The Mexican director has already helmed a number of films, including The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, and Pan’s Labyrinth. He has experience integrating more intricate concepts into fairy tales. He is likely the right director for interpreting this timeless tale in a contemporary manner. After enduring heartbreak, a father named Geppetto carves a wooden boy named Pinocchio out of wood. When the puppet awakens, he has been given the gift of life, and a morality tale ensues.
Even though the animated Disney film from 1940 is the most well-known adaptation of the novel, the characters in the live-action film are substantially different. Regarding this, who portrays Podesta in Pinocchio? Let’s discuss the character in the Netflix movie.
Who is Pinocchio’s Podesta?
A fascist regime official named Podesta (played by Guillermo’s colleague Ron Perlman) is the father of a little boy named Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard). He becomes Pinocchio’s pal. The film takes place in Italy during the Great War, also known as World War I. It lasted from 1914 until 1918, which explains his presence in the narrative.
The war is central to the plot of Pinocchio, which contains historical figures from the time period. Pinocchio sings a patriotic song that parodies Benito Mussolini as an example. He was the founder and head of the National Fascist Party and was chosen as Italy’s prime minister in 1922.
On the opposite side, Podesta discovers that Pinocchio has been resurrected and believes he would make the perfect soldier.
In addition to wishing to enlist Pinocchio, he professes a desire to prevent Geppetto’s bankruptcy. Additionally, he provides the wooden puppet as an additional excuse to depart his home.
Is Podesta a Real Person?
According to Collins Dictionary, the title Podesta was granted to the chief magistrate of a municipality in fascist Italy; it was not the person’s actual name. In the film, Guillermo never reveals the character’s real name, implying that Podesta’s identity is dependent only on his title, position, and obligations, with the director drawing parallels to puppets.
Guillermo contends that fascist government leaders of the time were manipulating puppet strings in a manner comparable to the circus monkey Spazzatura. Taking everything into account, it can be said that Podesta’s character was influenced by historical events rather than a real individual. He was Guillermo’s invention; he did not appear in the source material.
In certain contemporary Italian municipalities, a subordinate magistrate is referred to as a “podesta.”
Here’s Guillermo’s Statement on It
Guillermo talked about the project in an interview with Skwigly Magazine. He said, “When we were pitching or showing the movie, I was often asked, ‘Is it for kids?'” It wasn’t made with kids in mind, but kids can watch it. The world is very complicated right now. “Kids want complicated answers to a complicated reality, not simple answers to a complicated world.”
Take an inside look at the artisans, animators, & talent who worked at the top of their craft to bring @REALGDT’s Pinocchio to the screen – proving that animation is cinema. Experience GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO and the documentary HANDCARVED CINEMA now on Netflix. 🦗 pic.twitter.com/7NJa3oL2QU
— Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (@pinocchiomovie) December 9, 2022
Recently, Quentin Tarantino said on stage in San Francisco that Bambi was the most violent and scary movie he had ever seen, and he is right. He also said, “Even the older Disney movie Pinocchio was interesting to me because it was the only movie I saw as a child that showed me someone who knew how scary and dangerous childhood could be.”
Only Netflix is offering Pinocchio for streaming.
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