Always let your conscience be your guide.
Well, except when your shareholders say otherwise. In that case, keep making live-action remakes from your vault of animated classics, even if the profitable results have led to diminishing artistic returns.
Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto and directed by Robert Zemeckis (helmer of Hanks’ Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Polar Express), is the latest live-action reboot from Disney. It follows in the successful live-action trend from the Mouse House that has included Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin.
Like those previous efforts, this Pinocchio is a very literal interpretation of its animated forebear — one that adapts the tale of a puppet that becomes a real boy — even as it will likely expand the original narrative to make a longer version, despite the original being a masterpiece in its trimmer, tighter form.
But unlike that slate of box office successes, this live-action entry will forego theaters entirely and play exclusively on streamer Disney Plus this fall.
The movie’s first look teaser highlights all the main characters except, well, for Pinocchio himself, who’s only seen fully in the studio’s poster and photo materials.
Joining Hanks in the cast is Joseph Gordon-Levitt (voice of Jiminy Cricket), Cynthia Erivo (The Blue Fairy), Luke Evans (The Coachman), Keegan-Michael Key (voice of Honest John), Italian actor Giuseppe Battiston (Stromboli), and newcomer Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the titular voice.
Pinocchio will debut on Disney+ on September 8, 2022, roughly two-and-a-half months earlier than the previously announced window of late November / early December. The earlier date is likely precipitated by the desire to create distance from Netflix’s own live-action Pinocchio project. Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley, The Shape of Water), it’s slated for December.
Click on any image for larger gallery
