In late July, Netflix gave us a teaser trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s “Pinocchio.” This morning, we were graced with a full trailer. With only a month before its release, this has certainly whet our appetites for the stop-motion feature.
This will be Oscar-winner del Toro‘s spin on Carlo Collodi’s classic tale, which was first published in the late 19th century. Walt Disney Pictures famously adapted it in 1940. It was the first animated feature to win an Academy Award. This year, Disney tried their hand at it again with a live-action adaptation starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto. It was nowhere near as successful as their first attempt.
Unsurprisingly, del Toro is taking a much darker tone with the tale. But do not confuse “dark” with being unsuitable for children. At its heart, this will always be a tale about a wooden puppet trying to become a real boy through honesty. The more mature adaptations, like the 1996 horror movie “Pinocchio’s Revenge,” can sometimes fall flat with critics. [Not us, but some people have no taste for true cinema.] Though the trailer does feature a kind of intense scene with a chimera talking to the puppet about immortality. Which we could see freaking a few kids out.
GdT’s “Pinocchio” promises stunning stop-motion animation from director Mark Gustafson (“Joe Blow”). The film is written by del Toro, Patrick McHale, Matthew Robbins, and the obvious character and story credit to Collodi. The vocal cast boasts Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket, and David Bradley as Geppetto. Along with the voices of Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton.
Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” will hit Netflix on December 9th. You can check out the full trailer below:
