Guillermo Del Toro Vows To Continue Fascinating Us With Animated Projects
Guillermo del Toro has cemented himself as something of a master of horror and dark fantasy since his feature debut "Cronos" in 1993. The filmmaker arguably rose to fame with "Hellboy," the dark fantasy superhero film centered around the eponymous character played by Ron Perlman. The film was well-received by critics, achieving a critics' score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Then the director really elevated his career with "The Shape of Water" in 2018. The film was nominated for 13 Oscars at the 90th Academy Awards, with del Toro taking home the trophy for Best Director and Best Picture.
However, one of del Toro's biggest passion projects was an animated stop-motion version of "Pinocchio," which he'd been trying to get made for years. In 2018, his dream was finally realized when Netflix decided to finance the film (per Variety). Now, the film is finally set to debut on the premium streaming platform on December 9, and fans of the filmmaker can finally see his animated vision come to life. However, it seems as if this animated film by del Toro is only the first, as the director intends to fascinate the world with animation for years to come.
Guillermo del Toro learned everything he could about animation
During a Q&A following a screening of Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio" at the Animation Is Film Festival that Looper attended, the innovative filmmaker revealed that he had every intention of staying in animation. He credited his time working with Dreamworks, especially crafting the Netflix animated series "Trollhunters," as well as the long process of making "Pinocchio" for discovering just how much he enjoyed the art of creating animated projects. While he didn't elaborate exactly on what those projects would be, he was excited at the prospect of diving deeper into the medium.
Given his commitment to "Pinocchio" and animated shows like "Trollhunters," this isn't exactly a surprising development for del Toro. And while he didn't seem to rule out doing more live-action fare, it's clear that he has found a lot of passion in working in animation. Given that it's easier to embrace more bizarre creative visions in animation than it is in live-action, it makes sense. Del Toro has consistently tried to push the envelope with his dark fantasy and horror projects, and it looks as if he'll continue to do that in this particular creative medium.