Clay puppets and stop motion are front and center at the latest MOMA exhibit featuring Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Stop motion animation is a technique as old as cinema itself creating one frame at a time by hand using puppets moved ever so slightly between shots.Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio breathes new life into the craft with the director's signature style elevated by a team of talented sculptures and stop-motion animators.
Puppets in various stages of completion accompany props and sets that the team crafted by hand, in many sizes to achieve the shots they needed throughout the film. "I love the possibility of making a Pinocchio that is disobedient, that doesn't have to change to satisfy others," Del Toro said. Del Toro partnered with Director Mark Gustafson whose stop animation work can be seen in films like Fantastic Mr. Fox and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.