Guillermo del Toro Crafting Pinocchio

“No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio,” the acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro has said. Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio, an exhibition uniquely organized during the production of a feature film, focuses on Del Toro’s first stop-motion animated feature—an innovative reinterpretation of Carlo Collodi’s 1883 children’s novel, now set in Fascist-era Italy. In this exhibition, which coincides with the film’s premiere, visitors will experience being on a movie set and see first-hand how an international team of designers, craftspeople, and animation artists in Portland, Oregon, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Altrincham, England worked collaboratively to realize Del Toro’s vision.

Opening with classic and contemporary editions and interpretations of Pinocchio from around the world, the exhibition also includes production art, props, and a look at the various phases of puppet-making. Working film sets from Del Toro’s movie, motion tests, and time-lapse video installations document the complex stop-motion process that brings the story’s characters to life. The exhibition concludes with an immersive installation that brings together newly commissioned video and posters from Del Toro’s filmography, including works such as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Pacific Rim(2013), The Shape of Water (2017), and Nightmare Alley (2021).

MoMA Presents

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.
 Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Through Mar 15