Netflix has released a new poster for Guillermo del Toro‘s Pinocchioan upcoming stop-motion animated film that takes the classic Italian tale of Carlo Colodi about a puppet who wants to become a real boy. While most people know the Disney version of the story, Del Toro gives the new adaptation a unique twist that stays closer to the original work.
Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio‘s tells the beloved story of woodcarver Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley), who makes a new puppet to deal with his grief. Geppetto pours his soul into his latest work and guides a ghost to bring the puppet to life. Although Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) can move and talk, the wooden boy still dreams of becoming flesh and bone, a desire that leads him to many adventures. Along the way, Pinocchio will have to learn what it means to be a good person as he faces villains who want to trick him on the moral path.
While del Toro kept the key beats of the original Pinocchio story, the acclaimed director also makes the animation film his own. First of all, that of Netflix Pinocchio is stunning, with the live-action animation bringing the grim and dark vision of del Toro to life in an exciting new way. Then del Toro’s version of the story features new characters such as Podestà (voiced by Ron Perlman), a fascist official who turns Pinocchio into a soldier. The filmmaker never shied away from talking about politics in his films, and fascism plays in the background of favorite films such as Devil’s backbone until The Labyrinth of Pan. So we’re curious how this unexpected addition could change the story. Yet it is also interesting to see how del Toro wants to bring Pinocchio back to its tragic roots – Collodi’s original novel doesn’t even have a happy ending.
PinocchioThe voice cast also includes Christoph Waltz as the evil Count Volpe, the film’s main antagonist; Cate Blanchett as Sprezzatura, a monkey servant of Count Volpe who will befriend Pinocchio; Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick, Podestà’s son who becomes an ally to the main character; Ewan McGregor as the Talking Cricket; John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gormanand Tilda Swinton.
Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio will have its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 15. After that, the film will be released in select theaters on November 25 before coming to Netflix on December 9. Check out the new poster and teaser trailer for the film below: