Netflix has finally announced the release date for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Not to be confused with Disney+'s own Pinocchio version, this is a darker retelling of a classic fantasy tale.
The film, co-written, co-directed, and produced by del Toro, is a stop motion animation. This film also marks the famous director's animated feature directorial debut. The animation is based on Gris Grimly's 2002 design of the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio written by Carlo Collodi.
Here's what you need to know about Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio:
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Release Date
2022 is a pretty interesting year for the classic tale. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is not the only film adaptation to be released this year. In fact, a Russian adaptation came out in March entitled Pinocchio: A True Story. Then there's the upcoming revival of the classic film into a live-action movie by Robert Zemeckis. Pinocchio will be available on Disney+ this month as a remake that stars Tom Hanks as Gepetto. But if anything, del Toro's version promises to have a different take on the classic tale.
Netflix has unveiled the release date of Pinocchio. The film is set for a release on the streaming platform on December 9th. A theatrical release date has not yet been given, but will be announced pretty soon.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Story
Netflix's official synopsis of the film reads:
“Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi’s 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.”
Pinocchio is actually a passion project of del Toro's. And true to del Toro's repertoire, the classic tale will be getting a makeover. The director shared that this has been his lifelong dream: "After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix. We have spent a long time curating a remarkable cast and crew and have been blessed by continuous support from Netflix to quietly and carefully soldier on, barely missing a beat. We all love and practice animation with great passion and believe it to be the ideal medium to retell this classic story in a completely new way."
In another interview with Collider, the director shared that this is a "very very very personal movie" for him.
RELATED: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Movie is NOT for Kids
Del Toro also told Vanity Fair:
"Many times the fable has seemed, to me, in favor of obedience and domestication of the soul. Blind obedience is not a virtue. The virtue Pinocchio has is to disobey. At a time when everybody else behaves as a puppet—he doesn’t. Those are the interesting things, for me. I don’t want to retell the same story. I want to tell it my way and in the way I understand the world."
And part of that retelling is an interesting take on Pinocchio's literal roots. Apparently, Gepetto carved the wooden puppet from a tree that grew on his son's grave. While the film follows the classic tale of Gepetto making a wish to be a father, he doesn't realize there's more to what he wished for.
Another important change that has been implemented in del Toro's Pinocchio is instead of Pleasure Island, the wooden puppet is actually recruited into a military camp. This is because "the fascist official in town thinks if this puppet cannot die, it would make the perfect soldier."
Del Toro is also giving Sebastian J. Cricket a chance at finding love and humility. He has also given a twist to the Candlewick, who starts off as an antagonist but becomes a friend later on.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Cast
Apart from giving the classic tale a twist, one of the things to look forward to in del Toro's Pinocchio is its star-studded voice cast:
- Ewan McGregor (as Sebastian J. Cricket)
- Gregory Mann (as Pinocchio)
- Finn Wolfhard (as Candlewick)
- Tilda Swinton (as Turquoise Fairy)
- David Bradley (as Gepetto)
- Christoph Waltz (as Count Volpe)
- Cate Blanchett (as Sprezzatura)
- Ron Perlman (as Podesta)
- John Turturro
- Burn Gorman
- Tim Blake Nelson
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Teaser
In June, first look photos of the film where published by Vanity Fair. The film did not have a release date or a teaser during this time.
It was only in July that Netflix released the full-length teaser for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. You can watch the trailer here:
Guillermo del Toro gave a peek at the process of making the film in a video released at the Tudum 2022 event.