Guillermo del NEW Toro’s Pinocchio
From Friday 9 December, Netflix Animation
The classic story of a puppet longing to be a real boy is given a new twist in Guillermo del Toro’s animation. With Ewan Mcgregor voicing Cricket and After Life’s David Bradley as Geppetto, the film sees the puppeteer create wooden puppet Pinocchio, who then sets off on an enchanted adventure.
The story of a wooden puppet who comes to life and dreams of being a real boy is timeless. Written by Italian author Carlo Collodi in 1883, it was turned into a classic animation by Walt Disney in 1940, and earlier this year a live-action version starring Tom Hanks was released on Disney+. Now, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro has reimagined the fable for an animated musical fantasy film complete with new songs. The voice cast includes Ewan Mcgregor as Sebastian J Cricket, who acts as Pinocchio’s conscience, Christoph Waltz as villainous carnival impresario Count Volpe and Cate Blanchett as Spazzatura, Count Volpe’s mistreated monkey assistant who befriends Pinocchio.
Loss and love
This version is set in 1930s Italy under the rule of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. ‘To me, it was important to show a world in which everybody behaves like a puppet and obeys, and the puppet is the only disobedient one,’ says Guillermo.
Naughty wooden puppet Pinocchio is voiced by newcomer Gregory Mann, while David Bradley voices woodcarver Geppetto. Grief-stricken over the death of his young son, a drunken Geppetto carves Pinnochio from wood. ‘It’s an emotional roller coaster of a part,’ says David. ‘Geppetto is gnarled and not cuddly, but he’s a good soul. It’s the sheer grief that turns him into this bitter alcoholic who can’t move on. And when this puppet arrives, you think, “Well, this isn’t going to help him,” but it does. Geppetto has to learn to love this boy, which he eventually does.’