Pinocchio has the visual grandeur of the most elaborately produced made-for-television movie, and its regressively awful effects do much to taint the image many had of once beloved characters. Here’s a film that, on the other hand, validates every shortcoming Disney seems to possess with their overreliance on computer-generated imagery.Īt least John Favreau’s shot-for-shot remake of The Lion King was pleasant to look at in spite of its soullessness. That particular Zemeckis classic has aged better than this Pinocchio ever will, if for no other reason than because it affirmed the magical quality of hand-drawn celluloid images. It’s more than a shame considering an admittedly great director is at the helm, not to mention one who gave proof to the harmonious relationship between animation and live-action with Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
It’s as if the two were traversing a sea of ideas before being swallowed by a whale that shot all of their creative juices from its blowhole. To their credit, Disney has managed to recapture a sense of spirit in a select few of their live-action remakes, but in the case of Pinocchio, the formula lends itself to such embarrassing execution that the divide between Zemeckis, co-screenwriter Chris Weitz, and their animated source of inspiration is as noticeable as it’s ever been for the studio.
The narrative beats only get more similar and uninspired from there as Pinocchio sets out to become a real boy by proving himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, with Jiminy along for the ride to act as his conscience. Sure enough, the wooden child comes to life (with the voice of Benjamin Ainsworth) and sheds his strings after the Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo) responds to Geppetto’s longing request from a wishing star. Once again, we open on Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) taking refuge in the shop of woodcarver Geppetto (Tom Hanks), who has just finished constructing a marionette with the resemblance of a young boy, which he names Pinocchio. In that sense, Robert Zemeckis’ reimagining of Pinocchio is the brightest star in the sky, so bright in fact that one has to squint if they are open to the idea of wishing upon it.Ĭonsider “reimagining” a euphemism for “knockoff,” which is perhaps the only apt description for a film that has no innovative ideas of its own and is perfectly content to operate as if the original story by Carlo Collodi never existed. It’s getting harder by the day to view the Walt Disney Company’s need to revisit their beloved animated properties and give them a contemporary, live-action spin as anything but a senseless and calculative ploy. Yet if the studio’s creative direction in the last decade has indicated anything at all, it’s that wishing can’t hope to produce the wondrous results it once did. All hope is not yet lost for the mighty entertainment giant. Pinocchio (2022 Live Action) Review: Walt Disney’s 1940 masterpiece Pinocchio may have only been a modest success upon its initial release, but a very simple notion that gave its name to the film’s angelic theme song helped the animation pioneer build an empire: “When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.” Oh, how naïve we are to think that’s still the case.