Live-Action 'Pinocchio' Announced, Starring Tom Hanks And Streaming on Disney+ in 2022
This past Disney+ Day on November 12th revealed several new upcoming series and features coming to Disney+ in the next months and years. While MCU content seemed to be the main focus of Disney+ Day, other long-time Disney properties are seeing new life on the hit streaming service in the near future, including a live-action version of the classic Disney animated movie, Pinocchio, which was originally released in 1940. Although there have been numerous live-action adaptations of classic Disney properties in recent years released theatrically and to home video, this movie release will be exclusive to Disney+, and is expected to start streaming on the platform in Fall 2022. Even though it will not be released theatrically, as the other live-action adaptations have been, it will nonetheless be featuring some serious star talent in the form of none other than Tom Hanks, who will be playing the role of the Geppetto, the titular puppet-turned-real boy's creator. Tom Hanks is not the only major star talent signed on to the film. The film itself will be directed by Director Robert Zemeckis, of Roger Rabbit fame, and will also star Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Luke Evans, and Cynthia Erivo.
The live-action retelling of #Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans and the voices of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key and Lorraine Bracco, directed by Robert Zemeckis is coming Fall 2022 to #DisneyPlus. ✨#DisneyPlusDay pic.twitter.com/kdK5fKrMfX
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 12, 2021
Pinochhio will feature Hanks and the rest of the cast in a blend of live-action and CGI to retell the classic tale of the puppet brought to life by the Blue Fairy. Through a series of trials, and some assistance from his "conscience" in the form of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio finally becomes the "real boy" he always dreamed of becoming. This film and its casting of Hanks was originally announced in 2018. However, Disney did not have an expected release date until now. I would imagine that it is quite likely that the COVID pandemic had some impact on its release date.
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Interestingly enough, this will not be the first live-action adaptation of Pinocchio ever produced, just the first live-action version released by Disney. Mickey Rooney portrayed the titular character in a 1957 movie. There was a 1965 CBS television special, a 1976 television musical with actress Sandy Duncan, and two movies where acclaimed Italian actor Roberto Benigni starred as Pinocchio in the 2002 version, and as Geppetto in the 2019 one. There have even been a few television series created around Pinocchio.
Although it was not billed as an adaptation of Pinocchio per se, the 2001 movie A.I., directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Haley Joel Osment, certainly draws inspiration from the classic tale. After being rejected by his adoptive human family, Osment's android boy character, David, goes to the ends of the earth in search for “Blue Fairy” in order to become a real human boy and regain the love of his human family. He also has the help of other androids along the way.
What is even more interesting is that the upcoming live-action Pinocchio movie is not even the only live-action adaptation coming out in 2022. Another "darker" adaptation directed by Guillermo del Toro starring Finn Wolfhard, Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton will be released in 2022 as well.
Although the movie will undoubtedly retain the same basic plot and structure of the classic tale, as with all the live-action Disney movies released to date such as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin, it is quite likely that, for technical or other reasons, it may not necessarily be a scene-for-scene "port" of the animated version. This would certainly give Zemeckis the ability to craft a story that feels both classic and timeless, and yet fresh for modern audiences. While the finished product remains to be seen, it would be hard not to enjoy a retelling of Pinocchio that includes a beloved actor like Tom Hanks.
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Source(s): Metro, Murphy’s Multiverse, IMDb