Pinocchio Review: Disney Remake Fails To Breathe New Life Into Old Story
Disney's live-action remakes of its beloved cartoon films have not been without controversy. Just consider The lion King from 2019 as an illustration. The 1994 film's adaption by Jon Favreau was criticised for being overly realistic and for replacing the animals' emotion with emotionless CGI creatures. Others, such as Aladdin and beauty & the Beast, were too reliant on their source material, reluctant to alter what had already proven successful. But despite that, these movies have mainly been a success, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. Disney sticks with Pinocchio because they don't like to interfere with a good thing. The 1940 animated film is nearly identical to the Golden Age classic that Robert Zemeckis adapted.
The Italian toymaker and woodworker Geppetto, who is first presented in the movie's opening sequence by Jiminy cricket played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is played by tom Hanks. Geppetto wishes the puppet Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) to life, and Cynthia Erivo plays the Blue Fairy who transforms him into a real-life wooden boy. Anyone who has seen the original film knows what happens next: Pinocchio is persuaded by the red fox Honest john (Keegan Michael-Key) to join Stromboli's puppet performance, setting him on a quest to discover what it means to be a real boy and the difference between good and wrong.
The decision to release Pinocchio on Disney+ was taken in response to the live-action Dumbo adaptation's underwhelming box office performance. It was just a matter of time before the studio recreated the renowned Disney classic, but much like with Dumbo, it is obvious that this version won't have the same impact as previous ones. Zemeckis' steady hand leads to some visually spectacular scenes, but there is nothing really ground-breaking about them (they are all in the second half of the film). The Pleasure Island scene stands out, and Luke Evans' portrayal of The Coachman adds the gloom that the tragic moments that follow require. Additionally, it highlights Pinocchio's major issue.
When it comes to their original material, movies like Pinocchio and its live-action predecessors play it too safe and fail to bring anything fresh to a story that has already been told many times. This contrast is made more obvious for the titular wooden puppet when compared to Guillermo del Toro's impending Pinocchio film, a stop-motion animated production that sets the narrative in 1930s Fascist Italy. Uncertainty still exists around what this implications for upcoming Disney animated film adaptations. Both The Little Mermaid and Hercules, whose live-action version will be directed by Guy Ritchie of Aladdin, have potential, if only for the reason of the cast and creators behind them.