KARACHI: Netflix has managed to stay in the headlines with one exciting news after the other. Though some fans are upset over Patriot Act being cancelled, the streaming site has given its viewers plenty of new content to rejoice over. With a bunch of originals ready to be released in September, Netflix also recently announced the cast for Pinocchio, an animated musical ready to come out next year.
Based on Carlo Collodi’s classic, this stop motion animated musical by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro narrates the extraordinary journey of a wooden boy, Pinocchio, who magically comes to life after a wish. “Set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy, PINOCCHIO — a musical directed by del Toro and Mark Gustafson (FANTASTIC MR. FOX) with a score by Alexandre Desplat — is a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father’s expectations,” shared Netflix Film.
“After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix. 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,” revealed del Toro. “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.”
The film will feature Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Ewan McGregor as Cricket and David Bradley as Gepetto. The cast also includes Oscar winners Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett, and Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman. Patrick McHale and Mark Gustafson are said to co-write and co-direct the movie respectively .
With Toro having the project on his wishlist since the early 2000s, Pinocchio had begun its production process back in 2018. Luckily for the team and the fans eagerly waiting for the movie, the ongoing pandemic did not contribute towards any delays for the project. With its full cast announced, enthusiasm levels are even higher.