A familiar tale of a wooden boy is seen in a whole new light through
the visionary imagination of one of the greatest living horror directors.
2022 has seen a bevy of amazing stop-motion animated movies. And closing off this year of
stop-motion madness is possibly the most exciting project of them all as Academy
Award winner Guillermo del Toro puts his own spin on the classic 1883 Carlo Collodi novel,
"Pinocchio." The well-known story has seen multiple adaptations throughout the decades,
most notably Walt Disney's beloved 1940 version. Still, del Toro seems to be offering
a completely new vision of this classic tale that will surely take audiences by surprise.
"I am Guillermo del Toro. This is my Pinocchio."
Guillermo del Toro is best known for his lush array of genre films such
as "Pan's Labyrinth," "Crimson Peak," "Hellboy" and the best-picture-winning
"The Shape of Water." He has had his eyes on the famous wooden character, Pinocchio,
for some time. Originally announced back in 2008, del Toro has not only been in
love with the "Pinocchio" story itself but has always envisioned it as an animated feature.
And now, "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" is set for release in select theaters throughout
November 2022 but will be available to stream on Netflix on December 9, 2022. Its world premiere
came on October 15, 2022, at the BFI London Film Festival, which will be followed by the
Animation is Film festival on the 29th and an official US Premiere at AFI Fest on November 5.
The film has seen a troubled production over the past few years, as multiple release dates
have been set and reworked. Alongside fellow upcoming stop motion Netflix film "Wendell and
Wild," "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" was initially slated for a release sometime in
2021. The film, along with several other high-profile Netflix animated projects,
were moved to 2022, with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealing that
the company has plans to release up to six animated features a year.
But that's nothing compared to the film's earlier troubles. Originally intended to be released in
2013 or 2014, the film went through several years of development hell as no studio was willing to
put up the finances to produce it. Things got so out of hand that the director canceled the
ambitious project, even after getting "Over the Garden Wall" creator Patrick McHale as a
screenwriter. Thankfully in 2018, Netflix came to the rescue and greenlit the film.
The plot of "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," while following the
general outline of the classic story, seems to have more in store in its setting and
presentation. The description of the film given by a tweet from Netflix Film reads,
"Set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini's Italy, PINOCCHIO ... is a story of love and
disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father's expectations."
This setting, deviating from the fairytale world audiences are accustomed to, is in
line with Del Toro's dark, fantastical vision, staying more faithful to the original Carlo
Collodi tale "The Adventures of Pinocchio," which the director describes as having a
" ... far more perverse and spooky and semi-necrophilia vibe to it in certain aspects."
One element it will share with the Disney classic is that del Toro's film is set to
be a musical. Writing both the musical numbers and scoring the film is Alexandre Desplat. This
will be Desplat's second time working with del Toro after winning an Academy Award for
his work on "The Shape of Water" in 2017. It will also be Desplat's third stop motion film,
having worked with director Wes Anderson and being nominated for Academy Awards for the
musical scores of both 2009's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and 2018's "Isle of Dogs."
"Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" will see a star-studded cast take on these
classic characters. But voicing the titular role is newcomer Gregory Mann.
"Oh, what a day, what a day."
Mann's time working on the project was a positive one. At the film's BFI London
Film Festival premiere he talked about the director to "HeyUGuys" saying quote,
"He's incredible. I mean, he's just as good as he sounds. He's amazing to work with as well,
he's so kind, and he brings such a nice spirit to the recording studio or the
set. And he really made me look at lines and look at them into deeper context."
Playing as Pinocchio's closest allies, the Cricket and Geppetto are Ewan McGregor and David Bradley,
respectively. Alongside them are Christoph Waltz as the villainous Count Volpe, Cate Blanchett as
the monkey puppeteer Spazzatura, Ron Perlman as The Podestà, Finn Wolfhard as The Podestà's son,
Candlewick, and Tilda Swinton as the Wood Sprite who gives Pinocchio life.
Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, and Burn Gorman round out the cast in unknown roles.
Netflix has currently released two trailers for "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio." The first,
released in January 2022, acts as a brief teaser where Ewan McGregor's Cricket,
or Sebastian J. Cricket as he calls himself,
prepares to write something while telling the audience an interesting fact.
"I lived, actually lived, in the heart of the wooden boy."
Whether this is meant to be taken literally or this version of the Cricket will stand as
a representation of Pinocchio's heart rather than his conscience is yet to be seen. Still,
the teaser excited viewers for what was to come, just from the beautiful look alone.
A full film trailer was released in late July 2022. In it, we see Geppetto, who appears to
have lost a child of his own, build and piece together Pinocchio. From there, we're treated
to a true feast for the eyes as Pinocchio goes about the town, meets both good and evil faces,
and warmly interacts with Geppetto. It's hard not to get swept up in the overwhelming splendor of
the animation on display. From the beautifully textured and designed characters to the grand
sets to the outstanding visual effects, this trailer alone proves why the dazzling art form
of stop-motion animation will never truly die out. Top it off with a sweeping musical score,
and you can count us in for whatever Guillermo del Toro has in store.