Ewan McGregor to voice Jiminy Cricket for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It sounds as if it's time to give a little whistle for your man Ewan McGregor, as it's recently been revealed that he'll be voicing the character of Jiminy Cricket for Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion animated version of PINOCCHIO.

Recently while speaking with ACE Universe (via Fandom), McGregor confirmed that he'll be voicing the iconic character, who serves as Pinocchio's conscience in the classic children's tale of debauchery, wish fulfillment, and one woodcarver's dream to transform his finest creation into a real live boy. While many recall Jiminy's song and dance routine in Disney's 1940 animated classic, the character first appeared in Italian writer Carlo Collodi’s 1883 children’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio. Known throughout the animation world as a beacon for honesty, Jiminy has since been featured in a number of Disney productions following his feature film debut.

“I’m playing Jiminy Cricket in Guillermo del Toro’s version of Pinocchio," McGregor told ACE host, Angélique Roché. "That I had started working on before I left for New York, so some of that is recorded. And of course it’s stop-motion animated so it’s going to take them a great long time to make that film. But my first part, which is recording his dialogue, is sort of done. There may or may not be a song that has to be recorded. I’m not sure I’m at liberty to discuss that.”

The way del Toro tells it, his version of PINOCCHIO will be less family friendly than Disney's layred animated classic. In fact, back when the project was first announced, del Toro had this to say about his take on the tale of lies, escapism, and child slavery:

“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.”

If you ask me, Disney's version of PINOCCHIO is perhaps one of the studio's darkest animations ever, and that's saying something when you consider just how dark the House of Mouse is willing to go when inserting adult themes into their films. The idea of del Toro taking the tale to ever darker places has me very intrigued indeed, and I can't wait to see how deep down the rabbit hole goes. In addition to McGregor, del Toro's PINOCCHIO also stars Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Ron Perlman and David Bradley. Meanwhile, Mark Gustafson will co-direct alongside del Toro.

For now, the film has a release window of 2021, though considering how much the coronavirus pandemic has mucked with production across the board, it could be a while before this one dances onto Netflix.