Pinocchio (2022), directed by Robert Zemeckis, features Tom Hanks as Geppetto, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the voice of Pinocchio, came out on September 8th, 2022. This film has a lot of similarities to the original movie in 1940.
This movie takes place in 1895 in a small village in Italy. Geppetto was a woodcarver who made all sorts of things out of wood, such as coo-coo clocks. He decided he was lonely, so he carved a marionette puppet out of wood and called him Pinocchio. In an online interview, Tom Hanks said, “He’s wishing to be able to love and be loved by a family member.” Before he had gone to bed that night, Geppetto made a wish upon a star for Pinocchio to be a real boy. That night, The Blue Fairy (played by Cynthia Erivo) came and granted the wish. However, this wish had conditions; Pinocchio was not entirely a real boy. He had to earn this by making the right choices, telling the truth, and being kind. The Blue Fairy gave Jiminy Cricket the responsibility of being Pinocchio’s conscience. Geppetto woke up in the morning and discovered that Pinocchio had come to life. He told him that he should go to school, so this is where his journey began.
The movie was a combination of both live-action and animated characters. For example, Tom Hanks portrays Geppetto, but Pinocchio is animated. Disney has been doing this often, recently with movies such as Mulan, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. I enjoy the animated versions of these films more than the live-action ones. These movies are becoming super popular amongst Disney fans because they are bringing movies to life.
I would rate this film two out of five stars. I did not enjoy that this movie had both animated and live-action features. I did like that the movie had all of the same elements as the animated version, for example, Jiminy Cricket, Pleasure Island, and all of the original characters. However, if you want to feel like a child again, I recommend giving this movie a watch.
