Rohan Jain
Netflix’s ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ is an animated musical movie set during the 1930s in Italy. The story chronicles Pinocchio’s journey from carnivals to fascist training camps until he realizes what he truly wants. Throughout the movie, Pinocchio interacts with several characters and learns about the world. Candlewick is one such character who plays a significant part in Pinocchio’s arc.
Candlewick, the local podesta’s son, initially comes off as a bully. When Pinocchio first meets Candlewick, the latter intentionally makes the former burn his feet. After this small encounter, the two go their separate ways. Candlewick joins The Elite Military Project for Special Patriotic Youth. The project is a training center where young boys train to become soldiers and serve the Fatherland. One day, a few enemy planes bomb the special camp, destroying several buildings and killing several people. So, what happens to Candlewick? Does he die with the others too? Well, let us find out.
Candlewick’s Last Stand
Candlewick most likely dies in ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.’ We last see him looking for Pinocchio after a bomb falls on the military center and destroys the main building. Although we do not see Candlewick die or suffer from any injury, the odds are not in his favor, and there’s a high probability that he doesn’t survive. A few factors lead us to this conclusion, including the camp’s location and the events after Pinocchio is blown out of the training center.
The training camp is situated atop a hill, surrounded by a water body. When one of the bombs falls on the center, Pinocchio is in the direct vicinity and faces the impact. The explosion sends his flying away outside the camp, and he lands at a cliff’s edge on the same hill. Candlewick starts looking for his new friend but cannot find him. Meanwhile, Count Volpe finds Pinocchio lying weak, and the Count decides to kill Pinocchio.
We hear gunshots and explosions in the background while the Count talks to Pinocchio about his actions and consequences. The training center behind Pinocchio burns, and as the altercation between Volpe, Pinocchio, and Spazzatura unfolds, more bombs explode behind them. We understand that the enemy will not stop until it turns the camp to dust. When the final bomb lands, we hear multiple blasts, which end with one loud boom. Although Pinocchio is far from the camp, he feels the tremors and the rock beneath him breaks.
The entire sequence makes us realize how strong the impact of the blasts is. We can safely assume that the enemy lays waste to the camp, and Candlewick most likely becomes one of the victims of the enemy’s attack. Candlewick and Pinocchio’s fate is foreshadowed when they reunite at the fascist center. After the two express their insecurities and become friends, the podesta organizes a mock battle. He splits the kids into two teams and makes Pinocchio and Candlewick the captains. The scene foreshadows how the two will be on opposite sides when they get into a battle or a war-like situation.
When the two decide to win the mock battle together, the podesta becomes angry. He asks Candlewick to shoot Pinocchio with an actual gun, but the young boy refuses. The podesta’s actions come from the ideology that war is necessary and there cannot be two winners. He wants to separate Candlewick and Pinocchio, which is the second sign of their tragic fate. When Candlewick doesn’t budge from his decision, the podesta takes it upon himself to end Pinocchio’s life. But Candlewick rescues Pinocchio, and one of the enemy’s bombs falls on the podesta, thus killing him.
Candlewick manages to save Pinocchio from his father, but the real battle separates the two friends. Candlewick gets stuck in the camp, and Pinocchio gets thrown onto a cliff’s edge. In a subtle way, the movie shows that due to the war, the two friends are once again on two different sides. While Pinocchio lives to see another day, Candlewick dies at the training center.
Read More: Does Pinocchio Die at the End of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio?
