What filmmaking techniques does Pinocchio use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Pinocchio (2022): Picaresque Structure, Body Horror, Externalized Inner Voice and Visual Literalization of Inner State.

Who directed Pinocchio?

Robert Zemeckis directed Pinocchio, released in 2022. CineCode also covers Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992).

What films are similar to Pinocchio?

Films that share techniques with Pinocchio include Bones and All (2022), Black Swan (2010), Forrest Gump (1994), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

Fantasy · Family · Adventure

Pinocchio

Robert Zemeckis, 2022

A lonely woodcarver's wooden puppet comes to life and is told he can become a real boy if he is brave, truthful and selfless. A cricket named Jiminy is assigned to guide him. Watch how the film turns his conscience and his lies into things you can see.

2 Narrative 1 Psychology 1 Cinematography

At a glance

Pinocchio is a 2022 fantasy, family and adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 psychology and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Bones and All uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Picaresque Structure

Telling the story as a loose string of separate adventures, often following a low-status hero through different levels of society. With no single plot, the episodes add up to a portrait of a world.

How this film uses it

Pinocchio drifts from one trouble to the next. He meets the fox Honest John, then the puppet master Stromboli, then the Coachman who runs Pleasure Island. Each episode shows a different way people take advantage of someone innocent.

Where to see it

Honest John's offer: A fox con artist convinces Pinocchio to live a life of fame, planning to sell him to Stromboli.

Psychology

Body Horror

Showing the human body being changed, damaged or falling apart. The horror works because you imagine it happening to your own body, and it often stands for mental suffering.

How this film uses it

On Pleasure Island, the misbehaving children turn into donkeys and are sold to the salt mines. Pinocchio sees his friend Lampwick change, and he grows donkey ears and a tail himself. It is a kid-friendly version of a body turning against you.

Where to see it

Pleasure Island: Pinocchio watches Lampwick turn into a donkey in a billiard hall. He then sprouts donkey ears and a tail and escapes with Jiminy.

Narrative

Externalized Inner Voice

Giving a character's conscience or split self a visible or audible form, so inner conflict plays out as dialogue with another presence.

How this film uses it

Jiminy Cricket is appointed Pinocchio's conscience by the Blue Fairy. He follows Pinocchio, argues with him and sometimes gets trapped under a glass jar by Honest John. When Pinocchio ignores him, you see how it goes wrong.

Where to see it

The Blue Fairy's task: After bringing Pinocchio to life, the Blue Fairy makes Jiminy his conscience to teach him right from wrong.

Cinematography

Visual Literalization of Inner State

Showing an inner problem as something you can see, such as a visible lie, a blurred actor or a fully built imagination. The idea becomes a physical sight.

How this film uses it

Pinocchio's nose grows when he lies. At Stromboli's, he uses that on purpose, telling lies so the nose gets long enough for Jiminy to reach the keys to his cage. A weakness becomes a tool.

Where to see it

The bird cage: Stromboli locks Pinocchio in a cage. Pinocchio tells lies so his nose grows long enough for Jiminy to reach the keys.

Questions

Pinocchio: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Pinocchio use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Pinocchio (2022): Picaresque Structure, Body Horror, Externalized Inner Voice and Visual Literalization of Inner State.
Who directed Pinocchio?: Robert Zemeckis directed Pinocchio, released in 2022. CineCode also covers Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992).
What films are similar to Pinocchio?: Films that share techniques with Pinocchio include Bones and All (2022), Black Swan (2010), Forrest Gump (1994), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

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