Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio had its world premiere at this week’s London Film Festival and the debut was both a triumph for the movie and a unique experience on personal levels.
Reviews coming out of the BFI London Film Festival for Pinocchio have been extremely positive, with praise going towards del Toro, its stop-motion animation and beautiful storytelling, with some calling it the director’s best work in at least a decade.
The timing of Pinocchio’s premiere happened to come just one day after Guillermo del Toro’s mother died. At the festival, del Toro paid heartfelt tribute to her. “I just want to say, my mother just passed away, and this was very special for her and me. This is not only the first time you’ll see the movie, it’s the first time she’ll see the movie with us. Thank you.”
The day also marked the birthday of Pinocchio himself, Gregory Mann, who became a teenager on October 15th. Guess that makes him a real boy!
At the festival, Guillermo del Toro also praised animation, saying, “Everybody who is here believes that animation is not a genre. That animation is art. Animation is film.”
Although he is not getting as much attention as del Toro–the movie is officially titled Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio–Mark Gustafson also has a co-director credit. Gustafson was also the animation director on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Pinocchio of course isn’t the only adaptation of the classic novel that came out this year. Robert Zemeckis’ version, with Tom Hanks as Gepetto, arrived on Disney+ in October anddddd that’s all we’ll say about that.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio hits theaters next month before it comes to Netflix on December 9th.
Will you be seeing Pinocchio in theaters or will you wait for it to hit Netflix?