Gobbledygeek episode 490, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Is that a tree branch on your face, or are you just lying to me? An extra-long Gobbledygeek season finale takes root with a discussion of Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s new stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio. Paul and Arlo discuss the numerous ways del Toro has made Carlo Collodi’s immortal tale his own, chiefly by making it a study of mortality–oh, and fascism too. The boys rave about Ewan McGregor’s take on the Cricket, the awe-inspiring puppetry and animation on display, and Arlo’s pot-addled epiphany. Plus, tributes to Angelo Badalamenti and Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, as well as a look at the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer.

NEXT: happy holidays, y’all. We’ll be back in 2023.

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:45  –  Intro
• 00:17:18  –  Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
• 02:10:16  –  Our brief, incomplete list of Best of 2022
• 02:33:17  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio Reconceptualizes What it Means to be a ‘Real Boy’” by Mustafa Yasar II, IGN
• “Guillermo Del Toro Shows Why Entertainment & Children Are Fascism’s Greatest Tools” by Pramit Chatterjee, Digital Mafia Talkies

MUSIC

• “Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti, Soundtrack from Twin Peaks (1990)
• “Big Baby Il Duce March” by Gregory Mann, Pinocchio (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) (2022)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 
• Abortion Funds in Every State: https://bit.ly/AbortionFundsTwitter
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ youth: thetrevorproject.org
• Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/ 
  • US (877) 565-8860
  • Canada (877) 330-6366
• National Center for Transgender Equality: transequality.org
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/