Pinocchio (2022)

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Ace
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Joined: November 2012
Guillermo del Toro, who won best director and best picture Oscar for his creature feature love story Shape of Water, has finally settled on his next movie.

The filmmaker will write, direct and produce a new adaptation of Pinocchio, setting up his long-in-the works project at Netflix, which made the announcement.

Pinocchio will finally put del Toro in the belly of the animation whale, so to speak. The Mexico-born filmmaker has acted as a creative consultant and exec producer over the years on movies such as Megamind, Puss in Boots and Rise of the Guardians and a producer on Book of Life, but he has never helmed one.

The story will be told as a stop-motion musical and set in during the rise of fascism in Italy under Mussolini.

“No artform has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio,” said del Toro in a statement.

“In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend. He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember.”

Production is set to begin this fall as del Toro has already assembled many key below-the-line talent.

Patrick McHale, who created the animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall and wrote episodes of Adventure Time, is co-writing the script with del Toro. Mark Gustafson, the stop-motion vet who worked on Fantastic Mr. Fox, will co-direct.

Guy Davis, a comic and concept artist who has worked with del Toro on several movies, will serve as co-production designer, taking inspiration from Pinocchio character designs by Gris Grimly, the children’s book artist whose work graced an edition in the early 2000s.

The film’s puppets will be built by Mackinnon and Saunders, known for their work on Corpse Bride.

The Jim Henson Company and ShadowMachine (BoJack Horseman), which will house the stop-motion animation production, are producing with del Toro. del Toro, Lisa Henson, ShadowMachine’s Alex Bulkley, Corey Campodonico, and Gary Ungar of Exile Entertainment are the producers. Blanca Lista will co-produce.

“After the incredible experience we have had on Trollhunters, I am grateful that the talented team at Netflix is giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to introduce audiences everywhere to my version of this strange puppet-turned-real-boy,” del Toro also stated.

Enthused Netflix’s vp of kids and family, Melissas Cobb: “Throughout his distinguished career, Guillermo has exhibited mastery in inspiring people through his magical worlds filled with unforgettable and magnificent characters, from the monsters in Pan’s Labyrinth to the aquatic beast in The Shape of Water. We are incredibly excited to expand our relationship with Guillermo and we know that his deeply touching vision for bringing Pinocchio to life on Netflix will be embraced by audiences the world over.”

Del Toro has been trying to mount a take on Pinocchio since the early 2000s.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat- ... ix-1153991

Concept art from a few years ago
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The last thing I would want to do is an adaption of Pinocchio. The Disney film is just too good. I wouldn't be able to make the film.

I'm not Guillermo del Toro. Since he is making it I do have some interest in seeing it, but it being a Netflix thing... I wonder what kind/if any theatrical release it will get.

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Cast:
Newcomer Gregory Mann as Pinocchio
Ewan McGregor as Cricket
David Bradley as Gepetto
Tilda Swinton
Christoph Waltz
Finn Wolfhard
Cate Blanchett
John Turturro
Ron Perlman
Tim Blake Nelson
Burn Gorman
Musical score by Alexandre Desplat. Excellent cast here imo.

Ace
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Ace wrote:
January 24th, 2022, 10:16 am
I'm stoked for this.

However, this is going right up against Disney's Pinocchio by Robert Zemeckis. Will be interesting to see how the receptions go. This one is actually animated with a superior cast, rather than another live-action adaptation.

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In a very similar fashion to The Shape of Water, this film is mostly amazing for two acts until it slips into a sloppy mess of a third act where situations between characters have to be resolved in a rushed and haphazard way, tangible well-manifested villains become grotesque and caricaturish and lose all their weight as terrifyingly real figures, and consequential elements that had previously created a sense of stake are magically reversed and then restored as if none of it ever mattered.

There are many magical moments here and to any stop-motion lover this is a cinematic feast for the eyes, but I consider it another failed attempt from del Toro to recreate the full wonder of his monumental masterpiece that was Pan's Labyrinth.

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The animation was not especially delightful either. Frames felt wrong / less / jerky.

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