On the list of things I never thought I’d ever say, “I can’t wait to see this new adaptation of Pinocchio” was pretty high up there. But when Netflix got the wildly imaginative director Guillermo del Toro to work on the project, it became a genuine sentiment. Now, del Toro has announced who will be part of the cast for this stop-motion animated musical that will take place in the rise of fascism in Mussolini’s Italy.
The cast is pretty star-studded. Ewan McGregor will play Cricket, with David Bradley as Geppetto. Also in the cast but in unnamed roles, there’s Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and Burn Gorman. In the title role, there’s a newcomer who will be lending his voice to the little wooden boy, Gregory Mann.
“After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix,” said del Toro, who is directing with Mark Gustafson, said in a press release. “We have spent a long time curating a remarkable cast and crew and have been blessed by continuous support from Netflix to quietly and carefully soldier on, barely missing a beat. We all love and practice animation with great passion and believe it to be the ideal medium to retell this classic story in a completely new way.”
Gustafson has a lot of experience in stop-motion, including working as animation director on the beloved Fantastic Mr. Fox.
No word yet as to when we can expect to see this movie on Netflix, but principle photography began last fall according to Deadline.
