Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio is coming to life at Netflix

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Guillermo del Toro has secured his next directorial effort after winning an Academy Award earlier this year for directing the movie THE SHAPE OF WATER, and it’s an understatement to say this project is totally different from that movie. Finally getting to bring his passion project to life, del Toro will co-direct an animated, stop-motion musical adaptation of the classic tale “Pinocchio” for Netflix, with Mark Gustafson (FANTASTIC MR. FOX) taking the other co-director chair. Yeah, sit on that for a second. 

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The movie will be set in Italy during the 1930s, right at the rise a fascist government in the country, taking on a darker approach than past adaptations of the story. This will be the first animated directorial effort from del Toro, and the filmmaker has established a fine partnership with Netflix after working on their animated series TROLLHUNTERS, the first of Dreamworks’ TALES OF ARCADIA series.

Del Toro put out a statement about the project, sharing some details about the story and how animation and “Pinocchio” have influenced his work.

“No art form 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. 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. 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.”

The script was written by Patrick McHale (ADVENTURE TIME, OVER THE GARDEN WALL) and Guy Davis will work as co-production designer, taking inspiration from the designs in the 1883 Carlo Collodi novel the movie is based on. Del Toro will produce the movie alongside The Jim Henson Company and ShadowMachine (BOJACK HORSEMAN), the latter of which will house the stop-motion filmmaking. Production on the movie is set to begin this fall.

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A stop-motion Pinocchio musical from GDT is exactly the movie I want right now, and I know it sounds kind of weird, but I sort of love that idea. He's never been the most conventional director, and we can already assume the movie will be visually dazzling, which is more than enough reason to stick close to this project and patiently await those first images.