Disney+ Review – Pinocchio (2022)

It was one of Disney’s big plans for the future and it started oh so well. Its slate of re-makes began by opening up another chapter of Sleeping Beauty with Maleficent, The Jungle Book stunned with its ground breaking CGI while Beauty And The Beast and Cinderella were lavish live action versions of big favourites. But then came the unnecessary re-working of The Lion King, Tim Burton’s less-than-magical Dumbo and suddenly re-makes no longer had a cinema release, consigned instead straight to Disney+. Pinocchio, one of the first Mouse House properties to be targeted for a re-vamp, receives the same fate, but is given the kudos of a world premiere on Disney+ Day (today, 8 September).

The story is still very much rooted in Carlo Collodi’s story from the 1880s, with lonely woodworker Geppetto (Tom Hanks) carving a puppet in the shape of a boy to replace his much-missed son. The Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo) weaves her magic over the marionette so that, overnight, Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) no longer needs his strings to move around and has also learnt to talk. He desperately wants to be a real boy so he’s given a conscience in the shape of Jiminy Cricket (the voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt), to teach him the ways of the world. But they are many and complicated and, over a series of adventures designed to test him, Pinocchio not only learns a myriad of life lessons, but shows that his heart is both true and brave.

So far, so familiar. For those who know and love the 1940 animation, there are plenty of similarities. CGI Pinocchio and Jiminy both bear a remarkable resemblance to their previous incarnations, as does Hanks as Geppetto underneath his wig and moustache and some storylines remain the same, as do most of the songs. But director Robert Zemeckis has attempted something close to the impossible, trying to fuse the original with a film that tries to go its own way and it’s an uncomfortable combination. New characters, new songs and different narratives meet with varying degrees of success, while what are intended as gags about contemporary culture bite the dust horribly and visual references to other Disney favourites give off a whiff of smugness. Perhaps more surprising is the number of occasions when the CGI leaves a lot to be desired.

Essentially Zemeckis has gone for the safe option, a film that’s not too dark – certainly not as bleak as the original book – and with newer elements that aren’t imaginative enough to disturb a general feeling of comfort and schmaltz. It’s not a total misfire, thankfully, thanks to Gordon-Levitt’s energetically folksy Jiminy Cricket, Erivo sparkling as the Blue Fairy, and the essential heart warming morality tale which remains at its heart and still hits the spot. But this is a movie that is neither tribute nor stand-alone and it inevitably disappears down that rather dark hole in the middle.

★★ 1/2

Fantasy, Family | Disney+ from 8 September 2022 | Dir. Robert Zemeckis | Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans and the voices of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key and Lorraine Bracco.