Out of all the modern Pinocchio projects in the pipeline, Disney’s upcoming feature from director Robert Zemeckis has always been one of the odds-on favorites to capture people’s imaginations if only because of the studio’s history with the iconic fairytale. While Pinocchio’s first teaser trailer only gives you the slightest taste of what Zemeckis has in store for audiences, it’s a strong sign that the movie will be able to recreate at least some of the original animated feature’s magic.
Pinocchio’s first trailer only features a small look at the titular living toy (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as his puppet-making father Geppetto (Tom Hanks) first carves him from a block of wood. What you do see, though, is the time, attention, and love Geppetto puts into crafting his handmade son and how his fateful wish upon a star for the puppet to be brought to life is granted by the benevolent Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo).
The trailer’s handful of quick shots establishes how much of the movie will focus on Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he encounters characters like Sofia the Seagull (Lorraine Bracco) and “Honest” John Worthington Foulfellow (Keegan-Michael Key), a slick-talking fox. What’s interesting is that, even though this Pinocchio’s very much a live-action film, its fantastical storybook characters have all been rendered more or less like “realistic” versions of their classic Disney cartoon counterparts, which is sure to be an aesthetic choice that diehard fans have no strong feelings about when the movie hits Disney Plus on September 8th.
