#SPOTTED: GUILLERMO DEL TORO & MARK GUSTAFSON IN TORONTO FOR “PINOCCHIO”

By Justin Waldman

Yesterday afternoon, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a conversation with Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, moderated by Vincenzo Natali in a post-screening Q&A about PINOCCHIO, now streaming on Netflix. If you’ve ever had the distinct pleasure of listening to del Toro speak, you will know the man doesn’t mince his words, loves to tell stories, and isn’t afraid of shying away from speaking from the heart. His conversations regarding his own works are usually phenomenal and this special event was no different as he went and talked with Gustafson and Natali for a near hour! We had the privilege of sitting-in on the entire and below are some of the highlights of the magical talk, be warned though there is certainly some choice language.

Natali: “Why did you choose to explore what Pinocchio was?”.

del Toro: “Why don’t we make a movie about a father being a real father, instead of a movie about a boy being a real boy which is absolute bullshit.”.

Gustafson: “In the film, Pinocchio comes in the world kind of the way we all do, which is naked, and he goes through the whole story like that and everyone he gets in contact with by the end is changed for it.”.

Natali: “Why the small grim eyes for Pinocchio?”.

del Toro: “I found the art in 2002/2003 of Gris [Grimly] and I just knew this was my Pinocchio….it can be a little bit creepy. At the beginning we decided we didn’t want to make him cuddly.”.

Gustafson: “And he was carved when Geppetto was blind drunk!”.

There was a question posed by Natali about how he pitched the story of this darker re-telling of Pinocchio, to which del Toro originally told a story about how Sony Animation originally greenlit his Pinocchio pitch unheard, but he decided he wanted to pitch it and then Sony decided maybe it wasn’t the project for them because he wanted to tell Pinocchio with Mussolini and the backdrop of World War II. He followed it up by saying, “When someone doesn’t want to do your movie, it’s the second-best news. I learned it in Mimic and the Weinsteins tortured me because they wanted to do Alien 3.5 and I wanted to make mimic. I seek unemployment for the truth.”.

Some other fascinating tidbits of information were when Gustafson mentioned they had 32 puppets of Pinocchio, to which del Toro replied, “It’s like playing with your toys in the most expensive place”.

When probed about why they decided to make their Pinocchio such a dark version, Gustafson indicated, “We decided to never talk down to children, we knew they could handle it”. del Toro decided also to weigh-in with the following “I don’t think Animation is a fucking genre for kids. It’s a medium that can explore sadness and tragedy, and we keep it in that medium [for children] because of economic decisions.”.

This is a sentiment that has been said by many Directors in the past about how Animation should not be seen as a lesser medium, and isn’t always for children.

In a year filled with many fresh takes on Cinema, del Toro left the audience with this quote, “We are only as good as our last shot”. And it suffice it to say this was a pretty superb last shot.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is now streaming on Netlfix.

(Photo credit: Genevieve Walker)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S “PINOCCHIO”

A first look at the official Trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s PINOCCHIO, has arrived. Opening in select theatres this Friday, this fantastical re-imagining of this beloved tale arrives on Netflix in time for the Holidays!

Synopsis: 
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. This whimsical, stop-motion film 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.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, the film features an all-star voice cast with Ewan McGregor as Cricket, David Bradley as Geppetto, and introducing Gregory Mann as Pinocchio. Other cast includes Finn Wolfhard, Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, with Academy Award® winner Christoph Waltz and Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton.

Cast: Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman

Guillermo del Toro‘s PINOCCHIO arrives December 9, 2022 on Netflix. It plays at TIFF Bell Lightbox Friday, November 11, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TRAILER FOR DISNEY’S “PINOCCHIO”

A new Trailer is up for Disney’s Pinocchio, coming to us on Disney+ Day!

Synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana and Jaquita Ta’Le as her marionette Sabina, Giuseppe Battiston as Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.

Disney’s PINOCCHIO arrives September 8, 2022 on Disney+.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TEASER TRAILER FOR DISNEY’S “PINOCCHIO”

Disney’s PINOCCHO will be celebrated on Disney+ Day September 8, 2022, leading into the D23 Expo! A new Teaser Trailer has been released to get us excited!

Synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana (and her marionette Sabina), Giuseppe Battiston as Señor Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.  

DIsney’s PINOCCHIO arrives September 8, 2022 on Disney+.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW STILL FROM “PINOCCHIO”

Check-out this new Still from Disney+‘s upcoming live-action Adaptation of PINOCCHIO, starring Tom Hanks as Gepetto!

Synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood-carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman.

PINOCCHIO arrives on Disney+ this September!

(Photo/video credit: Disney)