First Look at Robert Englund’s Nightmarish Jiminy Cricket in PINOCCHIO: UNSTRUNG
Thanks to a pair of new promo images, we’ve got our first look at Robert Englund stepping into an unexpected role for the upcoming horror reimagining Pinocchio: Unstrung.
The A Nightmare on Elm Street legend is bringing his voice to a nightmare-inducing version of Jiminy Cricket, and the results are every bit as unsettling as you’d hope.
The original Pinocchio tale was always darker than the Disney version most people know, but this latest addition to the Twisted Childhood Universe, also known as the “Poohniverse,” looks like it’s pushing things even further into horror territory.
Earlier this year, fans got a first taste of Pinocchio: Unstrung through promo stills and a behind-the-scenes look at the impressively creepy practical Pinocchio puppet. These new shots, however, give us a glimpse of Englund’s twisted cricket, and it’s hard not to see the Freddy Krueger influence in the design.
The monstrous insect looks like it crawled straight out of a nightmare, and with Englund’s voice behind it, Jiminy is going to be a whole new kind of terrifying.
The movie comes from Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the director of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, and is produced by Scott Jeffrey under Jagged Edge Productions. The story centers on “young James as he learns of his grandfather Geppetto’s deadly secret: Pinocchio.” Richard Brake (Barbarian, Mandy) is set to take on the role of Geppetto, which should be a highlight in itself.
Pinocchio: Unstrung is part of the growing Twisted Childhood Universe, which already includes the Blood and Honey films and Bambi: The Reckoning.
All of these silly horror reinterpretations are paving the way for Poohniverse Monsters Assemble, a horror crossover described as “an Avengers-style crossover bringing together various other beloved children’s characters gone (very) bad.”