REVIEW: Disney+’s Pinocchio May Make You Fret & Frown
In 1940 Walt Disney Animation released their second animated movie, Pinocchio. Based on the 1883 Italian children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, the story follows a marionette named Pinocchio. Created by toymaker Geppetto, Pinocchio is brought to life by a Blue Fairy after Geppetto wishes for Pinocchio to become a real boy. Guided by a cricket, aptly named Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio journeys through the movie facing obstacle after obstacle as he attempts prove that he has what it takes to be a real boy.
The movie has since been re-released multiple times and has become a staple in many homes since its initial release. Now, Disney+ is trying to expand on that success with its own live-action version of the movie. Featuring roughly the same story, the live-action version contains new characters and new songs that do nothing to elevate the original story.
To start, I was never a huge fan of the animated movie. I thought it was okay, but it was never something I actively re-watched like some of Disney’s other animated movies. With that being said, I was interested to see if director Robert Zemeckis and its A-list cast, including Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Keegan-Michael Key, would be able to change my opinion. Written by Zemeckis and Chris Weitz, the live-action story pretty much follows the animated story, but when it detours it does it in a major way. And, not always in the best way. The new characters introduced and the new songs created for the movie didn’t do anything to help propel the story. Instead, they could have been left out of the entire movie and nothing wouldn’t have changed.
Hanks does a decent job bringing to life the toymaker Geppetto, but there are moments where it is hard to understand his Italian accent. Erivo brings to life the Blue Fairy and is not in the movie enough. This was one character they could have really developed for this movie, but instead she basically comes in to sing “When You Wish Upon a Star” and then leaves. Gordon-Levitt voices everyone’s favorite conscience, Jiminy Cricket, and was the best part of the movie. My only wish is they had let him sing “When You Wish Upon a Star” and then had Erivo sing the song for the credits. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Pinocchio), Michael Key (Honest John), and Luke Evans (The Coachman) round out the cast, but unfortunately can’t make names for themselves in the story.
After finishing the movie, I was left wondering why Zemeckis and Weitz made the changes they did and what they were trying to accomplish with the changes. They just didn’t make sense to me. They did nothing to change my opinion on Pinocchio and, like the animated movie, I won’t be re-watching this one.
Grade: D