Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) Plot Synopsis
Guillermo Del Toro’s version of Pinocchio is the third remake of the film this year. It’s also the darkest. The film begins during The Great War, or as we know it, World War I. Geppetto loses his son, Carlo, during a bombing raid. Years pass by and Geppetto remains in the pits of misery. One drunken night, he makes Pinocchio. A wood sprite arrives that night and brings him to life, charging Sebastian the cricket with the duty of helping him.
Geppetto sends Pinocchio off to school but the boy is lured into joining a puppet show by the cunning Count Volpe instead. Geppetto tries to get Pinocchio back, but the struggle between him and Count Volpe leads to the little wooden boy being thrown into the street and under a car.
In the realm of the dead, Pinocchio finds himself in front of Death. Death tells Pinocchio that he is immortal and can return to the mortal world but each time he dies, he’ll have to spend a little more time in the underworld. Pinocchio wakes up, alive and well. But now, Count Volpe wants Geppetto to pay ten million lire in lieu of his contract with Pinocchio while the Podestà wants to draft him for the war. When Geppetto gets upset, Pinocchio sneaks off to rejoin the puppet show and send his father his earnings.
What happens next?
Thanks to Pinocchio, Count Volpe’s puppet show is a roaring success. They travel from city to city, performing as they go. Eventually, Volpe receives the honour of hosting the Italian prime minister, Benito Mussolini. Volpe’s ill-treatment of his monkey Spazzatura leads to an outburst by Pinocchio, who in turn gets berated. As a result, the two of them join hands and use their performance to make fun of Mussolini. Offended, the prime minister has Pinocchio shot to death.
Pinocchio meets Death once again and, after a certain period of time, is sent back. He wakes up in a truck surrounded by the Podestà, his son Candlewick, and some other boys. Podestà takes them all to a training centre for young soldiers.
Meanwhile, Geppetto sets off to look for Pinocchio along with Sebastian Cricket. As they follow Count Volpe’s trail, they end up being swallowed by a giant Dogfish in the ocean.
What happens at the soldier training centre?
Podestà tries to instil the spirit of war into the boys but Pinocchio and Candlewick end up unlikely friends instead. Enraged, Podestà orders Candlewick to shoot Pinocchio. Instead, the boys fight him off together. As the enemy begins to bomb the area, Podestà gets stuck in a net in the training area and falls victim to one of the bombs. The explosion throws Pinocchio outside the building.
What happens to Count Volce?
Unfortunately for Pinocchio, a vengeful Count Volpe finds Pinocchio and ties him to a wooden cross and lights it on fire. But the downtrodden Spazzatura stands up against his master. He comes to Pinocchio’s help and they manage to throw Volpe off a cliff, to his death. Spazzatura and Pinocchio end up in the water, hanging on to a piece of wood.
Does Geppetto escape the sea beast?
While floating in the open sea, Spazzatura and Pinocchio end up being swallowed by the Dogfish too. Inside, Pinocchio reunites with his father and Sebastian. Sebastian then gives Pinocchio the idea to tell lies, which makes his nose grow all the way to the opening of the Dogfish’s blowhole. The other three climb across the elongated wood, followed by Pinocchio himself.
The Dogfish sneezes them all out but gives chase again. Pinocchio then activates a naval mine stuck in the Dogfish’s teeth to blow it up. The explosion kills Pinocchio again but this time he begs Death to send him back early as he needs to save Geppetto. Death says this act would make Pinocchio mortal. The boy agrees.
He wakes up in the sea and manages to save a drowning Geppetto and get him all the way to the shore. Geppetto wakes up to find Pinocchio has died, permanently.
Does Pinocchio survive?
The Wood Sprite shows up and says she cannot give Pinocchio his life back. Sebastian then reminds her that she had promised him a wish in exchange for guiding Pinocchio. He wishes for Pinocchio to return to life. The Wood Sprite agrees and Pinocchio, once again, comes to life.
How does Pinocchio end?
Pinocchio, Geppetto, Sebastian and Spazzatura all live together, happily. Over time, Geppetto ages and dies. He is soon followed by Sebastian and Spazzatura, while Pinocchio never ages. Sebastian’s narration goes on to reveal that Pinocchio ventured out into the world to seek new adventures. He says that Pinocchio may indeed die one day and that makes him a real boy. He ends by claiming, “What happens, happens. And then we are gone.”
Is there a mid-credits scene?
Yes, indeed. A mid-credits scene shows Sebastian sitting with the four rabbits of the underworld. He has been narrating the story to them as they play cards.
Read More: Pinocchio Ending Explained
You never gave me the answer to the question I asked. The question was how many times Pinocchio died in the new movie.