Ewan McGregor Will Be Jiminy Cricket in del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
By George Robbins
With the movie industry the way it is right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is always nice to find out that things are still moving forward. The movie industry found itself grinding to a halt after everything from theaters to productions were shut down to help prevent spread of the virus. Despite all of this, we still ended up getting news about new projects that are being worked on or will be worked on when people could get back to work. Many movies were supposed to begin production around the time the pandemic began, but had to postpone until a later date. Others haven’t even started production yet and now is the perfect time for plans to be made concerning how studios will move forward from here with filming.
Within the last few years, there has been a resurgence in remakes of films being made and now we will be getting a ‘Pinocchio’ remake. Though it seems this new film will be much darker than the original film which isn’t all that surprising given it is being directed by Guillermo del Toro. The new movie will be a stop-motion animated film that still maintains the musical aspect of the story, but tells a much darker fantastical tale. Guillermo del Toro is known for creating worlds in his movies that have dark tones to them with one of the most prominent being ‘Pan’s Labyrinth.’ He intends to make the film more reminiscent of the 2002 adaptation of the original 1883 novel ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio.’
At a time where film productions, if they are even allowed to start, are difficult to maneuver, it would be very hard for a movie to still be worked on properly. With an animated film, it becomes much more likely that the film can be worked on even if not in the proper setting. Not having actors involved in any live action scenes makes the production of the movie simpler since they won’t have to worry about the distancing rules or anything like that. With this being the case, talented actors must still lend their voices to create characters that fit into the world of the movie. One of the most memorable characters in the history of this story is Jiminy Cricket and if you want a memorable performance for the character, who better than Ewan McGregor.
McGregor was recently seen in ‘Birds of Prey’ as villain Black Mask and is most notably remembered as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels. It was revealed by the voice of Gepetto, David Bradley, that McGregor was cast early this year to play an unspecified role. Now we are aware that the role he will be playing is the one of the iconic character and the guide for Pinocchio’s journey, Jiminy Cricket. As of now, the film still has a 2021 release, so perhaps the fact it is an animated film will make it possible to finish working on it for a timely release. This way, we will be able to listen to McGregor’s performance and see if he can truly create a memorable version of the character.