Guillermo del Toro has essentially founded his career on the Pinocchio parable, having directed a handful of films about creatures and critters who dream only of being human (talk about a Monkey’s Paw wish). So it’s only reasonable that now, del Toro is at last taking on the life and times of the Italian puppet proper. For his first project since nabbing the gold with The Shape of Water, del Toro will helm a stop-motion adaptation of the Pinocchio story for Netflix, as Deadline reported on Monday morning. But that’s only one piece of this exciting puzzle.
Co-directing alongside del Toro will be Mark Gustafson, who served as animation director for Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Additionally, del Toro has enlisted another scribe with a knack for creepy fairy tales to help him write the project: Patrick McHale, a veteran of Adventure Time and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, but more importantly, the creator of the glorious (and spooky!) animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall.
More than worth the watch (especially in the lead-up to Halloween!), Over the Garden Wall borrows elements from Pinocchio-era Disney, including one or two from Pinocchio itself. What’s more, it features some fantastic musical numbers, which is a good sign for this next venture because del Toro’s Pinocchio will indeed be a musical.
As you might imagine, del Toro’s take on Pinocchio will lean gleefully into the darker elements of the tale—and if you’ve seen Disney’s 1940 animated feature, you know there is darkness aplenty. (If you haven’t, or if it’s been a while, our latest Animation Investigation will remind you that Pinocchio is one freaky excuse for a children’s movie.) Much like The Shape of Water melded fantastical elements with the sinister contexts of the political backdrop of its era (1960s Washington DC), so will Pinocchio blend its own fairy tale with the setting of 1930s Italy.
What do you think of Guillermo del Toro’s 1930s-Italy-set stop-motion musical Pinocchio? Let us know!
Image: Disney
