New images from Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio give audiences their first look at Pinocchio and his creator, Geppetto. Not to be confused with Disney's upcoming live-action remake of their classic 1940 cartoon film of the same name, del Toro's version will be stop-motion animated and is inspired by Gus Grimely's unique visual design of the character from his 2002 illustrated version of the original 1883 Carlo Collodi novel. In the typical del Toro style, the film is described as a dark and twisted retelling of the classic Italian fairy tale that has spawned countless theatrical, television, stage, and written adaptations for over 100 years.
Set in Fascist Italy in the 1930s where the country was under the rule of Benito Mussolini, the film follows a wooden puppet that comes to life and engages in bouts of mischief and trickery in a journey that del Toro calls a story of love. Gregory Mann stars as Pinocchio and is joined by Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Cricket. Rounding out the cast is David Bradley as Geppetto, Tilda Swinton as the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, Christoph Waltz as the Fox, Finn Wolfhard as Lampwick, Cate Blanchett as Sprezzatura the Monkey, Ron Perlman as Mangiafuoco, and John Turturro as Master Cherry.
Vanity Fair recently caught up with the Academy Award-winning director to discuss Pinocchio. Along with the interview, Netflix released new images showcasing the art style of the stop-motion film. Check out the first-look images below.
The film's art style evokes a Tim Burton aesthetic (Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas) with its dimly-lit scenes featuring angular characters sporting over-exaggerated physical appearances. However, Pinocchio is visualized here in a playful manner, with the puppet sporting a grin in nearly every image in which he is featured. This matches perfectly with the character's disobedient and mischievous nature. Perlman's character of Mangiafuoco, the podestà in the film, appears aptly dressed in a dark black suit with black gloves, clearly evoking totalitarian imagery of the period.
With del Toro's Pinocchio set to hit Netflix at the end of this year, the film will be in direct competition with Robert Zemeckis' live-action Pinocchio film, which stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Pinocchio, and Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy. However, Zemeckis' film will get a sizeable head-start on del Toro's version as its release date is set for September on Disney+, at least two months ahead of its rival's December release. Regardless of the competition, Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion animated Pinocchio adaptation is shaping up to be the one to beat.
Source: Vanity Fair