Director and producer Guillermo Del Toro and The Jim Henson Company have joined forces with Pathe to develop and produce a 3D stop-motion animated version of Pinocchio.

The team will move forward with production later this year and has tapped Pinocchio illustrator Gris Grimly to co-direct the film alongside Mark Gustafson (animation director on The Fantastic Mr. Fox).   Puppets and other 3D elements will be developed in collaboration with UK-based MacKinnon and Saunders, which has worked on imagery for The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Frankenweenie.

Author Carlo Collodi’s puppet-boy first hit the silver screen in a 1940 Disney production. In this latest version of the classic tale, Pinocchio embarks on a series of adventures, proving himself to be as indestructible as his love for his father.