Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion “Pinocchio” for Netflix is riding high on a wave of stunning reviews. The film has clocked up a stunning 97% (8.4/10) on Rotten Tomatoes and is being praised as one of the year’s best.
But it may just be the start of del Toro’s long-gestating passion projects being turned into Netflix features. It’s now looking possible that del Toro’s most elusive white whale – an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s novella “At The Mountains Of Madness” – could be in reach.
Speaking to IndieWire about his stop-motion love, del Toro revealed that he has spoken to VFX and stop-motion legend Phil Tippett, coming off raves for his experimental film “Mad God,” about translating his ‘Mountains’ adaptation into a stop-motion animated feature:
“I said it would be ideal to do ‘Mountains of Madness’ as stop-motion. You watch the animation in a more rapturous way than live action. It’s almost a hypnotic act, and the relationship to the story becomes more intimate in that way.”
del Toro has been trying to make an adaptation of Lovecraft’s 1936 horror story for nearly twenty years, and recently shared test CG footage created years ago of one of the creatures. However, he has been unable to make the film due to concerns over budget and tone – issues that are far less of a problem in terms of animation, and stop-motion animation in particular, is suited for horror tales.
Lovecraft’s story follows explorers in Antarctica who uncover the remains of highly evolved creatures, neither plant nor animal. Investigating a gigantic mountain range, they come upon an abandoned ancient city. Their explorations underground cause something to stir from its slumber. Tom Cruise and James Cameron were linked to work with del Toro on the live-action adaptation that failed to get the green light back in the mid-2000a.
