Guillermo Del Toro Warns 'Pinocchio' Fans His Version Is 'Not A Babysitter Movie'

"Pinocchio" director Guillermo Del Toro got candid on what fans can expect from his version of the Italian classic.

During the film's New York premiere earlier this week, the Oscar-winning director warned parents that his take on "Pinocchio," out now on Netflix, is not a kids' movie.

"People ask us if it is for kids [and] we say, 'It's not made for kids but kids can watch it if their parents talk to them.' It's not a babysitter movie, it's a movie that will have kids ask questions," del Toro told Page Six.

The classic story about a puppet boy whose nose grows when he lies and who dreams of becoming a real boy has been adapted many times since it was first created in 1883 by Carlo Collodi. It was famously adapted by Walt Disney in 1940. Disney also produced a live-action "Pinocchio" film this year starring Tom Hanks as woodcarver Geppetto, the creator of Pinocchio.

Del Toro explained that his take on the fairytale is neither as dark as the original nor as saccharine as the Disney version.

"The important thing for me is that it can stand thematically side to side with 'Pan's Labyrinth' or 'The Devil's Backbone,' that was the idea," he told the outlet. "It took us this long to make it, amongst other things, because we wanted it to be thematically relevant."

He also shared that he wanted to explore the themes of obedience, integrity and being true to one's self, which was why his movie was set in Mussolini's fascist Italy.

"Obedience to me is when you are told to follow something whether, on a religious level or social level, that you don't understand, that is a big mistake. Disobedience with consciousness is always the beginning of thought, of soul and self," the director continued. "When I was a practicing Catholic, not lapsed as I am now, I used to think about where the human soul lies — it lies in the freedom of choice. The choice is to be human."

On Thursday, del Toro was honored at the Museum of Modern Art's 2022 Film Benefit ahead of "Pinocchio's" Friday release on Netflix.

In his speech at the event, he defended his pursuit of monsters in his work and opened up about why he turned the classic story of a disobedient puppet into a "grief-strewn fable of loss and submission," Variety reported.

The filmmaker explained that "fantasy allows us to grasp ideas and concepts that we could not embrace or encompass in any other way."

Del Toro also got emotional as he talked about his work, according to the outlet.

"The only way you can be loved is if you're loved for who you are, where you have no simulation and you're not afraid to wear your imperfections as a badge of honor," he told the benefit's guests. "And this is why I love monsters, and this is why films have saved my life so many times."

The director continued, "These convictions and these images exist in a land beyond words, in a place that can only be touched by sound and image. I have followed the beckoning of things I can not name, and I have aspired to dreams and ideas to which I have been faithful. I have abandoned reason to birth monsters, and I have been disobedient with reality to find truth."

"Pinocchio" is now streaming on Netflix.