Disney+ has revealed the first image from its live-action remake of 1940’s Pinocchio. The image from the film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, features Tom Hanks as Geppetto looking intently at the wooden Pinocchio puppet, which looks exactly as it did in the 1940 classic. 13-year-old British actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will voice Pinocchio. The cast will also include Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Crickett and Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy who brings Pinocchio to life at Geppetto’s wish upon a star. Other cast members will include Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele) as “Honest” John the Fox, Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast) as the evil coachman who owns and runs Pleasure Island, and Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas and The Sopranos) as Sofia the Seagull.
Pinocchio: A Live-Action Remake of a Disney Classic
The original Pinocchio from 1940 is the most famous telling of Carlo Collodi’s 1883 children’s novel from Italy. The film is considered a classic, teaching children to be good and listen to their parents. The film is also considered one of the scarier Disney films, with disturbing moments such as the battle with Monstro the whale and a gut-wrenching scene on Pleasure Island where boys are changed into donkeys to labor for the rest of their lives. While it is not the most musically-driven Disney film, it is the film that gave us “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which is considered by many to be the greatest Disney song of all time.
Another version of Pinocchio is in the works. Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro is creating a stop-motion musical based on the story. That movie will release on Netflix in December. The live-action remake of the 1940 film will release in September on Disney+.
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