‘Pinocchio’: Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about Guillermo del Toro's animated musical

In this Netflix film, del Toro will tell the classic Carlo Collodi tale with a twist. 'Pinocchio' will be set during the rise of fascism in Benito Mussolini’s Italy
Guillermo del Toro (Netflix)
Guillermo del Toro (Netflix)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is making his first animated feature film. Working with Netflix, del Toro brings to us ‘Pinocchio’, based on the classic fairytale, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’. Also written and produced by del Toro, this stop-motion musical will be his first feature film since ‘The Shape of Water’.

Release date

No release date for ‘Pinocchio’ has been announced as of yet. Watch this space for more information. 

Plot

As per Netflix, ‘Pinocchio’ draws on the classic Carlo Collodi tale. This stop motion musical will follow the extraordinary journey of a wooden boy magically brought to life by a father’s wish, but it has a twist. “Set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy,” says Netflix, “del Toro's ‘Pinocchio’ is a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father’s expectations.”

Cast

Ewan McGregor as Cricket

Ewan McGregor. (Getty Images)

The 49-year-old Scottish actor barely needs an introduction. His long film career includes critically acclaimed roles in films such as ‘Trainspotting’, the ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy, ‘Angels and Demons’, ‘Big Fish’, ‘The Ghost Writer’, and more.

David Bradley as Geppetto 

Actor David Bradley. (Getty Images)

The 78-year-old British actor is best known for playing Argus Filch in the ‘Harry Potter’ film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones’, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series ‘The Strain’. His other noted acting credits include ‘Our Friends in the North’, ‘Broadchurch’, ‘Les Misérables’, ‘After Life’, and more.  

Gregory Mann as Pinocchio

Mann is a newcomer. His acting credits, as per IMDb, includes only one film, ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, and a role in the television series, ‘Victoria’.

The film will also star in yet unknown roles, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, and Burn Gorman.

Creators

‘Pinocchio’ is a production of Guillermo del Toro, The Jim Henson Company, and ShadowMachine, which will house the stop-motion animation production. Alongside del Toro, Lisa Henson, ShadowMachine’s Alex Bulkley, Corey Campodonico, and Gary Ungar of Exile Entertainment will also produce the film. Alongside del Toro, Patrick McHale of ‘Over The Garden Wall’ and ‘Adventure Time’ fame will co-write the script. Mark Gustafson of ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ fame will co-direct it. 

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro. (Getty Images)

Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican filmmaker, author, actor, and former special effects makeup artist, who barely needs any introduction. Best known for ‘Pan's Labyrinth’, ‘The Shape of Water’, ‘Crimson Peak’, ‘Pacific Rim’, and more, del Toro has received critical acclaim for all his works as a filmmaker. 

He has seven years of experience as an executive producer on DreamWorks Animation feature films, including ‘Puss in Boots’, ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’, and ‘Rise of the Guardians’. He created Netflix’s Emmy award-winning television series ‘Trollhunters’, the first installment of a trilogy called ‘Tales of Arcadia’. 

“No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as ‘Pinocchio’,” said del Toro about the film. 

He added, “In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend. He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember. After the incredible experience we have had on ‘Trollhunters’, I am grateful that the talented team at Netflix is giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to introduce audiences everywhere to my version of this strange puppet-turned-real-boy.”

Trailer

No trailer for ‘Pinocchio’ has been released yet. Watch this space for more information.

If you like ‘Pinocchio’, you will also like

‘Frozen’, ‘Anomalisa’, ‘Moana’, ‘Trollhunters’, and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’.

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