Artwork from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is here to enchant and unsettle you

We’ve been hearing about Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Pinocchio for over three years now, though his responsibilities on the stop-motion production have expanded in the interim from co-writer and executive producer to include co-director as well.  Now officially titled GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO, the 3D stop-motion production is being produced by The Jim Henson Company and is based on the gorgeously creepy book by Gris Grimley.  Del Toro co-wrote with Matthew Robbins (DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK), will co-direct with Mark Gustafson (THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX), and together they all will no doubt co-knock our socks off.  Production is scheduled right now to begin in the summer of 2013.

“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a retelling of one of the world’s best-loved tales. The puppet Pinocchio embarks on a series of extraordinary and thrilling adventures, proving himself to be as indestructible as his love for his father.”  I’ve always found Pinoccio’s story extremely frightening and disturbing, perhaps because of it makes me feel so helpless as Pinocchio is taken advantage of, and so I’ve always steered clear.  But the whole point of horror films is to face what scares us, and what better guide can there be than Del Toro?

Superfancycoolbonusthing: “Veteran rock musician and film composer Nick Cave will serve as music consultant for the production.”  Nick Cave has proven himself to be one of the best things to happen to cinema composition, so the creative direction behind this film somehow just became even more fascinating.