If idle hands are the devil’s tools, the devil cannot even think to catch up with Guillermo del Toro. Aside from working on post-production on Pacific Rim, he is tending to another project that he has been developing over these last few years, a 3D stop-motion film about Pinocchio. This will undoubtedly be a darker gleam of fantasy on the classic tale about a puppet who longs to become a real boy.
Variety reports that Guillermo del Toro will co-direct this project, titled Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, with Mark Gustafson (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) for the Jim Henson Company. The story is set between WWI and WWII in Italy “when everyone was behaving like a puppet, except for puppets,” according to del Toro. The film follows the puppet “embarking on a series of adventures and proving himself to be as indestructible as his love for his father.”
Del Toro has been working on this project since at least 2008 with Henson and Gris Grimly, who had illustrated a version of Pinocchio in 2002. Grimly was originally to co-direct with Adam Parrish King when the project was in early development, but now, due to the “complexity of the project” del Toro has decided to step in to co-direct a “re-design for Pinocchio” with Gustafson.
The tale of Pinocchio, created by Carlo Collodi in 1883, has been a long-time obsession with del Toro. He even collected puppets and original art from Disney’s 1940 animated Pinocchio. Del Toro has written the story for the project along with Matthew Robbins (Mimic, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark) and Grimly. Del Toro’s recent work with animated films include executive producing DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda, and Rise of the Guardians due out this November.
Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company and producer on this film, admires del Toro’s passion for the project:
“Guillermo has been so passionate about this project from its inception and it is an honor to have him bring his unique blend of live action and animation experience to this well-loved story.”
Grimly and Gary Ungar along with Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel of Inferno International will executive produce the project. Johnson talks about the project as a “perfect storm” of sorts:
“We thought the combination of beloved family friendly brands such as Pinocchio and The Jim Henson Company along with the visual and storytelling genius of Guillermo del Toro would have the makings of a film that can have tremendous worldwide box office appeal.”
Production is scheduled with a one-year production timeline and will begin in the summer of 2013.
