Disney has been making these “live-action” (some more than others) remakes of their classic animated films for almost a decade at this point. Some of them veer in various ways from the original; some are super faithful. Others are so the same as to almost bring into question the need for them to exist. I’ll leave it to you to decide which category the newest offering belongs. Director Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio sees Tom Hanks as Geppetto wishing for his new marionette to come to life. Pretty good wish, since Cynthia Erivo’s Blue Fairy really delivers, as this new trailer illustrates.
If you’re at all familiar with the 1940 original you’ll recognize a lot of the scenes here. Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) runs across Honest John (Keegan-Michael Key) who sells him to Stromboli (Giuseppe Battiston), and later ends up on Pleasure Island thanks to the seedy coach driver (Luke Evans). He’s got no strings on him, but he does have a conscience in the form of the dapper insect Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). And lest you worry, the giant whale is here too.
The CGI has really brought the original animation to life. While the animal characters look a little more like real animals than their cartoony counterparts, Pinocchio himself looks darn near identical. It’s certainly one Disney’s most indelible designs, so why not? I just always wonder what the point of such films is, especially when they debut on Disney+ where the original films already live.
We won’t have too long to ponder, at least. The movie will debut on the streaming service on its own holiday, Disney+ Day, which is September 8. Better make sure you stay brave, truthful, and unselfish.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
