Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio ending explained: How does Pinocchio come back to life the final time?

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio debuted on Netflix on December 9, 2022, bringing back a completely reimagined version of Carlo Collodi's fictional character, which has seen nearly too many adaptations by this point. Del Toro, in collaboration with Mark Gustafson, carved something truly unique from this block of wood, crafting a story that is both mature and profound.

Aside from the numerous thematic additions, which ranged from parenting expectations to existentialism and fascism, the film indulged in an old-fashioned animated trick of a roughed-up adventure, which eventually gave rise to one of the film's most emotional moments.

It all started with Pinocchio going to the war camp as an ideal soldier (who can die multiple times).

This politically charged sequence was followed by Pinocchio's (played by Gregory Mann) reunion with his father, Geppetto (played by David Bradley), but not in the most ideal circumstances.

Read on for a detailed breakdown of the ending of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.

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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio ending: What was Cricket's wish?

In the beginning, Cricket (played by Ewan McGregor) encountered the Sprite (Tilda Windon), who granted life to the wooden boy. She tasked Cricket to guide Pinocchio in his quest to become a real boy and take the right decisions. In exchange, she offered to grant him one wish.

After a series of misadventures, Pinocchio finally escaped the war camp, as well as the clutches of Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz) along with Spazzatura (Cate Blanchett). As they were swimming their way to freedom, they were swallowed by a huge Dogfish. Spazzatura and Pinocchio encountered Cricket and Geppetto inside the stomach of the fish.

Together, they hatched a plan to escape the fish's belly by using the Dogfish’s blowhole. Pinocchio used his wit here and kept lying till his nose grew big enough for them to reach the blowhole. They were able to escape but unknowingly set off a sea mine, resulting in Pinocchio's death.

As shown earlier in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Pinocchio does not die after he is killed. He stays in a purgatory-like place and resurrects soon after. Gepetto would have drowned if he had waited any longer. As a result, Pinocchio broke the hourglass and became human. This meant that he would not be resurrected if he died again.

Pinocchio returned to somehow save Gepetto, fulfilling his mission, but dying in the process. Sprite appeared at this point, realizing she had inadvertently caused Gepetto to experience the loss of a child twice. Cricket intervened, deciding to use his wish to resurrect Pinocchio.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio continued the story a little longer to depict the outright flaws of immortality as Pinocchio lived on while everyone around him died. Cricket concluded the story by saying that he believes Pinocchio ventured into the world and did die at some point. In the closing statement, he said, "Whatever happens, happens. And then we are gone," summing up life in general.

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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is now streaming on Netflix.