The story about the lonely toymaker Geppetto and his wooden puppet Pinocchio is anything but new – it first enthralled Italian newspaper readers in 1881 as a serial. Numerous film adaptations, series and even operas and musicals about the doll that came to life followed. The fact that “Pinocchio”, a new film version of the fairy tale, will appear on the Disney streaming service on September 8th is nothing special at first glance – until you look past the mere story.
What is particularly promising about “Pinocchio” is the combination of director and leading actor. It is the first time in almost 20 years that Robert Zemeckis (70) has captured a film starring Tom Hanks (66) on the (home cinema) screen. That was the last time in 2004 with “Der Polarexpress”, four years earlier “Cast Away” was released. In 1994, the duo gave the cinema audience a smash hit in Oscar history with “Forrest Gump”.
Of course, the type of publication is also special. Not in the cinema, but on the occasion of Disney Day on September 8th, Pinocchio will come to life again worldwide with the streaming service. By the way, not unique in 2022: Competitor Netflix will follow suit with “Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio” in December. This is a much darker animated version of the fairy tale template, which was also not for the faint-hearted at times.
Visually, the Disney live action film is very much based on the in-house animated version from 1940 with regard to the title character, i.e.: Pinocchio has chubby cheeks and a snub nose, and the yellow hat with a red feather should not be missing. And Hanks as Pinocchio-Papa Geppetto is also a perfect match for the cartoon.
Meanwhile, a particularly important character in the fairy tale comes in a significantly different guise. The Blue Fairy, who brings Pinocchio to life, is played for the first time by a black actress, actress and singer Cynthia Erivo (35). An honor that makes the “Harriet” star “extremely proud”, as Erivo revealed in an interview with “Variety”.
