It’s the year of the battlin’ Pinocchios! Not only is Guillermo Del Toro bringing his dark and twisted vision of the fairy tale to Netflix later this year, but Disney has their own live-action version of Pinocchio coming to Disney+. And naturally, there’s skews a bit more all-ages friendly, matching the tone of their 1940 animated classic.
A combination of live-action and CGI brings to life the story of the wooden puppet who dreams of being a real boy. Tom Hanks, under a lot of facial hair, plays Gepetto in what can only be described as perfect casting. Also in the cast are Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket. Pinocchio himself is voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. Giuseppe Battiston, Luke Evans, Lorraine Bracco, Kyanne Lamaya, and Keegan-Michael Key are also in the cast.
Robert Zemeckis, no stranger to CGI-heavy family-friendly movies as director of The Polar Express and many others, is behind the camera. He co-wrote the script with Chris Weitz, who impressed Disney with his work on Cinderella a few years ago.
Pinocchio streams on Disney+ on September 8th as part of service’s Disney+ Day celebration.
