Love him or hate him (Elton John does the latter, we recall the singer telling David Letterman), Roberto Benigni carries on a grand Italian tradition of comedic and full-blown cinema with "Pinocchio," which hits U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, after earning mixed reviews back on the boot.

Benigni, whose humorous style recalls the great Neapolitan actor Totó ("The Gold of Naples," "Big Deal on Madonna Street"), has nabbed two Academy Awards already and Italians have pinned their Oscar hopes once again on everybody's favorite Tuscan.

Some Americans first learned of him in Jim Jarmusch's "Down by Law" and "Night on Earth" or in Benigni's own slapstick "Johnny Stecchino" -- in which as a mob boss' doppelganger, he's hired as a stand-in -- and 1994's rip-roaring "The Monster," in which the unassuming and harmless Loris is mistaken for a murderous sexual deviant.

He also appeared in Blake Edwards' 1993 "Son of the Pink Panther," which earned wide release but was a resounding flop. But when "Life is Beautiful" -- which nabbed three Oscars -- hit American screens, Benigni was suddenly a star. His outlandish Oscar acceptance bought him further airtime.

Now, Benigni is tapping Carlo Collodi's beloved nearly 125-year-old story of a puppet come to life; a story considerably darker than the 1940 animated Disney film would have you believe. The poor puppet seems to always succumb to his desires and his dark side. He can't help but make the wrong decisions, which land him and others in trouble. In the end, though, even the heart of a wooden boy can win out, can't it?

In his film version -- which with a reported $40 million price tag is the most expensive Italian movie ever -- Benigni appears to have crafted a boisterous, colorful, carnival of action that looks part Disney and part Fellini. Which makes sense, as Benigni has straddled Cinecittá and Hollywood for some time now and the production designer, Danilo Donati, has worked on countless classics, including many of Fellini's films and Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial, but striking, works.

Benigni said at an October press conference that he and Fellini had talked about the project before the latter's passing in 1993.

"On his deathbed, he told me: 'You will do Pinocchio'," Benigni said of the great director.

Of course, Benigni's wife and regular co-star Nicoletta Braschi also appears in the film.

Whether or not the critics deem it a success, Italians have slapped their Euros down at the box office in record numbers since the film opened in early October. With Miramax keeping tight wraps on advance viewings, we'll have to wait for Christmas to find out for ourselves. But in this writer's household, there isn't a gift much better than a new Benigni film. Buon natale.