Beautifully flawed Father and Son story from Robert Zemeckis.
Every time I attempt to delude myself into thinking I can’t possibly be the audience or core demographic for a Robert Zemeckis film, I have to remind myself that I watched the original Back to the Future film before the vast majority of any of this article’s potential readership was even born. That film in particular has seen a bond develop all these decades later with my beautiful son who being an avid film fan himself, readily agreed to see the now triple bill of Back to the Future films with me, and on the very night of 21st October 2015 so synonymous with this now cherished franchise of films and creation of it’s own beautiful myth as well as a flourishing industry. So I’ve been the core demographic for a Robert Zemeckis film for nearly three decades now, despite my own misguided snobbishness!
Romancing the Stone (not a fan) came a year before Marty McFly, Doc Brown and Einstein dabbled with time travel, and was the third in a total of twenty two (at the time of writing) films now helmed by Zemeckis, and I’ve seen nearly all of them whilst loving, really loving, a good few along the way. The Back to the Future trilogy is absolute perfection and sandwiches the flawed but beautiful Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I liked Death Becomes Her (though I haven’t re-watched it in three decades) but consider this run, this cinematic decade if you will, from 1994 to 2004:
Forrest Gump
Contact
What Lies Beneath
Cast Away
The Polar Express
In the 18 years since, Zemeckis has directed a further 8 films including Pinocchio here and having seen every one except Beowulf in 2007, I’m clearly the demographic I refuse to be! In this latter period of his career alone he’s collaborated with Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol), Denzel Washington (Flight), Brad Pitt (Allied), Steve Carell (Welcome to Marwen), Anne Hathaway (The Witches) as well as The Walk, a documentary style film of high wire artiste Philippe Petit walking a wire between the two World Trade Center towers in 1974 and I’ve (a) rushed through the cinematic career of a genius as well as (b) not given a detailed lifelong love to an incredible trilogy of films, for The Polar Express and the joy I’ve had watching that with my growing son, for the magnificence of Forrest Gump, the cries of “Wilson I’m sorry!” as Tom Hanks loses his mind as well as his volleyball in Cast Away, or the recently underrated and unfairly pilloried Allied or the criminally unloved Welcome to Marwen.
But we must move on with his latest creation and another collaboration with both Disney and his fourth all time collaboration with the aforementioned Tom Hanks. Here Hanks is the jovial if lonely “Geppetto” and owner of a curiosity shop of antiques and especially the numerous wall mounted cuckoo clocks that Geppetto admits are “my most favourite creations”. It is within the tight, cramped confines of his shop and living quarters that we spend the first 30 minutes of a 105 minute film that flashes by in typical Disney inspired fun alongside character favourites such as “Jiminy Cricket” (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the “Blue Fairy” (Cynthia Erivo), and whilst not forgetting either “Figaro” the cat or “Cleo” the goldfish, we have of course the most famous creation of all “Pinocchio” (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). After leaving Geppetto’s curiosity shop we encounter yet more historic Disney characters in the guise of “Honest John” (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), “Stromboli” (voiced by Giuseppe Battiston) as well as “Sofia” (Lorraine Bracco) in a live action/CGI mash up that in the main works alongside the in-jokes, old jokes and has a warmth and reverence the film deserves.
Everywhere the puppet turned human boy turns he sees the unbelievable light of creation and being alive juxtaposed with the deceit and darkness of lies, but never with Geppetto and a man he instantly calls “Father”. “I’m gonna be a real boy and make my father proud” he exclaims as well as parroting the mantra of being “Brave, Honest and Unselfish”. In amongst such obvious themes and the power of positive thinking are some sublime set pieces in “Pleasure Island” as well as a climatic escape from a sea monster in a film I liked and from which the highest possible recommendation I can provide is that I smiled all the way through.
Perhaps I am indeed the audience and core demographic of a Robert Zemeckis film after all.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles within my archives from which to choose from:
“My Son Hunter” (2022)
Blistering warts and all parody with far too much truth for the Establishment to bearmedium.com
“All My Friends Hate Me” (2022)
Intriguing thriller for those who can take a jokemedium.com
“Where the Crawdads Sing” (2022)
Beautiful telling of a melancholic talemedium.com