Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio, the famous Italian fable about a puppet who desires to become a real kid, is one of the most anticipated films of 2022. In order to get a better look at the spectacular character designs of del Toro’s movie, Steven Weintraub visited Netflix and snapped some unique photographs of the Pinocchio maquettes that were on show in the lobby. Del Toro’s Pinocchio, which is more faithful to the novel than Disney’s current reimagining, is expected to be darker than the latter. The new maquettes offer us a better look at the villainous Count Volpe (voiced by Christoph Waltz), whose hair is styled to appear much like devil’s horns, and this is mirrored in the movie’s character design.
The major enemy in del Toro’s film adaptation of Pinocchio is Count Volpe, a greedy and wicked man who is constantly trying to persuade Pinocchio to do bad things. Images also feature Sprezzatura, a monkey servant of Count Volpe who will become friends with Pinocchio and be voiced by Cate Blanchett. Exclusive images also include Podestà , a fascist officer voiced by Ron Perlman who transforms Pinocchio into a soldier. Del Toro has consistently taken a stand against fascism in his work, from Devil’s Backbone to Pan’s Labyrinth, and this will be represented in Pinocchio as well. Candlewick, Podestà ’s son (voiced by Finn Wolfhard), is also more clearly seen in the new photos.
It would be intriguing to watch how del Toro modernises the story to represent the nuanced political arguments at play, as Candlewick bullies Pinocchio before eventually embracing him in the new film. Characters like Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann), Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley), and the Talking Cricket are also shown in great detail (voiced by Ewan McGregor). Tilda Swinton, Burn Gorman, and Tim Blake Nelson also provide their voices in the animated film Pinocchio. It’s clear from his work on Hellboy and The Shape of Water that del Toro is a maestro of special effects and stunning monsters. The filmmaker may use all his resources to their fullest extent in a stop-motion picture, allowing for an updated and fresh take on the traditional Pinocchio tale.
Even at this early stage, del Toro’s Pinocchio is looking great, as the photographs of the maquettes show in great detail. Pinocchio, directed by Guillermo del Toro, made its global premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 15, and it will debut in limited distribution on November 25 before streaming on Netflix on December 9.