PINOCCHIO: FIRST LOOK AT THE TALKING CRICKET FROM THE HORROR REMAKE: HE'S TERRIFYING

Forget the comforting fairy tale you grew up with: Pinocchio is about to return in horror form. The new remake, titled Pinocchio: Unstrung, completely overturns the myth of the wooden puppet, erasing any trace of a happy ending. Over the years, we’ve seen countless adaptations of Collodi’s tale: from Disney’s animated classic, to Matteo Garrone’s visionary live-action, to Guillermo del Toro’s heartbreaking stop-motion version. Now, horror cinema takes hold of the story, turning it into a waking nightmare. Behind the camera is Rhys Frake-Waterfield, best known as the director of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel. With Pinocchio: Unstrung, he aims to deliver his most ambitious work yet, focusing on practical effects to bring the puppet and disturbing sequences to life, while keeping CGI to a minimum. The film is part of the Twisted Childhood Universe (also known as the Poohniverse), a shared horror universe that reimagines childhood icons such as Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning. The first official images reveal a hauntingly twisted version of Pinocchio, far removed from traditional depictions. Even the Talking Cricket takes on sinister tones: the design unveiled on X shows a creature voiced by none other than Robert Englund, the legendary Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare saga. Gone are the blue hat and elegant suit—what remains is raw nakedness and a chilling stare. The storyline also strays from the original: Geppetto is no longer the lonely carpenter longing for a son, but the owner of a mysterious “magic doll” named Pinocchio. It’s his nephew James who befriends the puppet, unaware of the darkness that lurks beneath. Once exposed to the cruelty and corruption of the world, Pinocchio channels his innocence into murderous rage, embarking on a bloody crusade to wipe out the wicked.