Once Upon a Time There Was a Piece of Wood

The Adaptations of Pinocchio

Abstract

This project on adaptations focuses on interpretation and creativity. The aim is to offer a helpful and inspiring introduction for teachers (secondary school/college), by presenting a few key thoughts on adaptation and how this concept and practice may be productively used in the literature classroom – not only for the understanding of literature and audiovisual media, but also to facilitate critical thinking and creativity. The video essay presents a small case study of Carlo Collodi’s 1883 classic Pinocchio and two of its recent film adaptations; one made by Matteo Garrone (2019), the other by Guillermo del Toro (2022). Exploring these examples, it becomes evident that adaptations, and studying adaptations, involve textual analysis, imagination, critical thinking, and creativity – some of the central aspects of literary teaching, and ones that schools should facilitate.