Another cartoon classic comes back to life with Disney announcing plans to give Pinocchio a new live-action take. The upcoming film, inspired by the adventures of the beloved marionette Pinocchio, will be penned by veteran screenwriter Peter Hedges.
Disney made the big reveal as part of their grand scheme of bringing back timeless animated favorites to the big screen in live action. The long lineup of future films includes Dumbo, the Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan. There have also been reports that a Winnie the Pooh-inspired movie is in the pipeline with writer-director Alex Ross Perry at the helm.
A darker and more serious adaption of the classic story is also in the works to be developed by director Guillermo del Toro and his company. This version will be shot in 3D stop-motion animation following a script co-written by Del Toro and collaborator Matthew Robbins.
Aside from revealing the title and screenwriter of the film, Disney has yet to announce further details for this future Pinocchio adaptation.
Disney's Pinocchio
The story of Pinocchio is about an aged toymaker named Geppetto who carves a special marionette from a talking piece of wood. Geppetto fashions the wood into a likeness of a boy, and once done, names him Pinocchio.
Before falling asleep, Geppetto makes a wish upon star for his creation to come to life. A Blue Fairy visits Geppetto's workshop and grants his wish. The old man wakes up the following morning to find Pinocchio alive — but still in the marionette's body. The two of them grow closer, with Geppetto treating his beloved marionette like a son.
As days pass by, Pinocchio meets other colorful characters, such as Honest John the Fox and Gideon the Cat, who convince the him to join a traveling puppet show. Luckily, Pinocchio is accompanied by his trusted friend Jiminy, a talking cricket.
Pinocchio and Jiminy get into all sorts of adventures, including Pinocchio almost turning into a donkey on Pleasure Island and his wooden nose growing longer every time he lies. With each adventure, Pinocchio tries to make his and Geppetto's dream come true, which is for the young marionette to become a real boy.
Based on the much-beloved Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi in 1883, Disney's first Pinocchio film came out in 1940. It was the second full-length animated film created by Walt Disney after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
This upcoming Disney adaptation of Pinocchio is primed to follow the success of the live action remake of Cinderella.
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