Guillermo del Toro has been trying to make an animated musical version of Pinocchio for years, but the project seems to have been permanently stuck in limbo. Now that he’s able to put a Best Picture Oscar on the deal table after The Shape of Water, del Toro has finally got his green light from Netflix – with Pinocchio expected to start production within the next few months.
Made in collaboration with the Jim Henson company, the film will be a stop-motion musical – marking del Toro’s animated feature directorial debut.
“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,” 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.”
Telling everyone that the film definitely wasn’t happening for years, del Toro was quite happy to let us all know what we were missing, revealing his ideas for a 30’s set stop-motion musical.
“The idea was to do Pinocchio during the ascension of fascism in Italy, with Mussolini,” he told IGN last year. “It was a good time to discuss the idea of being a puppet or being a human”.
“We wanted to make it different in the sense that it is not just a fairy tale but a fairy tale that actually moves you and emotionally affects you. It deals with ideas that are relevant to everyone, to all mankind in a way,” he added to Entertainment Weekly, comparing his take on the story to Frankenstein.
Thankfully, the project has now found a home at Netflix, with Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids and Family, announcing the decision with the following statement:
“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.”
The film will be made in collaboration with the Jim Henson Company, and del Toro will co-direct with Mark Gustafson, who worked on Fantastic Mr Fox, using puppets built by the team who designed The Corpse Bride.