Pinocchio (2002)

0% of critics liked it
(55 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(8,592 ratings)

Academy Award-winner Roberto Benigni adapts the classic children's tale by Carlo Collodi for the big-budget family-oriented comedy Pinocchio. In his usual fashion, Benigni directs and stars, this time as the little puppet boy made out of wood. The familiar story begins as a log of pinewood falls out… More Academy Award-winner Roberto Benigni adapts the classic children's tale by Carlo Collodi for the big-budget family-oriented comedy Pinocchio. In his usual fashion, Benigni directs and stars, this time as the little puppet boy made out of wood. The familiar story begins as a log of pinewood falls out of a cart and lands in front of woodcarver, Geppetto (Carlo Giuffré), who carves the puppet out of longing for a son. When the puppet begins to come alive and cause trouble, Geppetto is arrested and Pinocchio is left to his own naïve worldview. After getting a stern warning from the Blue Fairy (Benigni's wife and producer Nicoletta Braschi), Pinocchio sets out to reunite with his father, become a real boy, and succumb to some desire for adventure. Along the way, he meets a number of characters played by mostly Italian stage actors, including Franco Javarone, Peppe Barra, and Kim Rossi Stuart. The popular Italian comedy team Fichi d'India plays the roles of the Cat and Fox. Released by Miramax in the U.S., the film received an English-dubbed soundtrack with the voice talents of Glenn Close, David Suchet, and Breckin Meyer as Pinocchio. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Roberto Benigni
Written By: Roberto Benigni
Genres: Kids & Family, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Jul 15, 2003
Studio: Miramax Films

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The recut American version is truly awful, but a good 75 percent of the awfulness is attributable to Miramax, the film's distributor.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
What can one say about a balding 50-year-old actor playing an innocent boy carved from a log?
Mark Peranson, Village Voice
What remains is a variant of the nincompoop Benigni persona, here a more annoying, though less angry version of the irresponsible Sandlerian manchild, undercut by the voice of the star of Road Trip.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
I can't say this enough: This movie is about an adult male dressed in pink jammies.
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Instead of hiding Pinocchio from critics, Miramax should have hidden it from everyone.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
An epic turkey, in a league with this year's Swept Away, that must be seen to be believed.
Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media
Live-action dubbed puppet story is creepy and lacks humor.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Head-slapping, what-the-f*ck-is-this-for-real? trippiness.
Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
Like Robin Williams on speed, [Roberto Benigni] darts about the screen showing less restraint than a shark in blood-stained water.
Bridget Byrne, Boxoffice Magazine
From concept to execution it is a huge mistake.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
There's no zip, no spark, no imagination, no real life in the story, let alone in the puppet.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Better this log-headed Pinocchio had been burned at the stake.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Every good actor needs to do his or her own Hamlet. For Benigni it wasn't Shakespeare whom he wanted to define his career with but Pinocchio. It might as well have been Problem Child IV.
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
This is a monumental achievement in practically every facet of inept filmmaking: joyless, idiotic, annoying, heavy-handed, visually atrocious, and often downright creepy.
Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com
What's most incredible is not that Benigni thought that he could pull off a believable wooden puppet who wants to be a boy, nor thet he could turn such a charming story into such a horrifically scary tale, but that the people of Italy love this movie so m
Frank Ochieng, TheWorldJournal.com
This overproduced piece of dreck is shockingly bad and absolutely unnecessary. Hmmm...might I suggest that the wayward wooden one end it all by stuffing himself into an electric pencil sharpener?
David Noh, Film Journal International
Benigni presents himself as the boy puppet Pinocchio, complete with receding hairline, weathered countenance and American Breckin Meyer's ridiculously inappropriate Valley Boy voice.
Shirley Klass, Fantastica Daily
The dialogue is very choppy and monosyllabic despite the fact that it is being dubbed.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
Seriously, rent the Disney version.
Pete Croatto, Filmcritic.com
Adults will certainly want to spend their time in the theater thinking up grocery lists and ways to tell their kids how not to act like Pinocchio. As for children, they won't enjoy the movie at all.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Criative, strong and the best Pinocchio film that I ver saw.
Lafe F

Gosh, what a piece of pretentious guffaw-inducing celluloid. Benigni doesn't fit the Pinocchio role well. He's not cute or funny - he's a bit of a buffoon. There's no magic here; move along!
MJS M

This is not the Disney movie, but rather the 2002 Italian version made by Roberto Benigni. This was savaged in its initial run because of the daft decision to release it in a dubbed version that didn?t even have Benigni doing the voice over. I watched the subtitled version, but this… More
This is not the Disney movie, but rather the 2002 Italian version made by Roberto Benigni. This was savaged in its initial run because of the daft decision to release it in a dubbed version that didn?t even have Benigni doing the voice over. I watched the subtitled version, but this really is still a pretty flawed movie without the dubbing. To the movie?s credit, the production design is quite good and as a whole this is a good visual movie. The story is meant to be a lot closer to the original book, which means there are a lot of, shall we say eccentric, bits of fairy tale silliness throughout. There was something good to be salvaged here but what scuttles the movie is the decision to cast Benigni, a fifty year old man, in the title role; there?s just something creepy about that. It also doesn?t help the Benigni does nothing to make it look like he?s made of wood.
Sunil J

Ew. This movie sucked in Italian and the dubbing on the English version was horrible!