Perhaps the best known puppetmaster, or rather puppetmaker, in all of cinematic history is that lovable woodcarver from Disney’s Pinocchio, Geppetto. Similar to Truman and Christof, Geppetto and Pinnochio have a kind of father-son relationship, although it’s a little different here because Geppetto actually made Pinnochio, like out of wood, formed with his own hands.
Pinnochio could also been seen as an inverse Being John Malkovich, or rather, Malkovich is like an inverse Pinnochio. Instead of a living person being turned into a puppet, Pinnochio is a puppet who, through the good Disney virtues of being truthful and considerate, is granted the wish of becoming a sentient being of sorts. So you’ve got this puppet who’s come to life, and a puppetmaster who wished for it himself. It’s interesting that instead of desiring the power to control another person, Geppetto’s wish is for this object that requires his manipulation to operate without it.
Continue reading on the next page…
Published: Apr 22, 2013 02:22 pm