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