Disney’s Pinocchio Movie Image Reveals First Look At Tom Hanks As Geppetto

The first look at Disney’s live-action Pinocchio shows Tom Hanks as Geppetto. The all-new adaptation of the classic tale is directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future, Forrest Gump, The Witches). Geppetto is a wood-carver who builds a puppet named Pinocchio, treating it as if it were his own child. One day, the puppet is magically brought to life by the Blue Fairy and begins his adventure to become a real boy.

Disney adapted the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi in 1940 as an animated musical, which became a classic part of their animated library. Zemeckis’ retelling looks to be more akin to the animated Pinocchio film, rather than a new adaptation of the novel. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth voices Pinocchio in the film, with a cast that includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy, Keegan-Michael Key as “Honest” John, Lorraine Bracco as Sofia the Seagull (a new character), and Luke Evans as The Coachman.

Today, Disney+ released a first-look image from the live-action adaptation, which shows Tom Hanks as the good-natured wood-carver, Geppetto. Hanks previously worked with Zemeckis on films like Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express, making Pinocchio their fourth collaboration together. While Pinocchio is a live-action retelling of the Disney classic, it will feature a mixture of CGI enhancements, including the main character. As seen in the image below, the likeness is ripped straight from the 1940s animated film:

Disney’s live-action Pinocchio isn’t the only version of the story releasing this year, as Netflix is also releasing a stop-motion animated version from director Guillermo del Toro, which is said to be more of a new interpretation of Collodi’s novel. As Pinocchio is in the public domain, both Disney and Netflix both are within their rights to make new adaptations of the property, although the similarities and differences already appear to be in stark contrast to one another. Zemeckis’ Pinocchio marks the director’s second feature film debut on streaming, after The Witches skipped theaters and dropped on HBO Max in 2020.

Zemeckis has toyed with CGI and live-action extensively in his last few features (The Witches and Welcome To Marwen), as well as dabbling in full-on animation and motion capture with his ImageMovers films, including The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. The director has had varying degrees of success with these ventures, with audiences and fans being split on their reception of them. Many would like to see Zemeckis return to the days of Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Flight, or Cast Away, but Zemeckis clearly has his sights set on toying with the possibilities of animation and live-action, which Pinocchio will certainly capitalize on.

Source: Disney+

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