Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio release date, cast, synopsis, and more

Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is busy this year shooting his latest fairy-tale inspired offering, Pinocchio, set for release on December 2022 on Netflix.

In addition to the Netflix film, Disney will also debut its own live-action reboot, Pinocchio, also scheduled for 2022, so there has been a lot of confusion between the two projects. Not confused yet? Well, Lionsgate also has an adaptation coming our way in 2022.

However, in this post, we will share everything there is to know about Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio on Netflix, to help with any confusion you may have.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio trailer

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio synopsis

We all know the story of Pinocchio (or so we think, as these trailers are keen to remind us), the tale of a wooden boy built by a lonely woodcarver who dreams of becoming a real boy, but every adaptation of a classic story needs a twist. In del Toro’s version, the twist is the very heart of it, literally.

In Pinocchio, we follow the inside story of Sebastian J. Cricket (played by Ewan McGregor), the Talking Cricket who lives inside the very heart of the wooden boy. This is an interesting direction to take the source material, building on the inherent closeness that Pinocchio and the Cricket have, while tying the fate of the two characters together more directly. To speculate for a moment, since the Cricket lives inside Pinocchio’s heart, he might have something to say about him becoming a real boy. The choice also reveals greater focus will likely be paid on the Cricket character, making him more of a main character than a supporting voice of consciousness.

How Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio will be different

Pinocchio will be an animated feature, using the style of stop-motion to bring its characters and world to life. We catch a glimpse of the film’s look in the teaser, showing a detailed yet cartoonish 3D environment, displaying a charm similarly found in Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. However, the cute whimsy will likely not be consistent all throughout, as it has been confirmed the film will use the visual interpretation of Pinocchio used in Gris Grimly’s edition; a very wicked and dark style, but a fun one still.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio cast

Playing along side McGregor is Gregory Mann as Pinocchio himself. Mann is a relatively unknown actor, but an experienced one nonetheless, appearing in episodes of the third season of Victoria. The supporting cast features other well-established names, some of my favorites, too. Tilda Swinton as The Fairy with Turquoise Hair, Christoph Waltz as the Fox, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, the list goes on.

Especially promising in terms of the writing staff is to see Patrick McHale as co-writer along with del Toro, who was the creator and head writer behind another fairytale-esque series Over the Garden Wall, which has since become a holiday favorite among animation lovers.