Penketh high-school alumni helped create Oscar-winning Pinocchio

Former Penketh High School pupil Ian Mackinnon, 45, helped create the beautiful puppets behind Guillermo Del-Toro’s Oscar-winning passion project ‘Pinocchio’.

Guillermo Del Toro with one of the puppets from Pinocchio, which Ian McKinnon helped create (Image: Netflix)

In a recent BAFTA acceptance speech, former Best Director winner Guillermo Del-Toro thanked Mackinnon’s Altrincham based company Mackinnon and Saunders for their work in bringing the puppets to life.

Co-Director Mark Gustafson, when collecting the award alongside Del-Toro, said:

“This film required hundreds of people and we poured ourselves into this.

"Also, the team in Guadalajara and also in Manchester, our puppet makers, it's a huge effort.”

‘Pinocchio’ won Best Animated Feature in Sunday night's Oscars, with the film creating outcry online that it didn’t receive more nominations.

The film was a passion project for Del-Toro, who has become an ardent champion in recent years for the art of animation.

Work began on the project as far back as 2008, with Mackinnon’s company creating some of the original concept prototypes for the Mexican director’s interpretation of the classic fairy-tale.

McKinnon’s career was kickstarted after his winning entry in a Warrington Guardian school art competition in 1985. His work grabbed the attention of animators Cosgrave Hall Films.

Since then, McKinnon has set up his own company with Peter Saunders, and have worked on such projects as Pingu, Postman Pat, and Oscar nominated Fantastic Mr Fox.