Dilvin Asaad and Bianca Delbravo in Paradise Is Burning
Mika Gustafson's narrative feature debut, Paradise Is Burning, co-written by Alexander Öhrstrand, revolves around three sisters, 16-year-old Laura (Bianca Delbravo), 12-year-old Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and seven-year-old Steffi (Safira Mossberg), who are left to fend for themselves by their absent mother. With summer fast approaching and left unsupervised, the three sisters enjoy their freedom, living a wild and carefree existence. However, when social services schedule a meeting, Laura must find someone to impersonate their mother, while keeping the threat of social services a secret from Mira and Steffi.
Gustafson's previous works include the 2017 feature documentary, Silvana - Väck Mig När Ni Vaknat, about the Swedish artist and feminist, Silvana Imam, which she co-directed with Olivia Kastebring and Christina Tsiobanelis. Her shorts include Secretly Filmed My Boyfriend After We Had a Fight, which confronted the camera's invasive gaze, and Mephobia (2017) about.
Mika Gustafson's narrative feature debut, Paradise Is Burning, co-written by Alexander Öhrstrand, revolves around three sisters, 16-year-old Laura (Bianca Delbravo), 12-year-old Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and seven-year-old Steffi (Safira Mossberg), who are left to fend for themselves by their absent mother. With summer fast approaching and left unsupervised, the three sisters enjoy their freedom, living a wild and carefree existence. However, when social services schedule a meeting, Laura must find someone to impersonate their mother, while keeping the threat of social services a secret from Mira and Steffi.
Gustafson's previous works include the 2017 feature documentary, Silvana - Väck Mig När Ni Vaknat, about the Swedish artist and feminist, Silvana Imam, which she co-directed with Olivia Kastebring and Christina Tsiobanelis. Her shorts include Secretly Filmed My Boyfriend After We Had a Fight, which confronted the camera's invasive gaze, and Mephobia (2017) about.
- 9/3/2024
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Deep in a Swedish forest, three sisters spend their summer days lost in a world of their own invention. Laura, at 16, has become the protector of Mira, 12, and little Steffi, only 7, after their mother vanished without explanation. Under blue skies and surrounded by tall trees, they play without rules or restrictions, free as birds. But always, responsibility weighs on eldest Laura. She must keep them fed and safe from harm—no simple task for a girl still a child herself.
Paradise is Burning explores this unusual family with empathy and care. Directed by Mika Gustafson in her feature debut, the film follows the sisters through a summer that brings both joy and fear. Joy in days spent swimming and laughing together without a care. Fear as a social worker’s call threatens to tear them from the only home they’ve known. Gustafson watches with gentle eyes, never rushing her...
Paradise is Burning explores this unusual family with empathy and care. Directed by Mika Gustafson in her feature debut, the film follows the sisters through a summer that brings both joy and fear. Joy in days spent swimming and laughing together without a care. Fear as a social worker’s call threatens to tear them from the only home they’ve known. Gustafson watches with gentle eyes, never rushing her...
- 8/27/2024
- by Shahrbanoo Golmohamadi
- Gazettely
Mika Gustafson’s feature has some obvious influences in The Virgin Suicides or American Honey but wears them lightly in this fresh and beautifully cut debut
Like an unusually designed coat featuring quirky details and an interesting fabric choice from a young designer’s first collection, Swedish writer-director Mika Gustafson’s feature debut has raw edges and some sloppy stitching in places, but the whole is fresh, directional and beautifully cut. Sure, it’s not hard to spot the influences that consciously or not infuse the work, from Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and The Bling Ring (with their lolling sisters and girl-gang antics respectively), to Andrea Arnold’s studies of lost or neglected adolescents and the tender social realism of Hirokazu Kore-eda. In fact, Paradise Is Burning overlaps significantly with the plot of Nobody Knows, both being stories about underage siblings abandoned by their parents and surviving as...
Like an unusually designed coat featuring quirky details and an interesting fabric choice from a young designer’s first collection, Swedish writer-director Mika Gustafson’s feature debut has raw edges and some sloppy stitching in places, but the whole is fresh, directional and beautifully cut. Sure, it’s not hard to spot the influences that consciously or not infuse the work, from Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and The Bling Ring (with their lolling sisters and girl-gang antics respectively), to Andrea Arnold’s studies of lost or neglected adolescents and the tender social realism of Hirokazu Kore-eda. In fact, Paradise Is Burning overlaps significantly with the plot of Nobody Knows, both being stories about underage siblings abandoned by their parents and surviving as...
- 8/27/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Swedish filmmaker Mika Gustafson shifts from the docu world beginnings to her fiction feature debut in Paradise is Burning – a selection in the 2023 Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. Winner of the Best Director award, Gustafson infuses her world of children (here three sisters) fending for themselves in their free-wielding carefree spirits with a template that dismantles cliched representations of what it might look like to defend a fort that is without a caring adult. As the character Hannah, portrayed by Ida Engvoll, makes her entrance, we embark on a journey of exploration into previously uncharted depths. Gustafson employs a visual poetry that mirrors a world characterized by compassion interwoven with turmoil. …...
- 8/19/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Stars: Julian Sands, Charlotte Hope, Aoibhe O’Flanagan, Pippa Winslow, Philipp Christopher | Written and Directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen
What are the chances that two films called The Piper, both horror films involving the legend of The Pied Piper, would come out in the same year? And that both would be hard to see? While I haven’t seen the one starring Liz Hurley yet, I did get a chance to see this one – written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen and featuring the late Julian Sands in one of his last roles.
It opens with the voice of Gustafson (Sands) on the phone trying to talk Katherine out of destroying the last copy of her Concerto for Children. She tells him “It is evil, no one must ever know about it” before rushing outside to try and burn it in her fire pit. But something with glowing eyes intervenes, and she burns while the manuscript survives.
What are the chances that two films called The Piper, both horror films involving the legend of The Pied Piper, would come out in the same year? And that both would be hard to see? While I haven’t seen the one starring Liz Hurley yet, I did get a chance to see this one – written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen and featuring the late Julian Sands in one of his last roles.
It opens with the voice of Gustafson (Sands) on the phone trying to talk Katherine out of destroying the last copy of her Concerto for Children. She tells him “It is evil, no one must ever know about it” before rushing outside to try and burn it in her fire pit. But something with glowing eyes intervenes, and she burns while the manuscript survives.
- 8/1/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Remember the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin from our childhood? The one where a piper came to rid the town of rats by playing his magical tunes, luring the pests away into the lake? But when he wasn’t paid as promised, he took away the children as revenge. Classic folklore, right? But what if I told you that legend has it that the Pied Piper isn’t just a story of the past? He still lurks among us. Not in bright, colorful clothes, but as a dark and ominous creature, playing his haunting musical hymns in a sinister manner. In the movie The Piper, directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen, the story goes like this: Catherine, inspired by the legend of the Pied Piper, creates a concerto for children. But when the tunes from her concerto lead to tragic consequences, causing the deaths of children, she tries to destroy them.
- 5/7/2024
- by Sutanuka Banerjee
- Film Fugitives
Let’s start here: the production design in Tom Gustafson’s Glitter & Doom is impeccable, colorful, and memorable. Too often these days films lack an adventurous color palette. Here we have a welcome outlier. Production designer Geo Martínez breathes life into each frame. Next there’s the music. The film is a musical set to the indelible tunes of the Indigo Girls, the folk-rock duo that became a household name in the late ’80s and early ’90s with hits like “Closer to Fine” and “Galileo.” Without question are music and lyrics the most essential piece of this problematically simple narrative. These artists are long overdue for legacy-laden admiration and celebration.
Now, for some criticism. We have Glitter (Alex Diaz) who wants to be a successful circus performer. We have Doom (Alan Cammish) who wants to be a successful musician. Both are struggling as they tilt at the windmills of their dreams.
Now, for some criticism. We have Glitter (Alex Diaz) who wants to be a successful circus performer. We have Doom (Alan Cammish) who wants to be a successful musician. Both are struggling as they tilt at the windmills of their dreams.
- 3/6/2024
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Mark Gustafson, a stalwart feature of the animation landscape, and an Oscar winner for last year's Pinocchio, which he co-directed with Guillermo del Toro, has died. He was 64.
Born in 1959 in Portland, Oregan, Gustafson began his animation career in the 1980s and dabbled in several kinds of animation. His claymation work can be seen in the 1987 TV special Claymation Christmas Celebration, The PJs series starring Eddie Murphy and the TV special Meet The Raisins, starring the iconic California Raisins and a host of TV adverts.
He was also the animation director for Wes Anderson’s 2009 Oscar-nominated film Fantastic Mr. Fox and worked on the claymation segment of A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas.
But his crowning achievement was surely Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, on which he worked for years alongside the director. Now del Toro has taken to twitter to craft a touching tribute to his friend and fellow filmmaker.
Born in 1959 in Portland, Oregan, Gustafson began his animation career in the 1980s and dabbled in several kinds of animation. His claymation work can be seen in the 1987 TV special Claymation Christmas Celebration, The PJs series starring Eddie Murphy and the TV special Meet The Raisins, starring the iconic California Raisins and a host of TV adverts.
He was also the animation director for Wes Anderson’s 2009 Oscar-nominated film Fantastic Mr. Fox and worked on the claymation segment of A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas.
But his crowning achievement was surely Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, on which he worked for years alongside the director. Now del Toro has taken to twitter to craft a touching tribute to his friend and fellow filmmaker.
- 2/4/2024
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Del Toro describes Gustafson – who worked on Fantastic Mr Fox and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas – as a ‘pillar of stop-motion animation’
Mark Gustafson, co-director of Oscar-winning animation Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, died on Thursday aged 64. The news was reported in the Oregonian, and Del Toro posted a tribute on social media, saying Gustafson was “a pillar of stop-motion animation [and a] compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man”.
Gustafson joined Del Toro on Pinocchio after a long career in stop-motion, having animated The California Raisins in the 1980s at the start of his career, and rising to be animation director on the Wes Anderson Roald Dahl adaptation Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009. He also acted as head of animation on A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas in 2011.
Mark Gustafson, co-director of Oscar-winning animation Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, died on Thursday aged 64. The news was reported in the Oregonian, and Del Toro posted a tribute on social media, saying Gustafson was “a pillar of stop-motion animation [and a] compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man”.
Gustafson joined Del Toro on Pinocchio after a long career in stop-motion, having animated The California Raisins in the 1980s at the start of his career, and rising to be animation director on the Wes Anderson Roald Dahl adaptation Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009. He also acted as head of animation on A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas in 2011.
- 2/2/2024
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
February has barely gotten underway, but 2024 is already hard at work taking beloved artists from us. Mark Gustafson, a pillar of stop-motion and the co-director of the Oscar-winning film "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," sadly passed away on Thursday, February 1, at age 64, The Oregonian reports.
Though del Toro's name is in the film's title and his influence and style is in every aspect of the film, it was Gustafson who handled most of the day-to-day animation directing duties on "Pinocchio." His style and eye are as big a part of the reason for that movie's success as del Toro's.
Born on September 19, 1959, Gustafson had a long and celebrated career in animation that started back in the 1980s at The House That Claymation Built, when the animator worked at the celebrated Will Vinton Studios. It was there that Gustafson lent his talents to projects featuring the California Raisins characters, the claymation sequences in "Return to Oz,...
Though del Toro's name is in the film's title and his influence and style is in every aspect of the film, it was Gustafson who handled most of the day-to-day animation directing duties on "Pinocchio." His style and eye are as big a part of the reason for that movie's success as del Toro's.
Born on September 19, 1959, Gustafson had a long and celebrated career in animation that started back in the 1980s at The House That Claymation Built, when the animator worked at the celebrated Will Vinton Studios. It was there that Gustafson lent his talents to projects featuring the California Raisins characters, the claymation sequences in "Return to Oz,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Mark Gustafson, the stop-motion specialist who won an Oscar this year for his work on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, died Thursday. He was 63.
Del Toro announced the news Friday on social media, posting: “I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A Legend — and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. … Today we honor and miss him.”
The Oregonian newspaper also reported his death.
Gustafson also worked on the stop-motion California Raisins characters early in his career and served as animation director on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), another Oscar-nominated stop-motion film.
When del Toro took on the task of retelling Carlo Collodi’s 1883 fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy, he tapped Gustafson as his directing partner. The duo also earned BAFTA and Annie awards,...
Del Toro announced the news Friday on social media, posting: “I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A Legend — and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. … Today we honor and miss him.”
The Oregonian newspaper also reported his death.
Gustafson also worked on the stop-motion California Raisins characters early in his career and served as animation director on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), another Oscar-nominated stop-motion film.
When del Toro took on the task of retelling Carlo Collodi’s 1883 fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy, he tapped Gustafson as his directing partner. The duo also earned BAFTA and Annie awards,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mark Gustafson, who won an Oscar last year for co-directing the animated feature “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” died on Thursday, The Oregonian reported. He was 64.
Guillermo del Toro, Gustafson’s co-director on the dark reimagining of the classic tale of Pinocchio, posted a tribute to him on Friday morning.
“I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him,” del Toro wrote on X. “A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A legend and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. He passed away yesterday. Today we honor and miss him.”
I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation- a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A Legend- and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. He passed away yesterday. Today we honor and miss him.
Guillermo del Toro, Gustafson’s co-director on the dark reimagining of the classic tale of Pinocchio, posted a tribute to him on Friday morning.
“I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him,” del Toro wrote on X. “A pillar of stop motion animation — a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A legend and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. He passed away yesterday. Today we honor and miss him.”
I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him. A pillar of stop motion animation- a true artist. A compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man. A Legend- and a friend that inspired and gave hope to all around him. He passed away yesterday. Today we honor and miss him.
- 2/2/2024
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Julian Sands, Charlotte Hope, Aoibhe O’Flanagan, Pippa Winslow, Philipp Christopher | Written and Directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen
What are the chances that two films called The Piper, both horror films involving the legend of The Pied Piper, would come out in the same year? And that both would be hard to see? While I haven’t seen the one starring Liz Hurley yet, I did get a chance to see the one written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen and featuring the late Julian Sands in one of his last roles.
It opens with the voice of Gustafson (Sands) on the phone trying to talk Katherine out of destroying the last copy of her Concerto for Children. She tells him “It is evil, no one must ever know about it” before rushing outside to try and burn it in her fire pit. But something with glowing eyes intervenes, and she burns while the manuscript survives.
What are the chances that two films called The Piper, both horror films involving the legend of The Pied Piper, would come out in the same year? And that both would be hard to see? While I haven’t seen the one starring Liz Hurley yet, I did get a chance to see the one written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen and featuring the late Julian Sands in one of his last roles.
It opens with the voice of Gustafson (Sands) on the phone trying to talk Katherine out of destroying the last copy of her Concerto for Children. She tells him “It is evil, no one must ever know about it” before rushing outside to try and burn it in her fire pit. But something with glowing eyes intervenes, and she burns while the manuscript survives.
- 1/11/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Music Box Films has acquired Tom Gustafson and Cory Krueckeberg’s “Glitter & Doom.” The film is billed as a “fantastical queer romance” and the musical comes with songs from the Grammy Award-winning Indigo Girls. “Glitter & Doom” premiered as the closing night film at InsideOut Toronto. It went on to play gala slots at more than 50 LGBTQ+ festivals around the world. Music Box is planning a March 8, 2024, theatrical release in NYC and L.A. That will be followed by a nationwide theatrical rollout and a VOD release.
The film comes at a time when Indigo Girls have been enjoying a popular resurgence. Their anthem “Closer to Fine” was featured at a key moment in last summer’s “Barbie” and a new documentary about their lives and careers, “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” premiered at Sundance and will be released theatrically by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
“Glitter & Doom...
The film comes at a time when Indigo Girls have been enjoying a popular resurgence. Their anthem “Closer to Fine” was featured at a key moment in last summer’s “Barbie” and a new documentary about their lives and careers, “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” premiered at Sundance and will be released theatrically by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
“Glitter & Doom...
- 12/20/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
People often refer to a film being "dumped on Netflix" as a pejorative, despite the fact the landscape of entertainment has evolved well beyond a non-theatrical release being a sign of lesser quality. The streamer has distributed some genuinely incredible films, many of which have already been deemed worthy of a physical release treatment by the Criterion Collection, including "Beasts of No Nation," "Okja," "Roma," "The Irishman," "Marriage Story," "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese," "Dick Johnson is Dead," "The Power of the Dog," and if we're counting international distribution, "Uncut Gems."
And now, the best Netflix film of 2022 and the reigning Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," is joining that elusive club.
A reborn take on Carlo Collodi's classic character of the same name, "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" is a marvel of stop-motion animation and arguably the definitive adaptation of the tale.
And now, the best Netflix film of 2022 and the reigning Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," is joining that elusive club.
A reborn take on Carlo Collodi's classic character of the same name, "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" is a marvel of stop-motion animation and arguably the definitive adaptation of the tale.
- 9/19/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Guillermo del Toro is returning to The Criterion Collection, as his 2022 Oscar winner Pinocchio will be released on December 12th as spine #1201. What, no love for Robert Zemeckis’ version?
Here are the special features for The Criterion Collection’s upcoming release of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which also comes complete with stunning cover art by James Jean:
4K digital master, supervised by directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, with Dolby Atmos One 4K Uhd disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision Hdr and one Blu-ray with the film and special features Handcarved Cinema, a new documentary featuring del Toro, Gustafson, and cast and crew, including the film’s puppet creators, production designers, and animation supervisor Directing Stop-Motion, a new program featuring del Toro and Gustafson New conversation between del Toro and film critic Farran Smith Nehme New interview with curator Ron Magliozzi on The Museum of...
Here are the special features for The Criterion Collection’s upcoming release of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which also comes complete with stunning cover art by James Jean:
4K digital master, supervised by directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, with Dolby Atmos One 4K Uhd disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision Hdr and one Blu-ray with the film and special features Handcarved Cinema, a new documentary featuring del Toro, Gustafson, and cast and crew, including the film’s puppet creators, production designers, and animation supervisor Directing Stop-Motion, a new program featuring del Toro and Gustafson New conversation between del Toro and film critic Farran Smith Nehme New interview with curator Ron Magliozzi on The Museum of...
- 9/19/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Verve has signed 2023 Academy Award-winning director Mark Gustafson.
Gustafson most recently co-directed Pinocchio for which he won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. The widely acclaimed film was also awarded the BAFTA and Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
With over two decades of experience in the animation industry, Gustafson has become known for his distinctive visual style and creative storytelling and has been widely recognized for his work on a range of critically acclaimed films, including Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Previously, he worked with Eddie Murphy on the Fox series The PJs.
Gustafson most recently co-directed Pinocchio for which he won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. The widely acclaimed film was also awarded the BAFTA and Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
With over two decades of experience in the animation industry, Gustafson has become known for his distinctive visual style and creative storytelling and has been widely recognized for his work on a range of critically acclaimed films, including Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Previously, he worked with Eddie Murphy on the Fox series The PJs.
- 6/21/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
“Pinocchio” co-directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson are going in separate but equally exciting directions. Both are continuing the partnership fostered with ShadowMachine Animation during the production of their highly lauded collaborative effort, which nabbed Netflix its very first Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Announcing “Milepost 88,” a mystery series described as “sort of Coen brothers-esque,” Gustafson said, “Now that we’ve set a certain famous wooden boy loose on the world, I’m excited to launch another great adventure of my own in stop-motion animation.” The show will be set in Nevada’s Great Basin, where two brothers and gas station proprietors meet a traveler who has a strangely acute knowledge of their family’s history. A parallel story takes place in 1969 and follows a cosmonaut trying to become the first man to walk on the moon. Before teaming with del Toro on “Pinocchio,” Gustafson was Wes Anderson’s...
Announcing “Milepost 88,” a mystery series described as “sort of Coen brothers-esque,” Gustafson said, “Now that we’ve set a certain famous wooden boy loose on the world, I’m excited to launch another great adventure of my own in stop-motion animation.” The show will be set in Nevada’s Great Basin, where two brothers and gas station proprietors meet a traveler who has a strangely acute knowledge of their family’s history. A parallel story takes place in 1969 and follows a cosmonaut trying to become the first man to walk on the moon. Before teaming with del Toro on “Pinocchio,” Gustafson was Wes Anderson’s...
- 3/17/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Animation studio ShadowMachine and director Mark Gustafason picled up the Oscar for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio on Sunday night and they’ve wasted no time setting up their next project.
The company, which was co-founded by Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico, and Gustafason are now developing Milepost 88, an animated mystery series.
Based on an original idea from Gustafason, the series follows two brothers, who run an old gas station deep in the Great Basin desert of Nevada, when their lives are upended by a passing stranger who unlocks a mystery involving their family history. The puzzle further unfolds in 1969 with the exploits of a reluctant cosmonaut as he tries to be the first man to reach the moon. As these parallel stories cross time and space, they reveal truths about love, ambition, and brake fluid.
Gustafson, Bulkley, and Campodonico will exec produce.
From left: Lisa Henson, Alexander Bulkley,...
The company, which was co-founded by Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico, and Gustafason are now developing Milepost 88, an animated mystery series.
Based on an original idea from Gustafason, the series follows two brothers, who run an old gas station deep in the Great Basin desert of Nevada, when their lives are upended by a passing stranger who unlocks a mystery involving their family history. The puzzle further unfolds in 1969 with the exploits of a reluctant cosmonaut as he tries to be the first man to reach the moon. As these parallel stories cross time and space, they reveal truths about love, ambition, and brake fluid.
Gustafson, Bulkley, and Campodonico will exec produce.
From left: Lisa Henson, Alexander Bulkley,...
- 3/15/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
“Animation is ready to be taken to the next step,” asserted Guillermo del Toro as his Pinocchio won at the 2023 Oscars for best animated feature on Sunday. “Keep animation in the conversation.”
With the win, del Toro became the first filmmaker to win best picture, director and animated feature, while it delivered Netflix its first Oscar in the category.
The stop-motion adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s classic novel delvers del Toro his third Oscar, having previously won best picture and best director Academy Awards for his 2017 movie The Shape of Water.
It’s the first Academy Award for stop-motion vet Mark Gustafson, who directed alongside del Toro; producer Alexander Bulkley, a partner in animation production studio ShadowMachine; and del Toro’s longtime collaborator, producer Gary Ungar.
“It’s good to know that this art form that we love so much, stop-motion, is very much alive and well,” said Gustafson, accepting...
With the win, del Toro became the first filmmaker to win best picture, director and animated feature, while it delivered Netflix its first Oscar in the category.
The stop-motion adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s classic novel delvers del Toro his third Oscar, having previously won best picture and best director Academy Awards for his 2017 movie The Shape of Water.
It’s the first Academy Award for stop-motion vet Mark Gustafson, who directed alongside del Toro; producer Alexander Bulkley, a partner in animation production studio ShadowMachine; and del Toro’s longtime collaborator, producer Gary Ungar.
“It’s good to know that this art form that we love so much, stop-motion, is very much alive and well,” said Gustafson, accepting...
- 3/13/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, beating out Turning Red, The Sea Beast, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
This marks writer-director Guillermo del Toro’s third Oscar win and his first win in the Animated Feature category, as well as the first nomination and win for director Mark Gustafson and producers Alex Bulkley and Gary Ungar. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio also marks Netflix’s first win in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category.
“Animation is cinema,” said del Toro. “Animation is not a genre and animation is ready to be taken to the next step. We are all ready for it. Please help us keep animation in the conversation.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio delivers a visually stunning stop-motion adaptation of the Pinocchio fable, reimagining the story in 1930s Italy during the Fascist reign of Benito Mussolini.
This marks writer-director Guillermo del Toro’s third Oscar win and his first win in the Animated Feature category, as well as the first nomination and win for director Mark Gustafson and producers Alex Bulkley and Gary Ungar. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio also marks Netflix’s first win in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category.
“Animation is cinema,” said del Toro. “Animation is not a genre and animation is ready to be taken to the next step. We are all ready for it. Please help us keep animation in the conversation.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio delivers a visually stunning stop-motion adaptation of the Pinocchio fable, reimagining the story in 1930s Italy during the Fascist reign of Benito Mussolini.
- 3/13/2023
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
The final stretch of the 2023 Oscar season has started with voters casting their ballots for the winners of the 95th annual Academy Awards. All season long, Gold Derby has been interviewing dozens of the nominees, including contenders from four of the Best Animated Feature nominees. Click on each creative’s name below to watch each of these 20-minute interviews.
Mark Gustafson and Alexander Bulkley, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Pinocchio” is Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the classic tale of a father’s wish that brings a wooden boy to life. Gustafson is co-director on the film, and “Pinocchio” is his feature debut as director. He found directing with del Toro amicable because “we had very similar sensibilities, so it was ultimately quite easy. We thought about seams, story and character in very much the same way.” Bulkley is a producer on the film and says of the stop-motion style,...
Mark Gustafson and Alexander Bulkley, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Pinocchio” is Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the classic tale of a father’s wish that brings a wooden boy to life. Gustafson is co-director on the film, and “Pinocchio” is his feature debut as director. He found directing with del Toro amicable because “we had very similar sensibilities, so it was ultimately quite easy. We thought about seams, story and character in very much the same way.” Bulkley is a producer on the film and says of the stop-motion style,...
- 3/5/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
After joining Guillermo del Toro on the project over 10 years ago, producers Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico finally got to see the fruits of their labor when Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio premiered last year. Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of the Carlo Collodi story takes place in 1930s Italy, during the Fascist reign of Benito Mussolini. In this story, woodcarver Geppetto (David Bradley) loses his son Carlo in an aerial bombing and carves Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) from the tree at his son’s grave. Bulkley and Campodonico’s animation studio, ShadowMachine, was responsible for the stop-motion animation of the film, and the pair were incredibly excited to go on this long journey with del Toro.
Deadline: What excited you about Guillermo del Toro’s version of the Pinocchio story?
Corey Campodonico: What is so cool about a property that’s been touched throughout the years and is such an iconic property,...
Deadline: What excited you about Guillermo del Toro’s version of the Pinocchio story?
Corey Campodonico: What is so cool about a property that’s been touched throughout the years and is such an iconic property,...
- 2/28/2023
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Wins Five Trophies Including the Top Prize at the 50th Annie Awards
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio topped the 50th Annie Awards for animation, collecting five prizes including best animation feature, direction (del Toro and Mark Gustafson), character animation, music and production design.
“Fuck,” said del Toro as he and Gustafson took the stage to accept the directing award. “I hope to stay with you as peers with this beautiful, beautiful craft we have.” He noted that he’s been directing for 30 years and “the most creative ideas-filled group I worked with is animation.” Del Toro added his hope is that the community pushes the medium for future generations and “change the way we are perceived as a medium, not for us, but for the people coming up.” He got laughs and cheers as he wrapped by exclaiming, “Can I say, I wanted an Annie so much!”
Also Saturday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On won three awards,...
“Fuck,” said del Toro as he and Gustafson took the stage to accept the directing award. “I hope to stay with you as peers with this beautiful, beautiful craft we have.” He noted that he’s been directing for 30 years and “the most creative ideas-filled group I worked with is animation.” Del Toro added his hope is that the community pushes the medium for future generations and “change the way we are perceived as a medium, not for us, but for the people coming up.” He got laughs and cheers as he wrapped by exclaiming, “Can I say, I wanted an Annie so much!”
Also Saturday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On won three awards,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” has picked up another award on its march to the Oscars, nabbing the feature prize at the 50th Annie Awards, presented by Asifa-Hollywood, on Saturday evening.
In addition to being named the top film by the animation industry, “Pinocchio” led the winners’ list with five trophies overall, including the award for best direction for del Toro and fellow director Mark Gustafson. The stop-motion movie also picked up wins for music, production design (Curt Enderle and Guy Davis) and character design (Tucker Barrie).
Del Toro, who came directly from the PGA Awards where he received the trophy for producing ‘Pinocchio,’ was thrilled to win the Annie for direction alongside Gustafson. “Can I say this? I wanted the fucking Annie so much. It’s the most gorgeous thing in the world!” He noted that the Annies ceremony was the one place that he didn’t have to point...
In addition to being named the top film by the animation industry, “Pinocchio” led the winners’ list with five trophies overall, including the award for best direction for del Toro and fellow director Mark Gustafson. The stop-motion movie also picked up wins for music, production design (Curt Enderle and Guy Davis) and character design (Tucker Barrie).
Del Toro, who came directly from the PGA Awards where he received the trophy for producing ‘Pinocchio,’ was thrilled to win the Annie for direction alongside Gustafson. “Can I say this? I wanted the fucking Annie so much. It’s the most gorgeous thing in the world!” He noted that the Annies ceremony was the one place that he didn’t have to point...
- 2/26/2023
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Nana Connie and Marcel (Isabella Rossellini and Jenny Slate)
The birth of the profound and heartwarming 1-inch shell voiced by Jenny Slate was an unusual situation that began years before the movie was made, with a series of animated shorts that Slate wrote with her then-husband, director Dean Fleischer Camp, beginning in 2010.
“It actually was a character that started with her joking around in this tiny voice about how small she felt, and then I developed the design and the animation of Marcel based on that voice,” recalls Camp. “It’s been a very long journey where we are both mutually building upon this original riff and adding parts to his character and to his world. I don’t exactly know how to separate my contributions from hers, because it has been such a mind meld, but I think that Jenny brings a real...
Nana Connie and Marcel (Isabella Rossellini and Jenny Slate)
The birth of the profound and heartwarming 1-inch shell voiced by Jenny Slate was an unusual situation that began years before the movie was made, with a series of animated shorts that Slate wrote with her then-husband, director Dean Fleischer Camp, beginning in 2010.
“It actually was a character that started with her joking around in this tiny voice about how small she felt, and then I developed the design and the animation of Marcel based on that voice,” recalls Camp. “It’s been a very long journey where we are both mutually building upon this original riff and adding parts to his character and to his world. I don’t exactly know how to separate my contributions from hers, because it has been such a mind meld, but I think that Jenny brings a real...
- 2/22/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“I saw the Disney film when I was very, very young, and it made a huge impression,” Guillermo del Toro said during a panel for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio at Deadline’s Contenders: The Nominees event, where he was joined by director Mark Gustafson. “What sat wrong with me was the idea that you needed to be obedient to be a real boy, and that you needed to be transformed into something you were not to be loved.”
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Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of...
Related Story ‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio’: Read The Screenplay For Oscar Winner’s Take On Classic Tale Related Story 'Eo' Director Jerzy Skolimowski And Co-Writer Ewa Piaskowska On Challenges Of Working With Animals: "We Were Terribly Optimistic" – Contenders Film: The Nominees Related Story 'Fire Of Love' Team On Their Volcanic Love Story For The Ages – Contenders Film: The Nominees
Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of...
- 2/18/2023
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
Rome-based Intramovies has picked up sales rights to Swedish up-and-coming filmmaker Mika Gustafson’s “Sisters,” ahead of the film’s pitch as a work in progress at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market, which runs Feb. 2-5.
The film is being produced by Nima Yousefi for Stockholm-based Hobab, behind the multi-awarded “Clara Sola” by Nathalie Álvarez Mesen.
European co-producers on board “Sisters” take in Italy s’ Intramovies, Denmark’s Toolbox Film and Finland’s Tuffi Films.
Intramovies’ head of acquisitions and production Marco Valerio Fusco said “being the Italian co-producers, we loved the project since its inception, and were very excited by the film’s potential, the impressive script and all talents involved.
“For the good of the film, we didn’t put any pre-emption on the title, leaving the door open to any other possible sales agent. Then when Nima offered us to come on board, we immediately accepted,” said...
The film is being produced by Nima Yousefi for Stockholm-based Hobab, behind the multi-awarded “Clara Sola” by Nathalie Álvarez Mesen.
European co-producers on board “Sisters” take in Italy s’ Intramovies, Denmark’s Toolbox Film and Finland’s Tuffi Films.
Intramovies’ head of acquisitions and production Marco Valerio Fusco said “being the Italian co-producers, we loved the project since its inception, and were very excited by the film’s potential, the impressive script and all talents involved.
“For the good of the film, we didn’t put any pre-emption on the title, leaving the door open to any other possible sales agent. Then when Nima offered us to come on board, we immediately accepted,” said...
- 1/19/2023
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
This story about “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” first appeared in a special animation section in the Awards Preview issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
It should come as no surprise that Guillermo del Toro has made an animated film using the stop-motion technique. The real surprise should be that it took him until 2022 to make “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” because the filmmaker has been fascinated with the art form to the point where he started his own small stop-motion company as a teenager in Mexico City. Since then, he’s been making acclaimed films like “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Nightmare Alley” and the Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water,” all the while dreaming of doing his own animated feature.
And for many of those years, he also had a pretty good idea of what story he wanted to tell. “I saw (Disney’s) ‘Pinocchio’ as a very young kid,...
It should come as no surprise that Guillermo del Toro has made an animated film using the stop-motion technique. The real surprise should be that it took him until 2022 to make “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” because the filmmaker has been fascinated with the art form to the point where he started his own small stop-motion company as a teenager in Mexico City. Since then, he’s been making acclaimed films like “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Nightmare Alley” and the Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water,” all the while dreaming of doing his own animated feature.
And for many of those years, he also had a pretty good idea of what story he wanted to tell. “I saw (Disney’s) ‘Pinocchio’ as a very young kid,...
- 1/12/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Stop-motion animation is an art form that’s at once ancient and fully modern. It’s one of the first forms of animated filmmaking but now artists can use 3D printing technology to help tell stories. Several of the most iconic, accomplished filmmakers happen to have stop motion films out in the last year. Henry Selick, whose groundbreaking approach defined “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” created the punk rock-tinged coming of age tale “Wendell & Wild” with Jordan Peele. Guillermo del Toro, an artist known for his spectacular visions of horror, fantasy and the macabre, retold the classic tale “Pinocchio” with co-director Mark Gustafson. Variety caught up with them in conversation about their art.
• You’ve all worked in stop motion animation for a long time. What made you fall in love with it initially?
Henry Selick: It’s so rare that we get to do stop-motion films and the thing...
• You’ve all worked in stop motion animation for a long time. What made you fall in love with it initially?
Henry Selick: It’s so rare that we get to do stop-motion films and the thing...
- 1/12/2023
- by Karen Idelson
- Variety Film + TV
Sisters
After trying her hand in the docu realm, Swedish filmmaker Mika Gustafson made the move into fiction last June with what has be coined as a female-led drama. Non-actors Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad and Safira Mossberg joined Ida Engvoll in Sisters – a tale about fending for yourself when mom is gone. Supported by Eurimages coin in March 2022, this was produced by Nima Yousefi. on paper, we got some Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows vibes. Gustafson wrote the project alongside actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand.
Gist: Ida Engvoll plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters.…...
After trying her hand in the docu realm, Swedish filmmaker Mika Gustafson made the move into fiction last June with what has be coined as a female-led drama. Non-actors Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad and Safira Mossberg joined Ida Engvoll in Sisters – a tale about fending for yourself when mom is gone. Supported by Eurimages coin in March 2022, this was produced by Nima Yousefi. on paper, we got some Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows vibes. Gustafson wrote the project alongside actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand.
Gist: Ida Engvoll plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters.…...
- 1/12/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The character of Pinocchio has been popular since the 1883 book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi – but for most people these days, the model for the little wooden marionette who wants to become a real boy was formed by Walt Disney’s 1940 film version. That Pinocchio, more likable than the one in the original novel, has survived as the Pinocchio through a bevy of subsequent films, from the 1965 Belgian-American “Pinocchio in Outer Space” to 21st century adaptations by Roberto Benigni, Matteo Garrone and Robert Zemeckis.
But the newest “Pinocchio,” which Netflix released only three months after Zemeckis’ film, comes from Guillermo del Toro, who pulled the character out of Disney’s world and put him squarely in del Toro’s land (a move that helped avoid any sticky copyright issues).
“The Disney movie Is a masterpiece, one of the great animated movies of all times,” said del Toro, whose...
But the newest “Pinocchio,” which Netflix released only three months after Zemeckis’ film, comes from Guillermo del Toro, who pulled the character out of Disney’s world and put him squarely in del Toro’s land (a move that helped avoid any sticky copyright issues).
“The Disney movie Is a masterpiece, one of the great animated movies of all times,” said del Toro, whose...
- 1/3/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
I want to use this blurb to acknowledge a couple of films I’m yet to see that I feel, through a combination of my own personal taste and their critical reception, maybe would’ve made the cut had I seen them this year. The first of which is idiosyncratic anime Director Masaaki Yuasa’s Inu-Oh, a rock opera set amongst 14th century Japanese performers. I’ve been a fan of Yuasa’s bombastic and enveloping style ever since I watched The Tatami Galaxy a few years ago and am dying to see the latest in his ever-growing oeuvre of impressive works. The second film is Kogonada’s After Yang. Anyone who knows me on a personal level will know how much I loved his debut Columbus and to see the filmmaker follow up that up with a quiet, reflective sci-fi sounds too good to miss. That all being said,...
- 12/28/2022
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
Even in the early days of silent film, movies had music. Live performers or recordings would fill the air during those early motion pictures, and when synchronized dialogue finally came to the movies, the music came with it. Movies could supply their own soundtracks, and filmmakers began injecting their films with dance numbers, popular songs, and unforgettable new compositions to underscore the drama, play up the comedy, or make the audience leap out of their seats in terror.
While there aren't as many musical movies in theaters as there used to be, everybody still loves a great musical number. The films of 2022 featured incredible music and dance numbers that made us laugh and cry, that inspired us, made us pensive, or just plain made us sad.
These are the musical numbers that will stick with us long after the calendar year is over, whether they were in a musical or not.
While there aren't as many musical movies in theaters as there used to be, everybody still loves a great musical number. The films of 2022 featured incredible music and dance numbers that made us laugh and cry, that inspired us, made us pensive, or just plain made us sad.
These are the musical numbers that will stick with us long after the calendar year is over, whether they were in a musical or not.
- 12/23/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Whenever Guillermo del Toro appears at screenings of his and Mark Gustafson’s stop-motion film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” he usually makes a point of saying that the movie was not made for children. And whenever he says that, there are invariably kids in the audience.
That’s what happens when you have an animated film based on an old story that has already served as the basis for a famous animated feature from Disney – it arrives with the assumption that it’s a movie for kids. But while del Toro’s “Pinocchio” includes a wrenching death early in the film and turns the title character’s quest to become a “real boy” into one that involves more confrontations with death and loss, the Oscar-winning director is fine with kids coming to see his film, as long as their parents are ready to talk to them about it.
“Listen,...
That’s what happens when you have an animated film based on an old story that has already served as the basis for a famous animated feature from Disney – it arrives with the assumption that it’s a movie for kids. But while del Toro’s “Pinocchio” includes a wrenching death early in the film and turns the title character’s quest to become a “real boy” into one that involves more confrontations with death and loss, the Oscar-winning director is fine with kids coming to see his film, as long as their parents are ready to talk to them about it.
“Listen,...
- 12/19/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Plot: This is the story of a grieving father’s wooden creation brought to life after the tragic death of his son. It all leads to a familiar adventure, this time in the hands of Guillermo del Toro.
Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is a beautiful film. The stop-motion animated retelling of this classic tale is yet another example of the filmmaker’s care to bring his vision to life. The new feature, co-directed by del Toro and Mark Gustafson, presents a rich animated story with an impressive cast. The talent includes Ewan McGregor, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, David Bradley, Burn Gorman, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, and Christoph Waltz. It also features young Gregory Mann as the title character. The new take is alive with songs and music by Alexandre Desplat. There is oh so much to enjoy here, so let’s start with the story.
Geppetto...
Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is a beautiful film. The stop-motion animated retelling of this classic tale is yet another example of the filmmaker’s care to bring his vision to life. The new feature, co-directed by del Toro and Mark Gustafson, presents a rich animated story with an impressive cast. The talent includes Ewan McGregor, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, David Bradley, Burn Gorman, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, and Christoph Waltz. It also features young Gregory Mann as the title character. The new take is alive with songs and music by Alexandre Desplat. There is oh so much to enjoy here, so let’s start with the story.
Geppetto...
- 12/9/2022
- by JimmyO
- JoBlo.com
Five of the creative talents behind animated films looking to gain traction in this year’s Oscar race sat down with Gold Derby recently and discussed subjects including what inspired them to get into animation and what they’d like to see from the medium in the future. This was all part of Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel on Film Animation that included Pierre Perifel (“The Bad Guys”), Peggy Holmes (“Luck”), Mark Gustafson (“Pinocchio”), Joel Crawford (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”) and Don Hall (“Strange World”).
You can watch the film animation group panel above with the people behind these five projects. Click on each person’s name above to be taken to each exclusive video interview.
For Holmes, it wasn’t a particular movie that made her fascinated with animation but an encounter she had when she used to work as a choreographer. Two music executives...
You can watch the film animation group panel above with the people behind these five projects. Click on each person’s name above to be taken to each exclusive video interview.
For Holmes, it wasn’t a particular movie that made her fascinated with animation but an encounter she had when she used to work as a choreographer. Two music executives...
- 11/28/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Mark Gustafson was all set to get working on the new adaptation of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” with the titular director but then the pandemic hit in early 2020. “We all just left work but what we did was many of the artists were able to work at home, like in their basements because they had all the kit, a lot of them, so they were able to continue making props and armatures,” he tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: Film Animation panel (watch the exclusive video interview above).
He gives a lot of credit to Netflix in keeping the production alive during a very trying period. “Netflix was an incredible partner in this thing and they said we’re going to keep funding you and we’re going to keep everybody on board. So we had this beautiful continuity across the pandemic and we were able to then just ramp up again.
He gives a lot of credit to Netflix in keeping the production alive during a very trying period. “Netflix was an incredible partner in this thing and they said we’re going to keep funding you and we’re going to keep everybody on board. So we had this beautiful continuity across the pandemic and we were able to then just ramp up again.
- 11/28/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Director Guillermo del Toro is known for the intense originality of his work, on vivid display in Oscar-winning films from Pan’s Labyrinth to The Shape of Water. For his latest, the Netflix animated film Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, he again set a high bar for himself.
“We believe that we should be bold, we should be crazy,” he said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles awards-season event. “We should try things that have never been done, push the art.”
Related: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Del Toro co-directed the film with Mark Gustafson, the stop-motion animator making his feature directorial debut. It’s a reimagining of the classic tale of woodcarver Gepetto, who carves the boy Pinocchio out of a tree. Gustafson said he responded to the script written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, based on the 19th century original by Carlo Collodi.
“We believe that we should be bold, we should be crazy,” he said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles awards-season event. “We should try things that have never been done, push the art.”
Related: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Del Toro co-directed the film with Mark Gustafson, the stop-motion animator making his feature directorial debut. It’s a reimagining of the classic tale of woodcarver Gepetto, who carves the boy Pinocchio out of a tree. Gustafson said he responded to the script written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, based on the 19th century original by Carlo Collodi.
- 11/19/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
What a world we could live in if only we allowed the innocence of children to run it.
My 11-year-old daughter Sophia is just learning about the scope of movies. You would assume the child of an entertainment writer and Oscar enthusiast might be well-versed in the styles of Akira Kurosawa and Steven Spielberg. Instead, she’s currently enamored with the world of horror movies, with the “Scream” franchise standing as her most vital consumption.
She’s only been to a handful of industry screenings, one of which was Pixar’s “Coco” (2017), which gave the two of us the memorable moment in which I was weeping intensely as Miguel sang to his beloved grandmother after returning to the real world. Then, with a dead silent New York audience, not knowing how to use her “inside voice,” she shouted, “Are you crying?” The crowd erupted in laughter.
Now, living in Los Angeles for over a year,...
My 11-year-old daughter Sophia is just learning about the scope of movies. You would assume the child of an entertainment writer and Oscar enthusiast might be well-versed in the styles of Akira Kurosawa and Steven Spielberg. Instead, she’s currently enamored with the world of horror movies, with the “Scream” franchise standing as her most vital consumption.
She’s only been to a handful of industry screenings, one of which was Pixar’s “Coco” (2017), which gave the two of us the memorable moment in which I was weeping intensely as Miguel sang to his beloved grandmother after returning to the real world. Then, with a dead silent New York audience, not knowing how to use her “inside voice,” she shouted, “Are you crying?” The crowd erupted in laughter.
Now, living in Los Angeles for over a year,...
- 11/6/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Everything is coming up “Pinocchio.”
The spring saw the release of the Russian-made animated film “Pinocchio: A True Story” featuring the voice of Pauly Shore as the puppet who wants to become real. Decider described it as as “Pinocchi-oh-no.” And then Disney+ premiered its new live action/CGI remake of the 1940 Disney animated classic “Pinocchio,” directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto this past Sept. Most critics thought it was rather “wooden.”
Looks like the third time is the charm with Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated “Pinocchio.” It debuted to rave reviews at the BFI London Film Festival, and will get a limited release in November before streaming on Netflix starting Dec. 9. 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.
The spring saw the release of the Russian-made animated film “Pinocchio: A True Story” featuring the voice of Pauly Shore as the puppet who wants to become real. Decider described it as as “Pinocchi-oh-no.” And then Disney+ premiered its new live action/CGI remake of the 1940 Disney animated classic “Pinocchio,” directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto this past Sept. Most critics thought it was rather “wooden.”
Looks like the third time is the charm with Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated “Pinocchio.” It debuted to rave reviews at the BFI London Film Festival, and will get a limited release in November before streaming on Netflix starting Dec. 9. 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.
- 10/24/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio is widely understood as an easily accessible coming-of-age metaphor—peeling back our childlike wonderment at the world to expose the nastiness within, an experience that leads to us gaining our collective humanity. It’s a broad-enough allegory to ensure Pinocchio can successfully be reimagined any way—a belief furthered by director Guillermo Del Toro, who recently hailed the character as one of the most “universal” in fiction. The tale of the wooden boy works equally well if redefined to fit a specific social or cultural critique as it does a straightforward retelling of the fantastical bildungsroman, though few filmmakers are taking advantage of the myriad possibilities which come with telling a story ripe for reimagining in rich new contexts. In recent years, everybody from Matteo Garrone to Robert Zemeckis has tried their hand at Pinocchio, the latter’s Disney adaptation being the most...
- 10/17/2022
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio had its world premiere at this week’s London Film Festival and the debut was both a triumph for the movie and a unique experience on personal levels.
Reviews coming out of the BFI London Film Festival for Pinocchio have been extremely positive, with praise going towards del Toro, its stop-motion animation and beautiful storytelling, with some calling it the director’s best work in at least a decade.
‘Pinocchio’ Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Best Movie in a Decade Is a Stop-Motion Triumph https://t.co/aaHnjWfIkP pic.twitter.com/MnZjuGqRYG
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) October 15, 2022
Guillermo del Toro puts his own heartfelt, yet dark twist on the classic tale of #Pinocchio. The visual and thematic language of the film is rich, meaningful and clearly made by Del Toro. Also, the stop-motion animation is a miracle of craftsmanship! #Lff @RealGDT pic.twitter.com/sKp0j0zSfc...
Reviews coming out of the BFI London Film Festival for Pinocchio have been extremely positive, with praise going towards del Toro, its stop-motion animation and beautiful storytelling, with some calling it the director’s best work in at least a decade.
‘Pinocchio’ Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Best Movie in a Decade Is a Stop-Motion Triumph https://t.co/aaHnjWfIkP pic.twitter.com/MnZjuGqRYG
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) October 15, 2022
Guillermo del Toro puts his own heartfelt, yet dark twist on the classic tale of #Pinocchio. The visual and thematic language of the film is rich, meaningful and clearly made by Del Toro. Also, the stop-motion animation is a miracle of craftsmanship! #Lff @RealGDT pic.twitter.com/sKp0j0zSfc...
- 10/16/2022
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
It's pretty serendipitous that "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" (which del Toro co-directed with experienced stop-motion artist Mark Gustafson) is arriving so shortly after Disney's lifeless live-action remake. It's easy to forget just how ubiquitous the Disney formula — taking classic children's stories and smoothing out the ugly parts, sad endings, and dark corners — has become until you're confronted with an adaptation that refuses to talk down to children or draw a sunny curtain over the terrors of the world.
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" ends with its young heroine being rejected by her prince and casting herself into the ocean, where her mortal body dissolves into sea foam and she reemerges as a benevolent spirit. Andersen's "The Snow Queen" opens with the devil himself creating a corrupted mirror that shatters; the splinters are blown all around the world and get stuck in people's eyes so that everything they see is twisted into ugliness.
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" ends with its young heroine being rejected by her prince and casting herself into the ocean, where her mortal body dissolves into sea foam and she reemerges as a benevolent spirit. Andersen's "The Snow Queen" opens with the devil himself creating a corrupted mirror that shatters; the splinters are blown all around the world and get stuck in people's eyes so that everything they see is twisted into ugliness.
- 10/15/2022
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
The possessive claim in the title “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is a gutsy one. There’s confidence — some would even say arrogance — in filming an oft-told story at least as old as the hills, and suddenly branding it as your own: Even two auteurs as ballsy as Francis Ford Coppola and Baz Luhrmann didn’t slap their own names on “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet,” respectively. Still, you can hardly blame del Toro’s stop-motion spin on Carlo Collodi’s 19th-century chestnut “The Adventures of Pinocchio” for wanting to advertise its distinguishing vision up top: After umpteen tellings of the wooden-boy tale, and coming on the heels of Robert Zemeckis’ wretched Disney remake, Netflix’s rival adaptation has to announce itself as something different. That it is; it’s often delightful too.
There’s a reason why Collodi’s story keeps getting recycled, of course:...
There’s a reason why Collodi’s story keeps getting recycled, of course:...
- 10/15/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson's stop-motion "Pinocchio" probably won't be anyone's introduction to the story or the character. Since "The Adventures of Pinocchio" was first written by Carlo Collodi in the 1880s, it has been retold by everyone from Walt Disney to Steven Spielberg. Del Toro and Gustafson's picture won't even be the first "Pinocchio" film released in 2022 (though it is on track to be the best). According to del Toro, this proliferation is a feature, not a bug.
/Film's Jeremy Mathai attended the "Pinocchio" junket, where del Toro discussed why he believes Pinocchio is a "universal" character:
"Even if you haven't read the story, you know the story, or you think you know the story, and therefore you can use them as metaphors for science, for human emotions, for many, many things. "
Indeed, because everyone knows the basics of "Pinocchio," the only proper way to retell...
/Film's Jeremy Mathai attended the "Pinocchio" junket, where del Toro discussed why he believes Pinocchio is a "universal" character:
"Even if you haven't read the story, you know the story, or you think you know the story, and therefore you can use them as metaphors for science, for human emotions, for many, many things. "
Indeed, because everyone knows the basics of "Pinocchio," the only proper way to retell...
- 10/11/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Guillermo del Toro has more than one project in his cabinet of Netflix curiosities. The Oscar-winning filmmaker's "Cabinet of Curiosities" anthology, which features eight episodes by different directors, hits the streamer just in time for Halloween later this month, and del Toro won't waste anytime following it up, as his stop-motion "Pinocchio" adaptation is on deck for a limited theatrical release in November, followed by its Netflix release in December.
That's the plan, at least, but with "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," del Toro and his collaborators, including co-director Mark Gustafson and co-writer Patrick McHale, were not afraid to deviate from the original plan they had in mind for the movie's villain — even if it meant scrapping more than a decade's worth of work. /Film's Jeremy Mathai recently attended a press junket for del Toro's longtime passion project which the director had been developing since 2008.
"There is a moment in which the story changes very deeply.
That's the plan, at least, but with "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," del Toro and his collaborators, including co-director Mark Gustafson and co-writer Patrick McHale, were not afraid to deviate from the original plan they had in mind for the movie's villain — even if it meant scrapping more than a decade's worth of work. /Film's Jeremy Mathai recently attended a press junket for del Toro's longtime passion project which the director had been developing since 2008.
"There is a moment in which the story changes very deeply.
- 10/10/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Adapting literary fairy tales from the page to the screen is a colossal task because it presents the filmmaker with a challenge to capture the spirit of the source material while bringing their own brand of imagination. Based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio," the story of a wooden boy coming to life has had so many different interpretations across so many different mediums. Although when most people think of the story, the 1940 animated Disney film is the one that will likely pop into your head first.
Even when it strayed from Collodi's story, the film has endured across the decades because the signature Disney animation has been cemented in our minds. Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio" has also been cemented in my head, albeit for a more terrifying reason. The story persists because the best fairy tales are timeless metaphors for the lessons we must learn in life,...
Even when it strayed from Collodi's story, the film has endured across the decades because the signature Disney animation has been cemented in our minds. Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio" has also been cemented in my head, albeit for a more terrifying reason. The story persists because the best fairy tales are timeless metaphors for the lessons we must learn in life,...
- 10/10/2022
- by Matthew Bilodeau
- Slash Film
2022 is bringing us not one, but two new unique visions of the classic tale of "Pinocchio." One we've already seen in the form of Disney's live-action/CGI hybrid from director Robert Zemeckis which was, to put it nicely, not exactly embraced by the critical community. The next up to bat hails from the mind of Guillermo del Toro, the man behind "The Shape of Water" and "Nightmare Alley." In this case, we're getting a dark take on the material, but one that is stepping into the world of animation. However, del Toro and his co-director Mark Gusafson approached the film as though it were live-action.
/Film's own Jeremy Mathai recently attended a press junket for Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio," which is set to hit Netflix later this year. During the conversation, del Toro and Gustafson explained the bible that they put together for the film, ultimately leading to a live-action-esque approach.
/Film's own Jeremy Mathai recently attended a press junket for Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio," which is set to hit Netflix later this year. During the conversation, del Toro and Gustafson explained the bible that they put together for the film, ultimately leading to a live-action-esque approach.
- 10/10/2022
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Swedish helmer Mika Gustafson, one of a roster of promising Swedish voices with “Clara Sola”’s Natalie Álvarez-Mesén at Stockholm-based Hobab, has finalised the cast for her directorial debut “Sisters.”
The feature is in final stages of filming, and co-produced by Italy’s Intramovies, Denmark’s Toobox and Finland’s Tuffi Films.
Ida Engvoll, who broke out in Netflix romcom “Love & Anarchy,” plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters.
Laura asks Hanna to “play” their mum when social services come knocking at the sisters’ doors, threatening to separate them and place them in a foster home. But when Hanna shows her affection, Laura loses control and starts spiralling downwards.
Gustafson who was trained at Ruben Östlund’s auteur-driven Valand film school in Götenborg, said in a statement that she was inspired “by the playfulness of the French New Wave,...
The feature is in final stages of filming, and co-produced by Italy’s Intramovies, Denmark’s Toobox and Finland’s Tuffi Films.
Ida Engvoll, who broke out in Netflix romcom “Love & Anarchy,” plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters.
Laura asks Hanna to “play” their mum when social services come knocking at the sisters’ doors, threatening to separate them and place them in a foster home. But when Hanna shows her affection, Laura loses control and starts spiralling downwards.
Gustafson who was trained at Ruben Östlund’s auteur-driven Valand film school in Götenborg, said in a statement that she was inspired “by the playfulness of the French New Wave,...
- 8/24/2022
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
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