Look, like any child of the late 1980s I grew up on a healthy diet of Disney animated films and thoroughly enjoyed them along with the lessons they imparted.
So, when I heard that the live-action remake of “Pinocchio” had hit Disney+ streaming, I had to check it out.
Plus, with Tom Hanks playing the lead as Pinocchio’s father – well, I had high hopes.
Unfortunately, there were extra liberties taken with the nostalgic story I knew and more musical numbers added – which I feel cheapens the experience.
And don’t get me started on the terrible computer graphics that created the other characters!
Pinocchio is a musical fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis and Chris Weitz.
The film, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, is a live-action remake of Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film of the same name, which is itself based on the 1883 Italian book The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi.
The film stars Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Giuseppe Battiston, Kyanne Lamaya, and Luke Evans with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lorriane Bracco, Jaquita Ta’le, and Keegan-Michael Key in voice roles.
Its 105 minutes long and rated PG for peril/scary moments, rude material, and some language.
In a small Italian village in 1895, vagrant cricket Jiminy Cricket (Levitt) enters the home of a widowed elderly woodcarver named Geppetto (Hanks), who lives with his pet kitten Figaro and goldfish Cleo.
Geppetto has completed work on a marionette based on his deceased son, which he names Pinocchio (Ainsworth).
Before falling asleep, Geppetto makes a wish on a star.
Later that night, the star magically brings Pinocchio to life and he is soon visited by the Blue Fairy (Erivo) who tells him that if he acts brave, truthful, and selfless, he can be a real boy.
The Blue Fairy also appoints Jiminy the responsibility of being Pinocchio’s conscience to teach him right from wrong.
When Geppetto awakens and finds Pinocchio alive, he is at first shocked but becomes overjoyed.
After a few days, Geppetto sends Pinocchio to school.
However, Pinocchio is soon approached by con artist fox “Honest” John (Key) and his cat partner Gideon.
Honest John convinces Pinocchio that he should live a life of fame to truly be a real boy when he really plans to sell him to the puppet master Stromboli (Battiston).
Jiminy, with the help of a seagull named Sofia (Bracco), convinces Pinocchio to continue going to school, but Pinocchio is thrown out by the headmaster because he’s a puppet.
Pinocchio decides to go to Stromboli’s after all while Honest John places a glass jar over Jiminy.
Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo go out to look for Pinocchio when he fails to come home for dinner.
At Stromboli’s theater, Pinocchio befriends one of Stromboli’s employees, Fabiana (Lamaya), and her puppet Sabina (Ta’le).
Pinocchio puts on a good show for the crowd, but Stromboli locks him in a bird cage to prevent him from ever leaving.
Stromboli’s coach ends up freeing Jiminy from the jar, and Pinocchio has him reach for the keys to the cage’s lock by telling lies to make his nose grow longer.
Soon, Pinocchio is swiped up by a coach full of children driven by a charismatic Coachman (Evans), who is taking everyone to Pleasure Island, where misbehavior is encouraged.
From there, the storyline basically follows the original animated film, but, the ending is definitely lackluster.
Overall, it works if children see this film first and then follow it up with the original, but, adults will be disappointed in this remake.
