New Stop Motion Pinocchio Set Up At Henson and Pathe!

[aerostarmonk]

I’ve been away for awhile. I apologize. I’ve been too busy being incredibly fantastic! I will spill all the news once some of the details become less fluid. But first, let’s get down to business. Not to defeat Huns though, simply for me to tell you about this great new project from my fave, Guillermo Del Toro.

Turns out he’s putting together a stop motion Pinocchio feature. Could he be any busier of a guy? I don’t think so.

@Deadline

Guillermo del Toro, The Jim Henson Company and Pathe are ready to go on Pinocchio, a 3D stop motion animated adaptation of the Carlo Collodi fairy tale that will be edgier than the 1940 animated Disney classic. Gris Grimly will co-direct with Mark Gustafson, and production will begin later this year. Grimly illustrated a 2002 book of Collodi’s tale that formed the basis for a project that is years in the making.

The storyline was hatched by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and the script was written by the latter, who has collaborated with del Toro on scripts for Mimic, the remake Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, and del Toro’s next directing project At the Mountains of Madness. Del Toro will produce with Jim Henson Company’s Lisa Henson and Jason Lust, and Allison Abbate. Gary Ungar is exec producer along with Pathe’s Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken.

This version is aimed at an audience 10 years and up, and a bit scarier than the Disney film. Australian rock musician and film composer Nick Cave has signed on to be music consultant and the puppets and 3D elements will be developed with MacKinnon and Saunders, the UK-based facility that worked on The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, and the upcoming Frankenweenie. Del Toro supplied the accompanying photos to convey the feel of a film that shares a core theme from the Disney film: the innocent whose inherent goodness, purity and love for his father saves him from a series of harrowing adventures and temptations in his quest to morph from wooden puppet to real boy.

They go on to list the various ways that he’s going to try to differentiate his version from previous adaptations. They all sound pretty good. As you know I can’t wait to see this or any of his other projects, especially the ones over at Dreamworks. But once again I must ask, is GDT biting off more than he can chew?

[Leirin]

Sounds fascinating. I’m a fan of his, and Pinocchio has always been one of my favorite fairy tales (and Disney films). I think the two will go together pretty well. And more stop-motion is always a yes. Where can we go wrong?