Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is not for 'small children' warns Christoph Waltz

Watch: Christoph Waltz on the demographic for Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz has added his voice to the on-going debate about animation being just for kids – by saying that his latest film, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, isn’t for small children.

Directed by del Toro, the latest version of the classic fairy tale is released on Netflix on 9 December, but Waltz is clear that — unlike some previous versions of the tale — it’s not for youngsters.

“It’s not for small children. Definitely not,” Waltz warns Yahoo UK.

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“All children should get a little guidance, but it’s not a kiddie movie.”

The two-time Academy Award-winner, who voices the villainous Count Volpe in the film, added that it can be appreciated and understood in a number of different ways. It will also give adults plenty to think about.

“A great movie is to be watched on many, many different levels and if you include children, so much the better,” he commented.

“An adult gets everything that they can understand and he/she needs to be a little bit on their toes to really get what’s going on.”

Watch a trailer for Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

Co-star Gregory Mann, who provides the voice of Pinocchio, noticed that his own understanding of the story changed as he got older.

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“When I was looking at the script, sometimes ten year old me would wonder what it really meant," Mann explains. "Now that I’ve watched it and re-thought it, I can see hidden meanings in things. But when I was nine or 10, I don’t think I would have seen that.”

Inspired by the original novel by 19th century Italian author, Carlo Collodi, the film tells the story of a wooden puppet and his adventures as he tries to become a real boy.

Previous movie versions include Disney’s much-loved 1940 cartoon, but for his new interpretation del Toro has chosen stop motion animation, creating a distinctive and magical world.

The film is already tipped as the front runner for Best Animated Feature at next year’s Academy Awards.

The film’s arrival has re-ignited the debate about whether animated films are only for children. Lee Unkrich, director of Disney Pixar’s Oscar winners Toy Story 3 and Coco, has been vocal on the subject this week on Twitter, describing Woody and Buzz’s third adventure as “…. not a kid’s movie. It’s a movie for everyone.”

Alongside Waltz and Mann, there’s a stellar line-up of voices for this new version of Pinocchio, including Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson and Ron Perlman. Del Toro co-directs with animation specialist, Mark Gustafson, and also co-wrote the script.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is released on Netflix on 9 December, 2022.