Sinve 1881, Pinocchio has delighted the young and the young at heart. Most Americans only know the Disney version, but the original story is quite different and much harsher.

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Not surprisingly, this Italian-made film will be much closer to the original Italian book.

Pinocchio has been made into a movie a surprising eighteen times, first as a live-action silent movie in 1911, as an animated feature by Disney in 1940, and most recently a live action film by award-winning Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone. The film was released in Italy in 2019, It will be released to a wider audience in 2020. It has already received 15 nominations in the 2020 edition of the David di Donatello Awards, and it won five of them, including Best Sets and Decorations, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Hair Design, and of course, Best Visual Effects.

Frederico Ielapi as Pinocchio

The movie stars Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni as Gepettio (Guido Orrfice in Life is Beautiful) and Federico Ielapi as Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted to be a boy. He played Tesla as a child in Nikola Tesla, the Man from the Future. Italian actor/singer Luigi “Gigi” Proietti is Mangiafuoco, renamed Stromboli in the Disney version.

This movie should not be confused with the Guillermo del Toro film of the same name which should be released in 2021 on Netflix and will feature frequent del Toro actor Ron Perlman as Mangiafuoco.

Are you looking forward to this film? Or if you’re one of our international fans, have you seen it already? Sound off in the comments section below. We always want to hear from our fans. Based on what I remember of the book, you may not want to take very young children to see this one.

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.