Guillermo del Toro is making his animated directorial Netflix debut with his “dream project”, Pinocchio, which he is co-directing with Mark Gustafson from Fantastic Mr Fox. No stranger to macabre fantasy flicks with supernatural elements, del Toro’s upcoming film will surely be a delightful addition to his legion of filmography, namely The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, Pan’s Labyrinth and more.
Along with Gustafson, the filmmaker will take the viewers on a grim adventure in a world of horror and fantasy set in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy.
Del Toro has decided to add his own ingenious creativity to the stop-motion musical which is a dark and twisted adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s original tale. It will focus on the bizarre journey of a wooden puppet who comes to life and struggles to be a perfect son while annoying those near him with his antics.
The story of love, acceptance and discipline will include an extensive ensemble cast, namely Gregory Mann, David Bradley, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett, Finn Wolfhard and Ron Pearlman, among others.
Netflix had previously released a teaser for Pinocchio where McGregor as the talking Cricket lays the foundation for the exquisite and extraordinary story of Pinocchio which nobody knows except himself as he has resided in the “boy’s heart”.
Del Toro, who has already been admittedly “intrigued by the links between Pinocchio and Frankenstein”, will add a gothic twinge to the tale, as revealed by some of the photos released by Netflix.
Pinocchio is slated for a December 2022 premiere.
