Guillermo del Toro "sobs like a baby" whenever he watches his version of 'Pinocchio'.

Guillermo del Toro is left in tears when he watches 'Pinocchio'.

Guillermo del Toro is left in tears when he watches 'Pinocchio'.

The Oscar-winning director is helming a new animated take on the classic story – that will feature the voices of Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett and Christoph Waltz – and he admits that the personal passion project has left him feeling very emotional.

Guillermo told Collider: "Obviously in animation, you get to see the movie in storyboards beginning to end many many times, and then you add the stop-motion. Right now we are 50 per cent animated and 50 per cent in storyboards.

"Every time I watch the movie I just sob like a baby."

The movie is slated for release in late 2022 and Guillermo says it is different from any other adaptation of the classic Italian tale.

The 'Shape of Water' director said: "It's unlike any version of the story you've ever seen. It's completely unlike it. It subverts the moral underpinnings of the original fable, which is, in order to be a real boy you have to change. You're going to become flesh and blood. This is about becoming a real boy by acting... acting like a real human, period."

Guillermo admitted his new flick – which he is directing alongside Mark Gustafson – is very "personal" as he drew on the parallels between 'Pinocchio' and 'Frankenstein'.

He explained: "It's a very very very personal movie for me. The flip-side for me (has) always been Pinocchio and Frankenstein, are the same story. Because essentially, that's the same story.

"The idea of a Pinocchio that talks about things that I consider very deep but it's fun and it's a musical at the same time, I find it really incredibly moving."