Guillermo del Toro is sharing his own take on the timeless story of “Pinocchio.”
Netflix released the first trailer of the animated film, which features performances by Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett and more.
The trailer shows a brief glimpse of the story, including footage of Geppetto the woodcutter, Pinocchio, and some of their adventures together. This version of the story is set in the 1930s, during the rise of Mussolini in Italy, showing the influence of del Toro as a director and screenwriter.
“Pinocchio” is the first animated film that del Toro has directed and his first feature film to be made in partnership with Netflix. While this marks his first film with the streamer, he has produced a variety of TV programs, including “Trollhunters,” “3Below” and “Wizards.” This fall he will also premiere the horror anthology series he’s producing and overseeing, titled “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.”
“Pinocchio” has been a passion project of del Toro for years. Back in 2018, when the film was announced, del Toro shared why the tale of Pinocchio was one of his favorites and revealed that it had influenced much of his art and career. “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,” he said. The film premieres in theaters this November, and will be available to stream in Netflix in December.
Coincidentally, this year will see two other Pinocchio films. In March, “Pinocchio: A True Story” was released, and later this year, Disney will be releasing a live-action version of the film starring Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jr., Cynthia Erivo, and more.