Guillermo del Toro Says His PINOCCHIO Film Will Not Be Family Friendly

It was recently reported that Guillermo del Toro was set to direct his stop-motion animated Pinocchio film project with The Jim Henson Company and Netflix. This has been a passion project for the filmmaker, and he wants us to know that it’s not going to be a family friendly version of the story.

I’m sure that fans of Del Toro will be happy to hear that! His adaptation is going to be more political and adult oriented. While speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival, Guillermo del Toro talked about the vision for his adaptation, and explained:

“It’s not a Pinocchio for all the family. Of course [the movie is political]. Pinocchio during the rise of Mussolini, do the math. A puppet during the rise of fascism, yes, it is.”

So, it sounds like we better prepare ourselves for a political Pinocchio movie that is set in a fascist world. It was already revealed that the film will be set in Italy during the 1930s, “a particularly fraught historical moment and a time when fascism was on the rise and Benito Mussolini was consolidating control of the country.” Del Toro went on to say:

“Rarely can you get in productive discussions in real life right now, it’s so tense. It’s much easier for you to listen to me if I tell you ‘Once upon a time…'”

Some people might like the direction that del Toro is taking this story, while other people won’t. After all, like he said, making any kind of political statements these days will rub people the wrong way.

The director went on to compare his version of Pinocchio to Frankenstein’s Monster, saying:

“He’s a creature that is created through unnatural means from a father that he then distances [himself] from, and has to learn about failure and pain and loneliness.”

When previously talking about his film, Del Toro said:

“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. In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend. He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember.”

I’m a fan of Del Toro and his work, and I’m intrigued by his vision for Pinocchio. I’m actually pretty excited to see how it turns out. I hope that it turns out to be a great film.

What are your thoughts on the new details about the film that he has revealed?

Via: THR