An all-star cast for Netflix's take on Pinocchio has been announced.
The streaming service announced on Wednesday that newcomer Gregory Mann will voice the title role in the stop-motion animated musical. Rounding out the main roles are Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket and David Bradley, who played Argus Filch in the Harry Potter franchise, as Geppetto. Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro will direct and produce the film.
“After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix," del Toro said in a statement. “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."
Other cast members include Oscar winners Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett. Finn Wolfhard, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson and Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman will also have roles in the film.
"Drawing on the classic Carlo Collodi tale, this stop-motion musical follows the extraordinary journey of a wooden boy magically brought to life by a father's wish," Netflix says of the movie. "Set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini's Italy, del Toro's Pinocchio is a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father's expectations."
Principal photography for the project began in the US last autumn, and production continued uninterrupted during the pandemic, says Netflix.
While the film is based on the 1883 Italian children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Collodi, the version most familiar to wider audiences will be Disney's 1940 animation. The beloved film has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100 per cent, a rare perfect on the site.
Additional reporting from Associated Press
