Guillermo del Toro moves from producer to director on gothic retelling of Pinocchio

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

We’ve known for years now that Guillermo del Toro was developing a new version of PINOCCHIO – with his own gothic vision applied, of course, but it’s only today that we learn, via a press release, that he’s co-direct as well.

Guillermo Del Toro will co-direct GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO with Mark Gustafson (Animation Director on THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX). The Jim Henson Company production will be a 3D stop-motion animated version of PINOCCHIO based on the edition of Carlo Collodi’s classic tale illustrated by Gris Grimly. Inferno will represent the property to international buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.

With a story by Del Toro, his frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins, and Gris Grimly, “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” is a retelling of one of the world’s best-loved tales. The puppet Pinocchio embarks on a series of extraordinary and thrilling adventures, proving himself to be as indestructible as his love for his father. Robbins wrote the screenplay for the project.

As I mentioned in 2010 in an article on the feature, the original PINOCCHIO tale was way more “out there” than we the Disney version we know so well. In the original, serialized version, Pinocchio dies a gruesome death—hanged for his innumerable faults, at the end of Chapter 15. Yowza! There’s no way Del Toro goes that dark… is there?