A Strange Pinocchio Christmas Carol - Renegade Pop Culture #87
In this episode, Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru review Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, Strange World, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, and I hope you’re all enjoying the holidays. This episode is admittedly on the late side, but I’m no less excited to share our thoughts on three unique animated films that are now all currently available to stream! So without further ado, tune into this episode of Renegade Animation to see what we thought of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, Strange World, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio!
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
It’s pretty hard to mess up an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic A Christmas Carol, it’s a story that’s lasted for generations. But what’s interesting about this movie is that it’s an adaptation of an adaptation. For the most part, it’s based on the late Leslie Bricusse’s 1970 musical Scrooge, with brand new songs and some tweaks to the source material to make it more family friendly. The best thing about this movie, and the reason why I feel animation is the perfect medium to adapt this story, is the depiction of the Ghosts that visit Ebenezer.
“It’s a solid adaptation, but if it didn’t try to feel so modern and family-friendly, even compared to other more family-friendly adaptations of the source material, it would leave a more lasting impression. It has some solid visuals, a few decent musical numbers, and good voice performances. It’s a fun time, but I wouldn’t call it one of the better films of the year. If you have yet to see this version, then there is a reason to give it a watch. It’s different enough to stand out, but even with my underwhelming impressions of this version, I bet this one will make the rounds every Christmas. Most people will watch more than one version of A Christmas Carol every year during this time period. Either way, see it for yourself and come up with your own thoughts about it.“ -The Animation Guru
Strange World
I won’t waste any more time lamenting Disney’s lack of marketing for this movie, as the damage has already been done. My only hope, now that it’s available on Disney+, is that people see it for what it is: a rock solid pulpy family adventure film. It’s probably their best attempt since Treasure Planet, and the intergenerational relationship between the Clade family was incredibly strong.
“While some aspects feel like Disney playing it safe in terms of execution, it's nice to see them craft another action-adventure film about the disconnect between generations and preserving a world for the next generation to live in.“ -The Animation Guru
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
This is my favorite movie of the year, and it’s keep that spot ever since I caught it in theaters the week before Thanksgiving. I’m not sure why 2022 happened to be a year that gave us 3 different adaptations of Carlo Collodi’s classic children’s book, but it’s clear that del Toro’s version has been a passion project roughly 15 years in the making. With the help of a stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson co-directing, and Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale co-writing the screenplay, what we have here is something truly special. While it does follow most of the beats from the original source material, there is an added layer of darkness and emotional depth that may not be suitable for a younger audience. Nevertheless, it’s a gorgeously animated film, with a stellar voice cast, and a wonderful score composed by Alexandre Desplat.
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a miracle of filmmaking. A beautifully crafted adaptation of a classic story that adapts and changes some of the elements most people know about from the original tale, but loses none of the heart and soul of the journey from beginning to end. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is what can be considered a perfect film. A fabulous journey through the trials and hurdles of a father and son’s journey through loss, grief, acceptance, and overcoming adversity for being different, while also criticizing religious and nationalistic extremists. A film that doesn’t sugarcoat the flaws in our characters, and still leads you on one of the most satisfying journeys of storytelling in 2022. A film that not only tops the best animated films of 2022, but also the best film of 2022. It’s a reminder that animation is indeed film, and one needs to remember and accept that. Treat animation with respect. Now then, here is hoping we get a Criterion release of this film because it sorely needs a physical release alongside other animated films Netflix is keeping locked up on their service.“ -The Animation Guru
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you guys for joining us, and stay tuned for our final seasonal anime impressions breakdown for the year!
