Disney has given us our first look at its upcoming live-action Pinocchio movie, and we’re pleased to see that the famous wooden boy himself looks absolutely identical to his animated counterpart.
The new Pinocchio, which is set to arrive exclusively on the Disney Plus streaming service this September, is directed by Robert Zemeckis, the legendary filmmaker behind Back to the Future and Forrest Gump.
The film sees Zemeckis reunite with actor Tom Hanks (also pictured), who takes on the role of Geppetto, the kindly old woodcarver who created Pinocchio (played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and wished for him to become a real boy.
It’s worth mentioning that Disney’s take on the classic Carlo Collodi fairy tale isn’t the only Pinocchio movie set for release this year – Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) has his own stop-motion adaptation coming to Netflix in 2022, which he co-directed with Mark Gustafson (animation director on Fantastic Mr. Fox).
When you wish upon some stars…
Hanks and Zemeckis obviously have a great working relationship, having worked together previously on the aforementioned Forrest Gump (netting Hanks his second Best Actor Oscar in the process), as well as Cast Away and The Polar Express.
Pinocchio also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Walk) as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erivo (Widows, Bad Times at the El Royale) as the Blue Fairy, Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator, Key & Peele) as the voice of ‘Honest’ John, and Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos, Goodfellas) as the voice of Sofia the Seagull. Additionally, Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, Dracula Untold) will play The Coachman – an entirely new character.
Pinocchio will be available to stream to all Disney Plus members this coming September. Not yet a Disney Plus subscriber? You can sign up easily by clicking on one of the options below.