Guillermo del Toro explains how his take on an iconic story told to death will really be different

Pinocchio is a classic story told over time that has made millions for Disney. Like other public domain tales, however, others can do things with the wooden toy which becomes a real boy, and, now, Guillermo del Toro is revealing how his will stand on its own.

The acclaimed director speaks about his project coming to Netflix in December in a new article published by SlashFilm earlier today. In contrast to the other films with the character, his is stop-motion and not animated or live-action. Del Toro has also put the piece in a darker context (set during fascist Italy) and adds, the core of his production is exploring, to a degree, what it means to be human.

“Well, first of all, I would say almost every other Pinocchio story is about obedience. Ours is about disobedience. Disobedience is a primary factor in becoming human, and how becoming human doesn’t mean changing yourself or others. But understanding, and I think the main first step towards conscience and the soul for me, is disobedience.”

Later in the article, del Toro continues to pitch the setting as something that will tell its own story. Audiences will get to see exactly what that means first-hand soon enough in an adaptation that boasts top tier talent such as Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman and Gregory Mann as the titular character. Del Toro has pursued the work as a passion project for more than a decade and has previously said it has influenced his life more than anything else, and that nothing else has ever forged such a deeply personal connection to who he is as an artist.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is due to release in December.