Guillermo del Toro Retells the 'Story of the Wooden Boy' in New Trailer for Stop-Motion Pinocchio

Guillermo del Toro is showing Pinocchio in a whole new light.

The Oscar-winning director — known for Pan's LabyrinthThe Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley — is bringing a stop-motion musical adaptation of the classic story to Netflix this December.

In a trailer released Wednesday, Ewan McGregor speaks as Sebastian J. Cricket and introduces the iconic tale. "From my many wonderings on this Earth, I'd so much to say about imperfect fathers and imperfect sons ... and about love and loss," his character says, as Geppetto chops down a tree of create his son.

Cricket continues, "I've learned that there are old spirits who rarely involve themselves with the human world, but on occasion they do."

"I want to tell you a story," Cricket says. "It's a story you may think you know, but you don't. A story about a wooden boy."

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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - (L-R) Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) and Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - (L-R) Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) and Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann)

Netflix

RELATED: See Ewan McGregor as Cricket in Teaser for Guillermo del Toro's Stop-Motion Musical Pinocchio

Also in the trailer, Tilda Swinton voices the character of the Fairy. "The wooden boy with the borrowed soul," her character says. "Be his son, fill his days with light. We shall call you Pinocchio."

The voice cast includes Harry Potter's David Bradley as Geppetto, Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman and Christoph Waltz. The movie is co-directed by del Toro and Mark Gustafson.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - (L-R) Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) and Count Volpe (voiced by Christoph Waltz)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - (L-R) Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) and Count Volpe (voiced by Christoph Waltz)

Netflix

Del Toro, 57, previously shared with The Hollywood Reporter his connection to the story: "No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation, and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio."

"In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend," the director continued. "He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I've wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember."

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Jason Schmidt/Netflix

Speaking to Vanity Fair, the Oscar winner explained some of his inspirations for the movie. "I've always been very intrigued by the links between Pinocchio and Frankenstein," del Toro told the outlet.

"They are both about a child that is thrown into the world. They are both created by a father who then expects them to figure out what's good, what's bad, the ethics, the morals, love, life and essentials, on their own. I think that was, for me, childhood. You had to figure it out with your very limited experience."

Del Toro hopes this movie will bring about a sense of compassion. "These are times that demand from kids a complexity that is tremendous. Far more daunting, I think, than when I was a child. Kids need answers and reassurances.… For me, this is for both children and adults that talk to each other. It tackles very deep ideas about what makes us human."

Guillermo del Toro Retells the ‘Story of the Wooden Boy’ in New Trailer for Stop-Motion Pinnochio
Guillermo del Toro Retells the ‘Story of the Wooden Boy’ in New Trailer for Stop-Motion Pinnochio

Netflix

Also in the interview with the outlet, the director explained why his Pinocchio does not urge to become "real" like its previous versions. "To me, it's essential to counter the idea that you have to change into a flesh-and-blood child to be a real human," del Toro said. "All you need to be human is to really behave like one, you know? I have never believed that transformation [should] be demanded to gain love."

Del Toro's Pinocchio will debut in select theaters in November and will begin streaming on Netflix in December.