Elio star Yonas Kibreab is plotting his next move. The 13-year-old actor will voice star in Pinocchio & the Water of Life, an indie animated feature he will also executive produce.
The film is a steampunk-inspired take on the classic story of the wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. Victor Lakisov directs from a script by Mark DeCarlo and Ryan Rowe, based on the characters created by Italian author Carlo Collodi, who introduced the world to Pinocchio in 1883’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Per the logline, the film follows “Pinocchio and his sidekick Coot as they try to save his puppet friends from the villainous Faustino—who livestreams their destruction in nightly pay-per-view events.”
“I loved voicing Pinocchio,” said Kibreab in a statement. “The animation is incredible—like nothing I’ve ever seen. Victor is a true artist, and being an executive producer on this project has been such an honor.”
He joins a voice cast that includes James Hong, Fred Tatasciore, Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche, Tom Kenny, Phil LaMarr, Candi Milo and Yeni Alvarez. The film is in post-production and is eying a 2025 release from Asymmetric Studios.
In Elio, Kibreab starred as the titular character, a boy whose dream of being updated by aliens come true. Though Elio was soft at the box office this weekend, it earned strong reviews and marked a high profile project for the young actor, whose credits also include Sweettooth and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“This is a passion project through and through,” he said of his next movie. “The quality and emotion remind me of Elio, but this is something different—magical and unexpected. I’m so proud to help bring it to life.”