Disney + has just released its new version of the classic tale “Pinocchio“, starring Tom Hanks like Geppetto. A story that the company had not tackled since 1940, and that will finally have a “live action” film, that is, with actors and 3D characters instead of traditional animation.
And the launch coincides with “Disney + Day” on September 8, where other releases were announced, including more reversals of old classics of children’s literature. It’s just that no one is more obsessed with capitalizing on their own brand and nostalgic than disneyand will spare no expense to recapture the magic of his animated classics.
“Pinocchio“, adaptation of the children’s novel by Carlo Collodi “The Adventures of Pinocchio” doesn’t just have Hanks. It stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco, and Luke Evans. Pinocchio’s design is a faithful recreation of the character design from the original film, with his yellow hat with a red feather, and a face almost identical to the 1940s version.
But this revival has the magic of a distinguished director: Robert Zemeckis from a script written by him and Chris Weitz, who also produces with Andrew Milano. And Disney Plus’ “Pinocchio” isn’t the only upcoming movie centered around the famous puppet. On March 22, 2023, Lionsgate Entertainment will release “Pinocchio: A True Story,” an animated film starring Pauly Shore in the title role.
And in December it is expected in Netflix the stop-motion version of Pinocchio with William of the Bull and Mark Gustafson as directors, and the voices of Ewan McGregor as Cricket, David Bradley as Geppetto, Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Christoph Waltz and Tilda Swinton. Del Toro’s adaptation (“The Shape of Water” and “Nightmare Alley”) is set in 1930 Italy, in which fascism is on the rise and Benito Mussolini is consolidating control of the country.
“In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with a indifferent father, who is lost in a world he cannot understand. He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember,” Del Toro said.
The director has a long relationship with Netflix: already produced the Emmy-winning series, “Trollhunters”, and more. Alexandre Desplat, who won an Oscar for the soundtrack of “The Shape of Water” is in charge of music. And it will be accompanied on Netflix by the premiere of another animation based on a children’s novel: “Wendell & Wild” by Oscar winner Jordan Peele and Henry Selick, director of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
The premiere of “Pinocchio” at “Disney + Day” took place in addition to the “D23 Expo: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event” in Anaheim, California, which will start on September 1, and will be the setting for the presentation of upcoming titles, others live action remakes from classic Disney animated films: “The Little Mermaid,” scheduled for May 26, 2023, and “Peter Pan & Wendy”, which like “Pinocchio” will be exclusive to Disney +.
Disney’s live-action remakes have been incredibly profitable, with four of them (“The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” and “Alice in Wonderland”) grossing more than billion dollarswhich means that Disney is far from stopping the revival train with actors.
Directed by David Lowery (from 2016’s “Pete’s Dragon”), “Peter Pan & Wendy” will take fans back to Neverland for another adventure with the boy who doesn’t age (Alexander Molony) and Wendy ( Ever Anderson), as well as Jude Law as Captain Hook.
While “Lto Little Mermaid” will have the director Rob Marshall, who was already in charge of the revival of another iconic tale, “Mary Poppins Returns”, and will retell the story of the young Ariel (Halle Bailey) who dreams of walking on solid ground and falling in love with the handsome Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Cast that is completed with Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay and Daveed Diggs. Definitely a highly anticipated release for Disney fans.
Looking ahead to 2024, director Marc Webb (known for directing the two “Amazing Spider-Man” movies with Andrew Garfield), is slated to helm the live-action remake of “Spiderman.”Snow White”, which will be embodied by Rachel Zeglerand befriend a colorful band of dwarfs while fleeing the clutches of The Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) who plans to kill her.
And the shooting plans for classic stories also include “Hercules”, which was announced in 2020 with the production of the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joseph, directors of many films for Marvel, including “Avengers: Endgame”), and suffered delays due to the pandemic.
by RN
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