This latest Disney adaptation stars Tom Hanks as the skillful Geppetto who carves a puppet out of wood which we all know as Pinocchio, voiced in this film by Benjamin Ainsworth. The musical elements in the trailer paired with bits of animation make for a whimsical story. Although the teaser doesn’t show Pinocchio himself, it builds anticipation for a first look at the beloved children’s character. The trailer gives us glimpses of Jiminy Cricket voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Luke Evans as The Coachman, and Cynthia Erivo as Blue Fairy.
The story originated in Carlo Collodi’s Italian children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883 and has since transformed into countless on-screen versions. This time the world of Pinocchio graces our screens in a live-action remake of the 1940 classic animated film by the same name. Robert Zemeckis, known for such iconic projects as the Back to the Future trilogy and The Polar Express, is the director behind the magic.
Disney has a history of remaking many classic stories over the years largely into live-action versions of the originals. Movies like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Maleficent came to life in the last decade. But none had three different versions of the same story released in the same year. That’s right: Disney’s Pinocchio is one of three Pinocchio remakes in 2022, though they aren’t all Disney’s doing.
The first of these is Pinocchio: A True Story a 3D animated production by Lionsgate which proved, mainly due to social media, somewhat unsuccessful. Upon release of the first trailer, users took to Twitter and TikTok to endlessly mock the voice of Pinocchio, Pauly Shore. The other version is Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animation of Pinocchio which is scheduled for release on Netflix later this year.
Despite being based on the same story, the three films seem drastically different in style and art form. Perhaps this speaks to the timelessness of Pinocchio or the fact that classic tales are always relevant. Maybe they create an interesting comparison for viewers to take into their own hands. For now, we look forward to seeing more of Disney’s live-action Pinocchio and await its Disney Plus release on September 8, 2022.
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