fairy Tale. An old couple who have never been able to have children, make a snow maiden that comes to life. In the original fairy tale, she is a young woman. But I grew up with a book called “The Snow Child,” by Freya Littledale and illustrated by Barbara Lavalee- an adaptation of the original tale, where she is a child. I always loved this version, and incorporated it into my version!
Sabine Waldmann-Brun
The Tale of Zabiba and Phoenix
Once upon a time in a deep forest, where she had fled from the rebels, a young woman gave birth to her baby and died. So the animals and plants cared for the little girl.
Cathy Rowe Arts
There are so many great folktales about a child being gifted to a sweet couple by some miracle of nature. Like finding a thumb sized baby in a flower.
Moving Doodles
Story of Amalbiso. Which was a story generated orally in ancient Sri Lanka. (story is here)
All artist's names are below the work and are linked to their page or post as we could manage. Note: the images included are the ones that caught our Newsroom's eyes for multiple reasons but we have not been able to see everything posted so can guarantee we're missing some gems (in other words, go look for yourself to find even more!)
Look at this beautiful and timely PSA created by award-winning filmmaker Lisa Stock!
Lisa is a long time fairy tale friend, whose work we greatly admire, and we are always blown away by the unique use of fairy tales and myth in her work. She was kind enough to answer some questions for us about this wonderful PSA.
Read on for a wonderful example of how using fairy tales today can be impactful and empowering, and how an artist who truly understands the bones of a fairy tale can re-envision them effectively to be both timeless and relevant today.
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for answering our questions today. We were so thrilled to see this gorgeous PSA and can't wait to share it and encourage others to do the same.
Thank you for including my PSA on Once Upon a Blog!As numbers rise and holidays approach I wanted to create something that would inspire - a reminder to take care of ourselves and others - not just Covid, but flu, colds and anything else in the air.
Your PSA is so very timely! What was your inspiration?
This has been such a challenging and exhausting year - finding energy to push through a bit longer can be overwhelming. With holidays (and travels) coming, I wanted to create something imaginative - letting Genre take us outside ourselves to reinforce a much-needed message. We're getting there!
The figure is clearly a Red Riding Hood character while at the same time very contemporary, but also wonderfully artistic. We know you're a long time fairy tale aficionado and have often referenced various tales in all your mediums. Why did "Red in a pandemic" seem appropriate for this project?
Yes! I've always associated Red with ajourney. We've all been on our own journeys this year into the big, bad wood. At the same time - many are traveling more, either to see family for the holidays or going back into the office for a day or two a week. But mostly, Red's a fighter. She takes on the wood and the wolf by using the wisdom her grandmother taught her to persevere.
We like how instead of giving the DANGER- WARNING!! signals you could have used with a Red Riding Hood character for a fear-inciting PSA, that instead you show her as assertive and unafraid; much more of a "be smart - take back the narrative" message. There are so many ways Red can represent us and, after a lot of negative and fear-based messages in social media, it was, frankly, a relief to see Red representing a bold positive. Was that something you envisioned straight away, or something that developed as you were working?
You said it - her being assertive and looking the viewer in the eye with her mask on, as if to say "No big deal". Those three guidelines -wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancingare small things to ask to help ward off a debilitating illness and keep everyone healthy.
Your model is the perfect contemporary fairy tale figure. How did you find your Red Riding Hood for your shoot?
That's the wonderful Kayla Klatzkin!! We first met when she auditioned for a part in TITANIA. Those who follow my work will recognize her from the TITANIA Winter Scene (and she'll be in the larger project too). She can morph into any character I give her - it's nice to have a muse like that. She's also appearing as "Glass" in my upcoming experimental take onCinderella,and will be seen as Dorothy in an Oz-inspired panorama I'm shooting in Dec. It helps that she lives two blocks from me, and is game for anything - but truly, Kayla gets the fantasy world and how to make it seem very natural, this is why I think she pulls it off so well.
What precautions did you (have to) take for the various aspects of this project?
Thank you for asking. Production was allowed to return to NYC in late July. My pre-production meetings take place over zoom and so far, I've only done outdoor shoots. I wear gloves, a mask, keep my distance, and have plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer. If Kayla can't fix a hair out of place, I'll approach her and she will wear a mask until it's time for the photo - though for the PSA she could keep it on. Kayla did have an indoor shoot later that week and told me they required her to have two negative Covid tests immediately prior to shoot day (the production company scheduled the tests and paid her for that time). For upcoming larger or indoor shoots - it's testing + one team at a time on set or with the actor. We're making it work! It's just so great to be back at it!!
We totally get fashion shoot vibes but love how we just want to look as classic, chic (and a little bit badass, boldly and smartly going places) as she does, rather than (just) want the coat and hat. Was that intentional? If so, how did you find that balance?
Yes. We have so many opportunities in mythic/fairytale photography. I certainly appreciate the beautiful dresses and magical locations I see on Instagram, but I always look for/yearn for the story. Just one small element can make your point and move the image from fashion to foretelling. I'm not changing the message - wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance - I'm wrapping it in a mythic skin and giving it a new perspective - one that I hope will catch everyone's eye anew.
We're loving the homage to Magritte. How did that come about? What made you connect Magritte with Little Red and/or a pandemic? Can you explain a bit about your inspiration in his work? (Ed. - for those who aren't familiar with his paintings, motifs, and location use - I'll put a little reference set of pics at the bottom for folks, as you did for your announcement)
Thank you! I so love Magritte. Once I had the image of her looking straight at the viewer in mind, Magritte's painting "Son of Man" popped into my head. Instead of an apple, it was a mask. Instead of a black bowler hat, it was red - bold, Fall-like colors, changing seasons, change - so many changes this year. But endurance too. I'm a huge Magritte fan and decided to continue the theme throughout the PSA as his symbols lend themselves beautifully tojourneyand tofairytale. What really inspires me about his work is two-fold: 1. The clean, direct use of symbols and metaphor, and 2. How he places his subjects into their landscapes/roomscapes - they often become one. Anytime I'm creating (film or photograph) I consider how the surrounding environment is also a character or subtext for the story. To that end - I'll let you and your readers in on a little secret. I purchased the red bowler hat in these images a few years ago for a Magritte inspired project that will one day still happen - hopefully in the next couple of years. (wink)
For our fairy tale film fans, do you have any fairy tale projects you're currently working on that you'd like us to keep an eye out for? Has the pandemic caused you to consider your work with fairy tales differently?
Yes to all. Using genre to heighten reality and let each viewer place themselves in the story has become more profound this year. Currently, I'm working on:
ASHENSONG- an experimental short film based on Cinderella. Set in the 1970’s and following a photographer as she explores the themes of Glass, Ashes, and Midnight. Ultimately, they will lead her to confront her own demons and voices from the past - and a doppelganger trapped in the woods. Covid has directly hit this production with one of my models being split between NY and Hong Kong. After our initial production meeting in late February, she returned to Hong Kong and hasn't been able to get back to the U.S. Rather than wait for all travel restrictions to lift, I've found a wonderful photographer in Hong Kong who is going to photograph her images for the project there. But I look forward to having us all under the same roof for the film's premiere in 2021!
THE TOWN- this is a series of fantastical moving images, or video portraits that highlight the townspeople (and what lies beneath) where Titania exiles herself to heal. TITANIA will be moving forward in a new way - the narrative and the roll out to audiences will be in groundbreaking fractures of art and narrative. I'm very excited about how this will unfold and we'll launch it at a live TITANIA event in NYC in 2021. Then online @TitaniaFilm
FRIDAY NIGHT THEATER & the AMERICANA MYTHIC SERIES- My wonderful patrons on Patreon see everything first and I have quite a few mythic exclusives lined up for them starting this month! I'll be continuing in the style of the PSA by blending genres, artists, ideas to give a slice of Americana, myth and current situations. For instance - once I hit 50 patrons on Patreon I'll be creating a microfilm that mixes the fable ofThe Scorpion and the Frogwith two iconic mid-20th century figures addressing our willingness to trust someone's true nature - even if harmful. I've assembled a really amazing group of actors, an historical consultant and costume designer and others to help bring these microfilms to life! Come join us -www.patreon.com/LisaStock- subscriptions (in which you see all final projects) start at $1.
The PSA is so very eye-catching; beautiful but also very clear in its message. Where can we expect to see it?
The PSA was done on my own. I'd be delighted to have people share it - I and the PSA can be found on social media @LisaStockFilm.
Thank you so much for your time today Lisa. We hope many people see your PSA and are encouraged to boldly care for themselves and others this Thanksgiving and holiday season.
You heard her folks: go spread the images!
Use Lisa's PSA to encourage and inspire people to live their best - and healthiest - lives.
Lisa Stock is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York City. Called “a skillful alchemist at work” by Faerie Magazine, her films have been featured in festivals and screenings around the world including London, New York, Austin, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Sydney, aired on PBS, and chosen as a Project of the Day on Kickstarter. Lisa’s work combines the spontaneity of myth & magic with the more somber side of reality to paint vibrant portraits of healing and personal truth. (Bio page: https://www.lisastockfilm.com/about)
"Princess Furball" (Allerleirauh, a Grimms Fairy Tale) 2016 by Timea Tallian
The offerings on fairy tale studies online during the pandemic have been one of the very few bright spots of the pandemic. If you're serious about learning more on fairy tales and folktales, there are affordably priced events, programs, and courses happening almost every week at this point, as well as the occasional free one - like this event we're posting today. (The most difficult issue is having to choose which ones to go to and which to skip, while juggling full-time work and full-time homeschool all in one day!)
While this isn't focused on "the fairy tale", the talk will be of interest if you're at all familiar with Dr. Clariss Pinkola Estes, who uses a wide variety of fairy tales and folktales in her discussions, but it will be especially interesting to those who are drawn to the group of fairy tales that include Donkeyskin, All-Fur, Thousand Furs, Catskin and Allerleirauh.
As the information for the Women Who Run With the Wolves event is quite detailed we will just add the information below:
A discussion about Paloma Varga Weisz's sculpture in relation to Clarissa Pinkola Estés' feminist study, Women Who Run with the Wolves.
We are delighted to introduce a new online format for our rescheduled research events. You can now attend our series of lectures, symposia and discussions online. We invite you to watch recorded talks, submit your questions and attend a later live discussion.
"Dr Estes defined wildness as not uncontrolled behavior but a kind of savage creativity, the instinctual ability to know what tool to use and when to use it." - Dirk Johnson, The New York Times
This event brings together a diverse range of speakers to discuss the Henry Moore Institute's current exhibition, Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body, in dialogue with Clarissa Pinkola Estés' renowned cult classic and revisionary feminist study, Women Who Run with the Wolves: Contacting the Power of the Wild Woman (1992).
Central to the research questions of the event is the place of feminism in contemporary art, as explored through the creative interpretation of its many methodologies.
Pre-recorded talks will cover psychoanalysis, metamorphosis, embodied storytelling, fairy tales and gender. Speakers are artists, choreographers, curators and literary scholars working both internationally and locally, offering a range of viewpoints and new interdisciplinary approaches to the interpretation of narrative sculpture.
We would like to thank Dr Catriona McAra of Leeds Arts University for convening the speakers and leading the event.
Programme From 11 November
by Madchen Photography Studios
These talks are available to watch after registering for this event. You can watch them on our website, henry-moore.org/wolves, or here on Eventbrite by accessing the event portal (click the 'Access the event' button). You will need a password to watch them, which will be sent to you upon registering for the event (scroll down your confirmation email to the 'Additional Information' section).
Introduction: The Fur of the Fairy Tale - Dr Catriona McAra (Curator, Leeds Arts University)
Clothed (in) Animals: Contemporary Women Artists Reimagining Fairy-Tale Creatures - Dr Mayako Murai (Writer, Kanagawa University)
Beneath the Surface, A Vibration Through the Bones - Rachel Goodyear (Artist, Manchester)
The Shapeshifting Woman and Other Tales of Becoming - Hannah Buckley (Choreographer, Leeds)
Wednesday 18 November, 6pm (please check the website to calculate the starting time for your timezone.)
A live discussion with speakers Dr Catriona McAra, Rachel Goodyear and Hannah Buckley. They will be answering any questions you might have once you've watched their individual talks. You can submit your questions live during the event or in advance. This session will take place on Zoom.
For much more additional information about the speakers, please check the event page HERE, where you can also REGISTER FOR FREE.
Our apologies for not posting this well ahead of time!
But... I Will Miss/Have Missed the Live Lecture!
Don't fret! We know a lot of our readers won't see it until tomorrow morning after the live lecture has happened BUT, like all Profs and Pints lectures, this one will be recorded and available to view afterward for all current ticket holders, as well as for those who purchase access after the event (only $12). The Profs and Pints events are aimed at adults and college-level learning, so these lectures are one of the most affordable, yet high-quality self-education tools online today. While viewing the recording after the event means you won't be able to live chat with the other attendees or the lecturer and can't propose questions for the Q&A at the end, the entire chat and Q&A portion remain part of the recording so you can see the community involvement and responses as it was happening. Once you have purchased a ticket, the event is available to view at any time after the lecture, and as many times as you wish!
Fairy's Banquet - John Anster Fitzgerald
The Rise of the Fairy Tale Salon, 2020 Style
Today's lecture is exceptionally timely. With the pandemic showing no signs of ending soon, people are starting to figure out ways to connect digitally and literary salons are once again on the rise. Though they can never be the same as the intimate gatherings fueling conversations, encouraging ideas, and getting feedback on everything from writing to art, it does make the events more accessible to people from different locations across countries and around the world, and is proving to be a new way to build communities of like-minded people and providing support during an isolating time. Fairy tale salons, especially, are beginning to pop up here and there around the world, all-digital, all experimental, and all eager to connect folks who love to study tales and reference them in their own writing and other works.
It's a brave new world and, as will be discussed today, reflects the desire people had, and still have, to push against established ideas and systems and find new ways to move forward both in thinking and expression- something especially prevalent in 2020. Salons are primarily fun, of course, but at the heart of the movement is a desire to make the world a better place, and to do that with other like-minded people. The Fairy Tale Salons of France in the late C17th (and the lesser-known German Fairy Tale Salons during the Romantic movement in the C19th) were revolutionary in form and function and, in true subversive style, enabled conversations of resistance and the exploration of revolutionary ideas, all coded within the deceptively simple form of the fairy tale. These people, mainly women, are considered the Fairy Godmothers, or Fairy Godparents, of the Fairy Tale (the literary form of the oral folktale and wonder tale), and their stories have survived and remained popular to this day.
Fairy Banquet - Arthur Rackham
Seeing Beyond the Magic While Still Reveling In The Wonder
What's lesser-known is that we can still see and access the rest of the work done in Salons, via the vehicle of those surviving stories, despite that it's usually hidden under the magical clothing of the contes des fées - a term coined by the French Salon, which is where we get the term "fairy tale".
It's high time we saw beyond the sparkly exterior of these fanciful stories and take a look at the serious - and invigorating - work of the literary fairy tale. The revival of the fairy tale salon in 2020, albeit digital and online, is no coincidence!
That doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy fairy tales or revel in (or escape into) their magical possibilities. If anything, this gives more reasons to embrace them in all their Once Upon A Times. Fairy tales aren't just for children; they are for everyone and understanding how literary versions of fairy tales came to be, helps explain why. It also gives us every reason to celebrate their wonder and to enjoy them.
So come along with your notebook and extra glitter on your hands or just sneak in the back to listen - there's room for all here to play and to connect as we make the world a better, more wonder-full place.
The Fairy Girls Make the Carpet (Polish Fairy Tales) by Cecile Walton
What's Being Talked About Today? (summary info from Profs and Pints Online below):
Profs and Pints Onlinepresents:“Fairy Tales of French Salons,” with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link used for tickets and access.]
It’s easy to think of fairy tales as light-hearted, simple, even frivolous tales for children. But that’s only a small part of the story. Fairy tales can be serious business. They can be subtle messages that convey warnings under the noses of the powerful—or even poke fun at them--especially if written by women.
Modern Fairy Godmother Styling by Camilla (Very pricey, as would have suited the social station of the original Salonnieres! Thankfully, the Salon revival isn't as dependent on privilege; in fact, that's one of the institutions it rebels against. Vive la 2020 Revolution!)
Such was the case in the fairy-tale salons of seventeenth-century Paris, where ladies (and some men) gathered to tell each other stories that definitely were not for children.
Designed to be a space where people could break free of strict aristocratic confines in the service of art, the salons let creators discuss anything so long as it was couched in the form of a fairy tale. The stories that resulted tackled everything from actual love in a marriage, to the importance of education, to the enormous social inequalities faced by the women of the age.
As the air gets crisp, fix yourself a warm drink and join Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, two favorites of Profs and Pints audiences, for a look at the beautiful and bizarre fairy tales that emerged from the literary salons of France during his period.
We’ll swim with a great green wyrm, a terrifying sea serpent. You’ll travel with a woman who dresses as a man in order to save her family, and converse with a witty princess forced to wear the skin of a bear.
These fairy-tale salons were the first of many great literary groups, from the Bloomsbury circle in London to the meetings of the Beat writers of San Francisco.
This online discussion of them might end up feeling like a similar gathering of the curious and subversive.
Matteo Garrone (Tale of Tales, Gomorrah, Dogman) has long said he wished to bring Pinocchio to the screen.
“’Pinocchio’ is a dream of mine that goes back to when I was a child,” says Garrone. “On my desk I still have my own personal ‘Pinocchio’ story-board that I drew and colored in when I was a kid, and which is one of my most cherished mementos.” (Variety)
That storyboard reportedly accompanied Garrone to many of his development and production meetings during the creation of his movie to help remind him of the boyhood vision and heart he was trying to put on screen, and many reviews indicate he may have achieved exactly that. Not only has Garrone intended to make this film for most of his life but his intent was always to make it very faithful to the book - or more correctly, the serially-released stories which were essentially strung together (pun intended) and eventually collected into a book (in 1883). Having captured his own imagination as a child we suspected Garrone's Pinocchio, would be a family film, which it is, unlike his other works, though perhaps caution should be taken if the family has little children. It is likely to be rated PG in the US when it's released here, as it has been in other countries.
Take a look at the trailer (in English):
The Lure & Challenge of Pinocchio To Filmmakers
Many filmmakers - more than one might think, confess to an obsession with Pinocchio and it's not unusual to see those themes running through seemingly unrelated movies. Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, and many others have been fairly overt about their love of the story and created deliberate homages in their films, (A.I., Frankenweenie, Edward Scissorhands, and many more), even if the story hasn't quite been the same. At the time of writing Disney is crafting a new live-action version (based on their own classic, not Collodi's book, with director Robert Zemeckis. Being a Disney recycling, it's likely to have even less relation to the Collodi classic than the 1940 version did, but, unless Zemeckis good terribly in his judgment, it's likely to still find a wide audience. Fan-favorite director and master of the fantasy-horror genre, Guillermo del Toro is working on a completely different (and highly anticipated) stop-motion version, in collaboration with Jim Henson's Muppet Workshop veteran artists, due to be released next year. It's set in fascist Italy and has a stellar cast of voices including Tilda Swinton as the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, Ewan McGregor as the Talking Cricket, and Ron Pearlman as the fearsome puppet master, Mangiafuoco (literally "Fire-Eater").
If searching for film incarnations worldwide, it becomes apparent that a LOT of directors have tried to bring their vision of Pinocchio to the screen. It also becomes apparent that more often than not, these attempts, despite a love for the source material and access to talented cast and crew, have failed - both with audiences and critics.
Pinocchio is quite a challenge to take on - one that many directors have known and been determined to take on, but success has been largely elusive, especially when trying to keep the same spirit as the classic. Only Disney's animated version (1940) was, and remains loved and has become a new family touchstone, but the truth is, Disney's version bears little resemblance to The Adventures of Pinocchio and the character Collodi created. To put it bluntly, Collodi's Pinocchio is less likely to wish on a star as he is to moon it (pun intended), and "Jimminy Cricket" (the cricket's name given by Disney), is killed almost immediately on appearing and can only follow along in the story as a ghost. While that may sound dark and dastardly to many Western audiences, the book remains a classic and is still read fondly both in Europe and in the UK and the US; there is something about Collodi's classic Disney's version did not capture, which still attracts people today.
Concept art (Garrone)
Why Is Pinocchio Still A Story People Want to Tell (And See?)
Pinocchio is not only Euro-centric in its humor and storytelling approach (something which folks in the US and UK sometimes find too dark, too irreverent, randomly nonsensical and too non-linear*) but, being originally released serially, the flow of the overall story tends to be episodic, erratic and doesn't always appear to know where it's going. In some ways, this organic approach actually works better than a lot of large-work storytelling because of the subject of "becoming real" (often summarized as "growing up", though that is actually a limited parallel when looking at Collodi's work here). As a result, people have found it relates very well to the awkward spurts during childhood and adolescence as people try to discover who they are, complicated by discovering the combined beauty and harshness of the world at large at the same time as they, themselves, are changing.
*NOTE: We mention randomly nonsensical and non-linear as having traditionally been a problem for UK and US audiences but we have noticed a rising increase in acceptance of the bizarre and ridiculous this last year in particular. The crazier real life gets, the more those "fevered dream"-type animations and films of Soviet and European origin seem to, not only make a strange sort of sense, expressing the nonsensical is almost cathartic. In this sense, perhaps grownups are beginning to understand why these sorts of bizarre episodic-type storytelling vignettes are so impressionable and beloved by children (see the paragraph below which touches on this). It also shows just how much we - as humans - need art to express our discomfort and process our world when things are topsy-turvy. Art is our way to finding our feet, our purpose, and our return to hope again. But back to the film.
But there's another aspect to Pinocchio too - one that warns children about the darkness of the world, in a metaphor even kids tend to intuitively understand, and it's not just about trying to find who you are in the world either. It looks at the imbalances in morality and justice and explores them very frankly in a way kids "get".
Garrone spoke a little bit about this to inew.co.uk:
Why, though, does a fable almost a century-and-a-half old feel so contemporary?
“It’s always talking about us, about our fear,” Garrone answers. “It’s also giving a warning to kids – how life can be violent and dangerous. Don’t make wrong decisions! I think this is the lesson Collodi gives. I think there is some dark – it’s necessary for the kids to grow up, to learn – but by the end there’s the light.”
Set in a head-spinning rustic 19th-century world where animals take human form, Garrone’s Pinocchio points to the more “anarchic” qualities of Collodi’s book, and its musings on justice, when the gorilla judge sends Pinocchio, and not the scheming Cat and Fox, to jail.
“The meaning, it’s very modern,” says Garrone, “where, in many countries, the innocent go to prison and the guilty, especially the rich and powerful, are out.”
So What Are People Really Saying About Garrone's Pinocchio?
Pinocchio remains resonant and loved, but capturing its soul on film has been largely elusive, especially with regard to remaining true to the tone of Collodi's book, but reviews seem to indicate that Garrone has done just that, or if not, he's come the closest of any filmmaker yet.
“Pinocchio” gets better as it gets weirder, and taking cues from its Homeric origins, it gets very weird.
...Once the movie enters its loony collage-like trajectory, the hits keep coming. Pinocchio endures a range of imaginative horrors, from that terrifying whale to the eventual donkey transformation that in this version includes a hat-tip to Robert Bresson’s “Au Hasard Balthazar.” Of course, no “Pinocchio” is complete without a few white lies and a growing schnozzle, though this one seems like a pretty blatant metaphor for puberty (if it wasn’t already baked into the material from the start). Garrone’s penchant for juggling eerie soul-searching with ebullient storybook visuals matches Terry Gilliam in his prime, and the whole thing has been laced together by Dario Marianelli’s inspired cosmic score.
Above all, “Pinocchio” imbues its circumstances with a surprising degree of naturalism, thanks to the filmmaker’s careful handling of practical effects that suit the unusual tone. Unlike recent effects travesties of the “Cats” variety, “Pinocchio” understands the inherent disturbing quality of human faces melded to non-human bodies — from gastropods to a very funny tuna fish — and exploits that disconnect at every turn.
Concept art (Garrone)
...This story can only end one way, and when it does, “Pinocchio” tops off the silly-strange rhythm with a poignant finish. By the time it gets there, however, the movie has accrued many layers. Garrone doesn’t dig deep into the material as much as he revels in its surfaces, though the director of zany sociopolitical dramas like “Reality” and “Dogman” can’t help but inject a few contemporary zingers. Sitting in front of an ape judge, Pinocchio proclaims his innocence. “In this country, the innocent go to prison!” he’s told.
Such is the nature of Pinocchio’s plight, and no matter its otherworldly nature, Garrone’s version shows how the premise has grown more relatable with time. Pinocchio’s an innocent creature at the mercy of ever-changing surroundings who learns to take charge, which is enough to make him a walking zeitgeist. More than that, however, he embodies the endless frustrations of a cruel world, as well as the emotional charge that comes from learning to roll with its merciless twists and hope for a happy ending.
Regarding the approach to effects (and avoiding the "Cats curse") there is a shortish article and video overview showing the steps taken for the effects work in Garrone's PinocchioHERE. It turns out that the boy Pinocchio is not a CG creation but instead largely prosthetics (at least until his nose grows) and these are what make him look wooden yet still manage to convey the acting nuances of ten-year-old (Federico Ielapi) playing the character. For folks interested in the creative visualization process, and the effect of blending live-action with puppets, prosthetics, and more, especially in fantasy films, this is a recommended side trip.
Drawing on the original children’s story for his new live-action version, the Gomorrah director combines sentimentality and the grotesque in a unique way
There is something rich and strange and generous in Matteo Garrone’s new live-action version of the Pinocchio story, for which the director and his co-screenwriter Massimo Ceccherini have gone right back to the original 1883 children’s tale by Carlo Collodi. They have given us a story that combines sentimentality and grotesqueness in a really startling way.
...There is so much that Garrone’s Pinocchio appears to resemble: there’s a bit of Tod Browning’s Freaks (and a bit of Frankenstein), echoes of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and the Old and New Testament. The moment when Pinocchio’s nose grows because he is lying is still fascinating. It’s a parable that has taught generations of little Disney fans never to fib. Audiences for this film, however, will notice that Pinocchio’s nose does not grow when he lies to the gorilla judge. The point is that the normalisation of lying is part of the humanising process. Pinocchio’s wooden face really is very strange. It does not look like that of any sort of boy, but rather a man or woman or cyborg in early middle age. There’s more than a touch of R2D2 about him, or even a lost figure from George Franju’s Eyes Without a Face.
...In the end, Pinocchio is a parable of parenthood: when we have a child, there is something uncanny and strange about him or her, like a doll brought to life. In our hearts, perhaps, we can’t quite believe that this is a human being like us, who will come to have thoughts and feelings independently of us – become “real”, in fact.
Whatever is to come in the anticipated versions from Zemeckis and Del Toro (and the many filmmakers after who can't resist it), Garrone has set a new bar for filmmakers to achieve and that is a good thing. It's already a hit in Italy - a much bigger hit than Benigni's ever was, and critic reviews there and elsewhere in the world it has been released, are averaging four stars out of five - a vast improvement in critical rating as well.
Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio is only the second live-action movie version of this classic book to actually be made in Italy (as far as we can find), the same country the story was born in. While Roberto Benigni directed the first one (2002) and captured the Italian flavor in many ways he, unfortunately, not only had himself star as Pinocchio (a 49-year-old man at the time), he also attempted to bring a touch of Fellini to the movie, (you can read about the Benigni-Fellini-Pinocchio connection HERE), moves which didn't sit well with audiences anywhere, and essentially killed the rest of the interesting approach to the story. Garrone appears to have successfully hurdled this issue and the resulting audience skittishness about a live-action Pinocchio from an Italian director, even while embracing Benigni in this legacy in the much-more suited role of Gepetto. We are looking forward to seeing it when it becomes available to see safely!
Where Can I See It?
This is a tricky question to answer, entirely complicated by the pandemic.
Garrone's Pinocchio was released in Europe in December 2019 but coronavirus (COVID-19) has complicated the sales and theater release deals and contracts all over the world since, disrupting the usual roll-out of films intended to eventually reach English speaking audiences. Even in France, the release went directly to French Amazon Prime, rather than having the planned theatrical release.
The film was released in theaters in the UK and Ireland from mid-August 2020 but other theatrical releases have been canceled due to lockdowns and theaters closing.
In the US, Netflix has bought streaming rights (and currently has a blank placeholder page) but the streaming launch date is still undetermined, though likely to be in 2021. Otherwise, it would appear that the film is still seeking a US release partner for any possibility of ever achieving theatrical release here, including for DVD and Blu-ray.
