Pinocchio is a story familiar to all, be it to the children of this generation or before. The titular character from the 1883 Italian novel by Carlo Collodi has long been a pop culture figure, thanks to the wider access that Disney's 1940 musical version provided to viewers of all ages and languages. The classic story is finally getting a darker, more twisted adaptation from none other than Guillermo del Toro.
This will hardly be the first time that the auteur has fused fantasy, fairytale, and horror. He had previously done a wonderful job with Pan's Labyrinth, bringing to life a very complicated and twisted world inside the movie.
Pinocchio will hopefully do the same for its titular classic character. del Toro, who recently released a new Netflix series titled Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, expressed that it was always his ambition to make an adaptation of the film.
Pinocchio will be available to stream on Netflix on December 9. Read on for more details.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio trailer: A reimagination like never before
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio has long been a subject of discussion amongst fans and cinephiles alike. The director has never ventured into the zone of animated filmmaking and this should make for some very exciting revelations. The trailer revealed a lot of things about the film, including the grim animated style that speaks a language of its own.
The film was supposed to be released over six years ago, but multiple delays resulted in the film being pushed back to 2022. The storyline is still the same, where a wooden boy dreams of becoming a real person and sets out on his many adventures. The synopsis for the upcoming film reads as:
"A father's wish magically brings a wooden boy to life in Italy, giving him a chance to care for the child."
The film has a stacked cast with some of the biggest names in Hollywood involved in this production. David Bradley will voice the popular Geppetto while Gregory Mann will voice the titular Pinocchio. Ewan McGregor will play the role of Sebastian J. Cricket and Tilda Swinton will play the fairy.
Other big names in the cast include Finn Wolfhard, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, and Burn Gorman, among others.
Speaking about his choice to go for stop-motion animation despite the higher cost and his inexperience with the medium, Del Toro said:
"I think the beauty of stop-motion and why it has a very demanding and frail state as a production and storytelling method is that it [requires] basically the same rigor and delivery as a live-action film...You are designing and physically building a set, you are aging the walls, and fabricating every prop. It needs to fit not only the world but the ‘hand-held actors."
The film, releasing on Netflix, had a festival release earlier and has already received great praise from critics. It currently holds a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and is expected to do very well on the streaming platform as well.
Pinocchio will premiere on December 9, 2022, on Netflix. Stay tuned for more updates.