In an entirely non-sudden turn of events, Guillermo del Toro found himself walking away with a Golden Globe last night, with Pinocchio having won the distinction of Best Animated Feature Film at the ceremony yesterday evening. The instant classic found itself up against the likes of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Inu-Oh, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Turning Red, and ultimately came out on top.
After the win, the master of the macabre took to the stage to give his speech, and what came out of his mouth was a staunch defense of animation as a genre; a defense that Netflix, who distributed Pinocchio, was happy to take a snippet of credit for a recent tweet.
The tweet, quoting del Toro, reads “Animation is cinema. Animation is not a genre for kids. It is a medium.” And although seeing Netflix support one of its most important creatives in defending animation should be a wholly positive development, the tweet quickly gave way to the elephant in the room, or rather, the elephant-sized absence in the room.
Indeed, Netflix’s tweet is a prime example of not putting your money where your mouth is, with the streaming service gaining a notorious reputation for axing a large portion of its animated library rather prematurely, including shows like Tuca & Bertie, The Midnight Gospel, the recently canned Inside Job, and a slew of projects that were canceled before they even aired on the platform, including Wings of Fire, Antiracist Baby, and With Kind Regards From Kindergarten.
The recent cancellation of Inside Job especially makes Netflix’s tone-deaf tweet sting that much more, considering fans are still freshly reeling from that one. Perhaps Pinocchio‘s win will reignite the platform’s faith in animation, but we doubt anyone puts much stock into their decision-making abilities these days.
On a lighter note, Guillermo del Toro’s award-winning Pinocchio is available to stream on Netflix.