Guillermo del Toro received an enthusiastic standing ovation following the screening of his upcoming stop-motion adaptation of ‘Pinocchio’ on Saturday at the close of the Animation is Film Festival. In a packed Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, del Toro was on hand for a conversation about the moviemaking with Oscar-winning VFX veteran Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park) following the screening.
He talked a lot about his “creative thinking” that goes on in his works. Toro also gave lot of pointers which future animators and animation enthusiasts might want to note it down. I have never seen someone who is passionate about the work one does like him. Without further ado, let us get into what Toro had said about his approach to his animated works.
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What Is Guillermo Del Toro’s Approach To Animation?
Of his approach to ‘Pinocchio‘, del Toro said he viewed the animators as actors. “I promised, you are going to be the actors, this is what we want. But if the puppet tells you something different, do it. There is no other form of animation where the bond [between animator and character] is so close.”
He added that his hope that was “maybe 30 minutes into the movie, people will think ‘this is a good actor — not a puppet.’” Phil Tippett who directed Jurassic Park on a conversation with Toro praised his movie making skill. “It’s just a whole different way of creatively thinking, doing something like this,” said Tippett. “You get totally lost in the world-building.”
It has been a real labour of love for del Toro who announced the project in 2008. His impetus for doing it was because he thought ‘Pinocchio’ would be a “great tool” to discuss how “precious and fragile we are as humans and how much we need each other. And how could I find a way to tell a story in a way that was new. We endeavored to create it in a way where you will see some beats, but many of them are reversed.”
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Everything To Know About The Animation Film ‘Pinocchio’
This version of Carlo Collodi’s beloved 1883 Italian novel ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ is set in Fascist Italy of the 1930s and is based on Gris Grimley’s designs from his 2002 edition of the novel. During a recent Netflix Zoom conversation with his co-director, Mark Gustafson, he explained what made their version of ‘Pinocchio’ different than others. “First of all, I would say most every other ‘Pinocchio’ story is about obedience and ours is about disobedience,” said del Toro.
“Disobedience being a primary factor in becoming human and how becoming human doesn’t mean changing yourself for others but understanding. I think that and the first step towards the conscience and the out for me is disobedience-the difference between ideas and ideology. An idea you construct from experience and compassion and understanding. Ideology is something that is given to you, and you are told to obey blindly. Those are the things that helped us craft the tale,” del Toro explained.
‘Pinocchio‘ was presented as a special event to close the fifth edition of the Animation is Film Festival. During the week, Little Nicolas (Le Petit Nicolas), directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. In the spring, it won the top prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
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