Grieving Guillermo Del Toro Launches 'Pinocchio' in London One Day After His Mother's Death: 'It Was Very Special For Her And Me'

After an uphill battle of 14 years, Mexican author Guillermo del Toro was finally able to share his project of dreams with an audience as "Pinocchio" (officially titled "Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro") had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

Taking the stage before the premiere, del Toro spoke about his connection to history: "J saw the movie when I was a kid and it's a movie that bonded me with my mother for a lifetime. It touched me because Pinocchio saw the world the way I saw it. I was a bit furious that people demand Pinocchio's obedience so I wanted to make a film about disobedience as a virtue, and saying that you don't have to change to be loved."

The film's young star, newcomer Gregory Mann, described the premiere – which coincides with his 13th birthday, a fortuitous event that earned him an affectionate birthday chant from the public - as "the happiest day of his life".

On stage, del Toro wanted to reinforce his love and that of his team for the profession of 'animation, "Everyone here believes that animation is not a genre. This animation is art. Animation is a film. Visibly moved, the filmmaker bid farewell to the audience by paying tribute to his late mother, who died the day before the film's world premiere: "I just want to say, my mother just passed away, and it was very special for her and me. . It's not just the first time you see the film, it's the first time she will see the film with us. Thank you."

Directed alongside Mark Gustafson ("The Fantastic Mr Fox"), the film took 1,000 days to produce, with a huge lineup of animators working tirelessly to bring the filmmaker's ambitious vision to life. The effort paid off as audiences burst into laughter and quietly wiped away tears at the film's first public screening on Saturday at London's imposing Royal Festival Hall.

Pinocchio himself walked the red carpet at the BFI London Film Festival. Well, the Pinocchio puppet used in the movie. The intricate model was placed on a small pedestal as photographers crouched down to take a photo of the miniature. Other stars in attendance included Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Netflix's Ted Sarandos - who posed with model Pinocchio - and composer Alexandre Desplat, who is reuniting with the Mexican director for the first time since the 2017 Oscar-winning drama "The Shape of the water". ”

Saved from development hell by Netflix, del Toro's take on the classic 1883 book by Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio" sets the famous tale of the wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy against the dark backdrop of Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy. Mann voices the main character while a legion of big names make up the rest of the cast, including Waltz, Blanchett, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton and John Turturro.

Variety Guy Lodge labeled "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" "a rare for kids entertainment that's not afraid to perplex children as much as it delights them, down to a coda that incites some level of junior existential contemplation (not to mention a mournful tear or two) at the notion of dead insect in a coffin of matches in the wooden – but very real – heart of a boy. It's a quick, sumptuous shot of weirdness, better seen than described."

"Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" is one of many Netflix films coming to London for the festival of that year, and was one of the two world premieres alongside Nora Twomey's "My Father's Dragon". Other Netflix titles in the 2022 edition include Sebastian Lelio's 'The Wonder', Alejandro González Iñárritu's surreal examination of cultural displacement 'Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths', 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" by Rian Johnson and Adaptation by Noah Baumbach of the eponymous novel by Don DeLillo "White Noise".

"Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" will have its US premiere at AFI Fest in November, followed by . . .