The First Look At Disney’s Live-Action ‘Pinocchio’ Is Here

We’ve officially lost count of the number of live-action remakes that Disney has made of its classic animated features. The whole trend really got going with Alice in Wonderland and in the dozen years since then, we’ve gotten new non-animated versions of Cinderella, Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, Aladdin, and even The Lion King, which technically still wasn’t in live-action because all the animals were computer generated. (Don’t be surprised if I left one or two movies off that list; I was going from memory.)

The next title to be tackled is Pinocchio, which is widely regarded by Disney experts as one of Walt Disney’s greatest animated achievements. We’ll see how it works out in live-action. At the very least, the new version has a solid pedigree, with Robert Zemeckis directing and his frequent collaborator Tom Hanks playing the new version of Geppetto, the man who creates Pinocchio. (Zemeckis and Hanks previously worked together on Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express.)

Today we got our first look at the film, with Hanks going full Geppetto while looking at a very familiar looking Pinocchio puppet, right down to the yellow cap with the blue trim and red feather.

Here is the new Pinocchio’s official synopsis, which also runs down the movie’s impressive cast:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood-carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman.

It’s nice to know there’s at least one new character in the film, and that it is played by Lorraine Bracco. Pinocchio will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in September.

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