Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio Cast Announced

Netflix has announced the cast of Guillermo del Toro's (The Shape of Water, Hellboy) upcoming stop-motion animated musical version of Pinocchio. If that previous sentence didn't already make you arch your eyebrows in curiosity, the cast will: Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and Cate Blanchett are just a few of the names involved with the project. Newcomer Gregory Mann will play the titular wooden boy, and Ewan McGregor and David Bradley round out the biggest roles in the familiar children's story, playing Cricket and Gepetto, respectively.

"After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix," said 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 be produced by del Toro, The Jim Henson Company's Lisa Henson, and ShadowMachine's (Robot Chicken, BoJack Horseman) Alex Bulkley. Planned for a 2021 release, Pinocchio is co-directed by del Toro and Mark Gustafson (Fantastic Mr. Fox). Del Toro co-wrote the script with Patrick McHale (Adventure Time, Over the Garden Wall). The film's puppets are being built by Mackinnon & Saunders (Corpse Bride).

The movie's pedigree is filled out even further in its musical collaborations, with lyrics co-written by del Toro and Katz, with music by Alexandre Desplat, who will also write the score.