Guillermo del Toro's 'Pinocchio' Is a Twist on a Timeless Tale, Early Screening at the KCET Cinema Series

"This felt like a perfect time for me to do a more somber version of Pinocchio," says Guillermo del Toro. "I wanted to make a heartfelt movie, one I believe any audience could watch, but also take one of the most delicate, artisanal forms of animation and push it as much as possible. I think animation is coming to a crucial point in which we have to push it into the realm of being an art form that is recognized as cinema and not just a genre that is encircled by a family audience. Animation, to me, has to break that barrier by being a little more daring technically, a little more daring thematically, a little more daring in addressing the tale at its peak artistic form so that it resonates with us. Pinocchio is that type of story."

Immediately following the screening, Deadline's chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET's Must See Movies, moderated a Q&A with two-time Oscar winning director-writer Guillermo del Toro, and Oscar winning composer Alexandre Desplat.

Listen to the full Q&A from the screening below.

The long-running in-person film series returns in October to the historic Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, while the popular virtual series continues on Eventive, a technology platform designed specifically to enhance the online film viewing experience.