Pinocchio Writer-Director Guillermo del Toro Finds His Next Stop Motion Project, ‘The Buried Giant’

GUILLERMO del Toro, fresh off his success with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, has already found his next stop-motion project.

Earlier this year, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio opened to rave reviews from critics and commercial success, as it currently holds a 97 percent rating from critics and 91 percent from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which acts as a dark take on the iconic Italian children’s fairytale, has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Motion Picture.

The writer-director has revealed he already has his sights on another animated feature-length film. He plans to adapt The Buried Giant, the 2015 novel by Nobel-prize-winner Kazuo Ishiguro, for the big screen. There is no release date yet but — since del Toro has his plate currently full with a live-action film, which may be a monster movie — it may be a while before del Toro’s The Buried Giant officially enters production.

According to del Toro, however, he starts the design process with Matilda the Musical scribe Dennis Kelly, who’s co-writing The Buried Giant, in two weeks.

Del Toro’s had a busy year, from Netflix’s anthological horror series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities to the poignant, dark and heartfelt Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. But the quantity doesn’t seem to dilute his talent one bit. With the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, it’s become clear that the filmmaker has a talent for the artisanal art form of stop-motion animation. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio has even been nominated for an Oscar, facing Turning Red, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, The Sea Beast and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. While the lineup’s chockfull of gorgeously animated films — Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is another heartfelt stop-motion film — it’s likely that del Toro’s masterfully crafted stop-motion feature will take home the Oscar.

Additionally, with the talent and source material that’s so far attached to The Buried Giant, del Toro may have another hit ready for his anticipating fans. The Buried Giant is a 2015 fantasy novel that follows an elderly Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice, living in a fictional post-Arthurian England in which no one is capable of holding long-term memories. After vaguely recalling they might have had a son years earlier, the couple venture to a neighboring village to find him. It’s a seemingly poignant story that will perfectly pair up with the intimacy of stop-motion animation. Upon its release, The Buried Giant became an instant classic and has been described as a profound foray into memory and guilt.

The whimsy and heavy themes are right up del Toro’s alley, who treats his films with complexity in their horrors and heartbreaking moments, his most recent film Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio being a prime example. Matilda the Musical writer Kelly, who’s co-writing del Toro’s The Buried Giant, is another relief, as the writer has experience adapting classic novels for the big screen. While del Toro’s The Buried Giant might not reach theaters soon, his success with stop-motion so far makes the project one to watch out for. (source: screenrant.com)

(ROHN ROMULO)