I didn't really know the history of this second most translated story (behind, obviously, The Bible),but it seems that most negative views come from those expecting this film's reality to be the Disney pollyannaish version (Notably most disturbed by a hanging scene.) Interestingly it seems this 1880s Italian tale of youthful misadventure, and disobedience was a metaphor on humanity.

Acting, dialogue, sets, props, costumes & makeup all remarkably first class.

Aside: I don't think kids should be shielded from some of the dishonesty & meanness portrayed, but used as a vehicle for discussion.

Geppetto (Roberto Benigni) is a struggling woodworker. After a traveling caravan arrives in town with puppets, he gets a magical piece of wood and carves Pinocchio who comes to life. It's an adaptation of the classic Italian children's novel. It has a magical darkness and a reality to the surreal world. The problem is that I've never liked Pinocchio. He's an idiot and an annoying brat. He never does what Geppetto wants. He keeps getting tricked by the most obvious scams. He's an infuriating character. I appreciate the style and the faithfulness of this adaptation. I still don't like Pinocchio. I kept wondering if a movie about Geppetto would be more compelling. I'm not fully sold with Benigni's comedic take on Geppetto but I would have liked to give it a try for the whole movie. Overall, this is an interesting exercise but I'm not fully engaged.

First of all, there is no doubt that this looks stunning. The effects are great, the cinematography is really good. And Roberto might come off annoying at the beginning when he keeps "begging" for money/work, but I would call that loveable.

If you see it otherwise, it won't become a decline later on, but you still won't find too many good things in the story ahead (again, visuals and music aside). Suspending your disbelief is one thing and quite necessary here. Something works fine at first but when the incoherent storytelling, that seems quite aimless or without a clear goal, throws cliches at you and is rather nasty without remorse, it really becomes a question of how much are you willing to take.

Now a wooden character does not have to have certain feelings necessarily and it's always nice to see a journey. The issue here is that while Pinocchio is mean and evil one minute, he sacrifices himself the next. This flip flopping may feel like unwarranted critique to some, but to others (especially if we're talking grown ups) will have problems to digest these things.

If you are watching this with kids or can be forgiving enough to oversee all these flaws and more, you will be able to enjoy it's great looking adventure. Just be aware of what is happening and what is not. And don't look for this to make much sense. It's episodic at best