It may seem like Pinocchio is some timeless fairy tale that has been with us forever, but it’s a relatively recent story that was written by Italian author Carlo Collodi in 1883. Collodi’s original novel was considerably darker than the two Disney adaptations, including the one that came out earlier this year. There’s also quite a bit of darkness in director Guillermo del Toro’s take on the classic tale of the puppet who wants to be human. And as you can see in the trailer below, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio also embraces a bit of whimsy and pathos that the Disney films lacked.
One of the key changes is that the setting has been moved to Italy in the 1930s, under the fascist reign of Benito Mussolini. Additionally, the stop-motion animation has given Pinocchio a more puppet-like appearance even when surrounded by other stylized characters. There’s also an inherent tragedy of Geppetto losing his only son before creating Pinocchio. But if Geppetto was hoping for a nice and dutiful child, then Pinocchio is going to let him down. He just doesn’t know how to behave.
That’s where Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor) comes in. He’s been tasked with keeping Pinocchio on the straight and narrow, which is no easy feat! This kid is just a magnet for trouble, and it may cost Pinocchio his best chance to ever become a real boy.
Gregory Mann stars in the film as the voice of Pinocchio, with David Bradley as Master Geppetto, Christoph Waltz as Count Volpe, Tilda Swinton as the Wood Sprite, Ron Perlman as the Podestà, Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick, Cate Blanchett as Spazzatura, and Burn Gorman as The Priest.
Netflix will premiere Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio on December 9.
