Pinocchio
DISNEYCarlo Collodi’s Pinocchio has been adapted too many times to count in film. And yet, none of its live-action adaptations could surpass the timeless 1940s animated Disney classic. Of course, it is inevitable that Disney would eventually remake their version of Pinocchio to live-action after a sea of dreadful money-grabbing “live-action reimagining” that have engulfed the company in the last decade. The involvement of Robert Zemeckis, and a star-studded cast, featuring Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Keegan Michael-Key, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lorraine Bracco, and Luke Evans certainly make for an exciting production, even if it is ultimately crafted for Disney+. And while Disney’s Pinocchio remake isn’t nearly on the same level as its 1940 counterpart, it’s also shockingly Disney’s least egregious re-adaptation, and a surprisingly visually striking one at that.
Speaking of egregious, there is one scene that ultimately stands out in which ten or so Disney intellectual properties are shoved down the viewer’s throat and eyes, as Gepetto’s (Tom Hanks) clocks are inspired by Toy Story, Donald Duck, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (also directed by Zemeckis), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, and The Lion King – among others. While undeniably and overly on the nose, it thankfully, for a studio that seemingly has to pause, is the only egregious type scene in the entire production. Alas, have Disney found some restraint? Well, the rest is surprisingly passable since it follows the same plot-line of the original1940 film, in an almost shot-for-shot way, with only very minor differences. One of the best additions to this remake, however, is the insertion of Sofia (Lorraine Bracco of Goodfellas fame), a seagull who helps Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) out when Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) is in danger. Bracco nails the character’s comedic timing and adds much-needed levity to a rather dark reimagining of Disney’s film.
Though not as dark as Steve Barron’s horrifying The Adventures of Pinocchio, which is single-handedly responsible for inflicting trauma on a generation of young children. The darkness here is more cathartic than in Barron’s version and far more visceral. Zemeckis teams up, once again, with cinematographer Don Burgess (who has collaborated with him since 1992’s anthology TV movie Two-Fisted Tales) and creates vivid sequences that are perfectly in line with Zemeckis’ visual-effects-driven style. Since The Polar Express, the filmmaker has not shied away from pushing the envelope of technology and visual effects to tell his stories. It hasn’t always worked, but a director who consistently tries to do different things is far more interesting than someone who re-hashes the same bog-standard filmmaking style. And it is an integral part of the reason why Zemeckis’ vision of Pinocchio works.
Zemeckis and Burgess know how to make their characters move in the frame and craft visually kinetic sequences. The Pleasure Island boat ride is the film’s highlight, slowly descending from unabashed fun, where kids can do whatever they want and ride whatever extreme rides are in front of them to pure wickedness as Pinocchio and Lampwick (Lewin Lloyd) get to parts where children destroy clocks, schools, houses and behave like no “brave, truthful, and selfless” boy should. That dark atmosphere permeating through Pleasure Island doesn’t need to be explicitly shown, but by slowly peeling the curtain on the dangers of the island and the sinister secret the Coachman (Luke Evans) hides away from Pinocchio, and the rest of the kids, Zemeckis and Burgess can build up a visually impactful sequence that stays on our minds long after the film ends. The donkey transformation is also particularly effective; Zemeckis doesn’t revert to body horror (like Steve Barron did in The Adventures of Pinocchio), but instead unravels the terror through Pinocchio’s eyes in a neat visual callback to the 1940 film. The rest of the movie also features staggering visuals. It’s almost as if Zemeckis wanted to make this movie as an excuse to push his visual palette and experiment once again with live-action and CG animation. The blend is seamless, and the visual effects are surprisingly effective to watch. This type of movie would’ve worked better on the big screen, especially with such dazzling setpieces on display.
With such a richly-developed visual style and great performances from its cast, particularly Bracco and Keegan Michael-Key, who plays “Honest” John, trying to convince Pinocchio to become an actor (though Hanks’ Geppeto and Cynthia Erivo’s Blue Fairy are terribly underused), Zemeckis’ adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s tale soars where most Disney remakes don’t. However, it’s not an adaption that will be remembered as the director’s best. While he succeeds at creating an innovative visual language for his feature and adds new characters to differentiate the remake from the original, his adaptation shockingly feels too close to the 1940 film. Zemeckis and screenwriter Chris Weitz re-tread the same beats as Disney’s movie without reinventing the material. Of course, there’s the aspect of not alienating fans of the original, but there’s a much more exciting story at play that could’ve been developed had Zemeckis veered slightly from Disney’s film. The problem with doing a neat shot-for-shot remake – even though this one is almost two hours long, while 1940 Pinocchio clocked in at a lean 88 minutes – is that everyone will inevitably compare it against the much superior original. And while Pinocchio certainly has elements that differentiate it from the 1940 film, Disney’s timeless animated classic has aged better than some of the studio’s other animated projects due to its iconography and simplistic nature of storytelling. Thus, it becomes hard to watch Pinocchio without needlessly comparing it to the original, especially when Zemeckis’ film adds current pop culture trends in its script to “pop it up” a bit. There’s nothing more infuriating than trying to wink at the audience to showcase that your remake reflects modern times by joking about influencer culture or calling Pinocchio “Chris Pine” (get it? Because he’s made of pine…hence the name Pinocchio). Carlo Collodi is probably rolling in his grave right now.
But it isn’t all bad. Zemeckis successfully distracts audience members enough through is dynamic visual style and stunning visual effects that would’ve worked better had the film been released in IMAX 3D – the director loves that format. And even if the film contains its fair share of contemptuous moments of corporate cross-promotion and a nearly identical plot as the original, Pinocchio still manages to be a salvageable enough remake and one of Disney’s least offensive “reimaginings.” They’re all designed to make as much money as possible – or, in this case, attract as many consumers to Disney+ as possible – and so it’s great to see a filmmaker who knows how to craft stunning images go all in on visual effects-driven sequences to dazzle its viewers. And it works surprisingly well. It’s not a remake that people will remember, especially when pitted against Zemeckis’ oeuvre, but it’s the most harmless product to have come out of Disney in years. As far as live-action adaptations of Pinocchio go, this may be the best one by default and miles better than The Adventures of Pinocchio, whose remaining copies need to be locked away and preferably burned