Disney+ offered a new peek at its upcoming live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, and set Thursday, Sept. 8 as the release date for the movie which stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto. The release is timed for Disney+ Day, a lead-in to the popular D23 Expo which takes place Sep. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Oscar-winning director Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, Cast Away, Back to the Future movies) directs the live action retelling of Carlo Colodi’s beloved tale of a wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. 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”; Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Oscar nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana (and her marionette Sabina), Giuseppe Battiston as Señor Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.
The script for the movie was written by Zemeckis by Chris Weitz. The film is produced by Zemeckis, Weitz, Derek Hogue and Andrew Miaono. DNEG, Halon, MPC, Framestore and Imagemovers are all listed as companies involved with the VFX and animation on the project.
Watch the teaser here:
When you wish upon a star…⭐ Watch the trailer for the all-new live action #Pinocchio and stream the movie, a #DisneyPlusDay premiere, September 8 on @DisneyPlus. 🧚🪄 pic.twitter.com/D9x5FDKjBc
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) May 31, 2022
Fans of the wooden boy can also look forward to Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s stop-motion animated version of the tale, which will arrive on Netflix in the fourth quarter. That version of the story, which is closer in tone to Carlo Collodi’s original creepy tale, stars David Bradley as Geppetto, Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Cricket, Finn Wolfhard as Lampwick, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, John Torturo, Christoph Waltz, Ron Perlman and Tim Blake Nelson.
