Pinocchio (2021) is based on the Italian story by Carlo Collodi about a wooden boy puppet crafted by an old carver named Geppetto. The puppet is brought to life by a fairy who says he will become a real boy if he shows bravery. The character of Jiminy Cricket becomes his de facto conscience and tries to steer him in the right direction. What follows is a series of adventures that include Pinocchio being kidnapped to be part of a puppet show, getting turned into a donkey and being swallowed by a whale.
Oscar winning director Guillermo Del Toro wrote and directed this stop-motion version of the classic story.
Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated musical feature Pinocchio features newcomer Gregory Mann as Pinocchio with Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket and David Bradley (Harry Potter franchise, Game of Thrones) as Geppetto (Tom Hanks is not Geppetto). Other cast includes Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman and Tim Blake Nelson.
A lifelong passion project of del Toro, the film will debut in theaters and on Netflix in the spring of 2021. Principal photography began last Fall at Shadow Machine’s Portland, Oregon studio, and production has continued uninterrupted during the pandemic.
“After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix. We have spent a long time curating a remarkable cast and crew and have been blessed by continuous support from Netflix to quietly and carefully soldier on, barely missing a beat. We all love and practice animation with great passion and believe it to be the ideal medium to retell this classic story in a completely new way,” says del Toro.
