It’s been pretty dark lately on news of Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Pinocchio. While news of the project has been out for a while, we don’t know too much outside of some casting news and the fact that it will be on Netflix. But new information finally surfaced thanks to Ron Perlman.
Perlman sat down with Inverse to talk about Guillermo del Toro’s newest feature, Nightmare Alley. But he also had some cool things to say about the mysterious Pinocchio adaptation. The actor revealed he will be playing Magniafuoco, who tries to lure Pinocchio to the Italian fascist regime. That’s right, this Pinocchio is going to take a more historical direction than what most audiences are used to.
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“Well, Guillermo’s Pinocchio is set in Mussolini’s Italy, which is a Fascist backdrop. The conceit of the film is that Pinocchio is the perfect soldier because he’s not human. So he doesn’t ever question orders. He doesn’t have fears. He’s invulnerable. He’s all the things the perfect soldier needs to be. I play one of the city fathers who’s pro-fascist and who’s trying to manipulate Pinocchio into representing the cause.”
Gregory Mann will be playing the part of Pinocchio, the famous wooden puppet. Alongside him will be Ewan McGregor as Cricket, David Bradley will be playing Geppetto, Tilda Swinton will be the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, Christoph Waltz will be Fox and Cat, Cate Blanchett will be Dove, Finn Wolfhard will be Lampwick/Lucignolo, John Turturro will be Master Cherry, Tim Blake Nelson will be Coachman, and Burn Gorman will play Carabiniere. Guillermo Del Toro will be directing alongside Mark Gustafson. This Pinocchio adaptation will also be a stop motion musical, with help from the Jim Henson company.
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This isn’t the first time Guillermo del Toro has sprinkled politics into his fantasy. The Shape of Water, his Best Picture winner from 2017, was set in 1962 and featured themes of marginalized voices growing volume. Pan’s Labyrinth, his 2006 award-winning critical hit of a fairy tale, was set in a Spain that was still recovering from its own civil war. And his 2001 gothic horror, The Devil’s Backbone, was set during the final year of the Spanish Civil War. He’s no stranger to mixing hot topics of the past with his monsters and supernatural beings.
This will not be the only Pinocchio film that is set to premiere in 2022. As of now, Disney currently has a live-action remake of their own animated classic in the works. This one is planned to premiere on the Disney+ streaming service. Robert Zemeckis is currently credited with directing. The film will star Cynthia Erivo, Tom Hanks, Luke Evans, Keegan-Michael Key, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lorraine Bracco, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Pinocchio himself. It’s kind of interesting to see the animation giant go in a live-action route, while a competitor goes animated. Whether you enjoy your Pinocchio adaptations with light-hearted lessons, or with a bit of an edge, it seems like 2022 will satisfy both fans of the little wooden boy!
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Caroline Miller
(36 Articles Published)
Caroline is a longtime admirer of film, music and the arts. She’s been giving movie opinions online (warranted or not) for over a decade, and putting those thoughts to Movieweb since early 2021.
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