Guillermo del Toro's latest project will be Pinocchio, a stop-motion take on the Carlo Collodi fairy tale for Netflix.
The Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio trailer was released in July, giving fans of the Pan's Labyrinth director a glimpse at his take on the story of the wooden puppet who dreams of being a real boy.
His Pinocchio will actually be the third to come out this year. Earlier in 2022, Pinocchio: A True Story was much memed due to Pauly Shore's idiosyncratic voicing of the lead character. In September, Disney+ will release a "live action" version (directed by Robert Zemeckis) of their 1940 film, with Tom Hanks as Geppetto.
The Netflix version, however, has the starriest cast—and if the trailer is anything to go by, will be a very different take to what has been done before. Here's what you need to know about it.
When Is 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' Coming Out?
In the trailer, it says that the film is coming out in the "holiday season." At the end, however, it reveals that it will air in theaters in November before coming to Netflix in December.
Exactly when in those months it will be released has not been announced.
The film will be the third Pinocchio movies to come out in 2022. A True Story went straight to DVD in March, while the Zemeckis version is getting a Disney+ release on September 8.
Who Is in the Cast of 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio'?
Del Toro has assembled an all-star cast to play the characters from Collodi's tale.
As can be heard in the trailer, Ewan McGregor is voicing Sebastian J. Cricket, this film's version of the character simply called The Talking Cricket in the original story (and transformed into Jiminy Cricket in the Disney version).
Tilda Swinton, meanwhile, can be heard in the trailer as the Fairy with Turquoise hair, who brings Pinocchio to life. Swinton has previously played a witch (in the Narnia films) an angel (in Constantine) and a vampire (in Only Lovers Left Alive), so hopefully this helps her cross off another square on her supernatural creatures bingo card.
Also starring in the film are:
- Gregory Mann (Victoria) as Pinocchio
- David Bradley (Game of Thrones) as Master Geppetto
- Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) as Count Volpe
- Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Candlewick
- Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as the Podestà
- Cate Blanchett (Carol) as Sprezzatura the Monkey
Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou), Burn Gorman (Torchwood) and John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) are also starring in as-yet-unrevealed roles.
What Is 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' About?
The official plot synopsis reads: "Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents the classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. This whimsical, stop-motion film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his pursuit of a place in the world."
In the trailer, we hear McGregor say: "I want to tell you a story. It's a story you may think you know, but you don't." Which may be somewhat of a trailer cliché by this point, but could be true judging by del Toro's previous work.
In a Vanity Fair interview, the director discussed an unlikely inspiration for his film: "I've always been very intrigued by the links between Pinocchio and Frankenstein.
"They are both about a child that is thrown into the world. They are both created by a father who then expects them to figure out what's good, what's bad, the ethics, the morals, love, life, and essentials, on their own. I think that was, for me, childhood. You had to figure it out with your very limited experience."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
