The latest trailer for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio has been released, giving fans another look at the beautiful animation in the upcoming Netflix film. Audiences should expect a darker take on the classic tale than one would be used to, as the film comes from the director of Pans Labyrinth and The Shape of Water.
Mark Gustafson works alongside Guillermo del Toro for the picture, with previous experience in stop-motion, including Claymation Easter, The PJs, and Mr. Resistor. Patrick McHale additionally helped write the screenplay with del Toro. This will be the second project for the filmmaker this year after Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities and the first he's directed since Nightmare Alley in 2021. The brand-new trailer, released courtesy of Netflix, can be found below.
In the trailer, fans see Pinocchio and Geppetto as their relationship begins to form before the titular boy meets a host of characters throughout his journey. The official synopsis for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio reads: "Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. The whimsical, stop-motion musical directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his pursuit of a place in the world."
The film features an excellent voice cast, with Gregory Mann in the lead role as the wooden boy. Ewan McGregor joins as Sebastian J. Cricket, Ron Perlman is Podesta, Finn Wolfhard is Candlewick, Cate Blanchett as Spazzatura, David Bradley as Geppetto, and Burn Gorman as Priest. In addition, Tim Blake Nelson will appear in a role as Black Rabbits, Tilda Swinton is Wood Sprite/Death, John Turturro is Dottore, and Christopher Waltz plays Count Volpe. Fans can see all these stars and more when Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio arrives on Netflix later next month, premiering on Dec. 9.
Guillermo del Toro Has a Different Take on Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio isn't the first adaptation to arrive this year, with Disney recently putting a live-action spin on the character. However, Pinocchio, by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, was both a failure with critics and audiences.
The adaptation, released in early September, currently holds a 27% critic and 29% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, marking itself as one of the worst-reviewed live-action remakes by Disney in recent years. But, of course, the company has brought several franchises back to the forefront, such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. At the very least, the movies have performed well at the box office, though Pinocchio was released exclusively on Disney+.
Audiences hope to see a better interpretation of the wooden boy with the upcoming stop-motion picture, and fans should be confident with del Toro helming the project. Audiences will see how the director and his fantastic cast fare when Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio arrives this December.