One of the most-anticipated movies of 2022 is Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion version of Pinocchio, the classic Italian tale about a marionette who wants to become a real boy. During a trip to Netflix, Collider's own Steven Weintraub took some exclusive pictures of Pinocchio's maquettes that were on display in the lobby, which provide a closer look at the fantastic character designs of del Toro's movie.
Sticking closer to the original book than Disney's recent reinterpretation of the tale, del Toro's Pinocchio promises to give us a darker version of the story. That's well reflected in the character design of the movie, as the new maquettes give us a closer look at the evil Count Volpe (voiced by Christoph Waltz), whose hair is fashioned to look just like devil's horns. In del Toro's movie, Count Volpe serves as the main antagonist, a greedy and evil man who constantly tries to convince Pinocchio to do evil deeds. In the images, we also see Sprezzatura (voiced by Cate Blanchett), a monkey servant to Count Volpe who will befriend Pinocchio.
Another villain present in the exclusive pictures is Podestà (voiced by Ron Perlman), a fascist official who turns Pinocchio into a soldier. From Devil's Backbone to Pan's Labyrinth, del Toro has never shied away from taking a stance against fascism, and that theme will once more be reflected in Pinocchio. The new images also give us a closer look at Candlewick (voiced by Finn Wolfhard), the son of Podestà. In the upcoming film, Candlewick will bully Pinocchio before befriending him, and it will be interesting to see how del Toro updates the tale to reflect complex political discussions at play.
The images also give us a detailed look at some of the movie's main characters, including Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann), Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley), and the Talking Cricket (voiced by Ewan McGregor). The star-studded voice cast of Pinocchio also includes John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, and Tilda Swinton.
You don't need to look further away than Hellboy or The Shape of Water to know that del Toro is a master of practical effects and beautiful creatures. So, with a stop-motion movie, the filmmaker can stretch all his creative muscles to bring us a version of Pinocchio that indeed updates the classic and offers something new to the audience. And as the detailed images of the maquettes underline, del Toro's Pinocchio is already looking fantastic.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival last October 15 and the movie is scheduled to be released in select theaters on November 25 before coming to Netflix on December 9. Check out Pinocchio's teaser trailer and the maquette images below.