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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio co-director Mark Gustafson dies aged 64

Del Toro describes Gustafson – who worked on Fantastic Mr Fox and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas – as a ‘pillar of stop-motion animation’

Gustafson joined Del Toro on Pinocchio after a long career in stop-motion, having animated The California Raisins in the 1980s at the start of his career, and rising to be animation director on the Wes Anderson Roald Dahl adaptation Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009. Gustafson was originally intended to co-direct Pinocchio with illustrator Gris Grimly, with Del Toro producing, but eventually Del Toro decided to get more closely involved, saying: “Little by little, I realised that I should direct.” The resulting film, with Gustafson’s experience ballasting Del Toro’s visionary flights of fancy, was a triumph, winning the best animated film Oscar in 2023, as well as a host of other major awards. Photograph: APIn his tribute Del Toro wrote: “I admired Mark Gustafson, even before I met him.

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