Has Roberto Benigni taught us nothing? As Disney continues to find ways to revamp their animated filmography with live-action, CG-infested remakes, it has just been announced Disney will make a Pinocchio-inspired live-action feature to arrive at a theater near you soon.
No director is attached at the moment, though Peter Hedges (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, About a Boy) signed on to pen a screenplay loosely based on the original tale of a wooden boy who becomes a real boy. Reports suggest this new Pinocchio will, like the original text, focus more on the father-son relationship, which also serves as a look between creator and his creation.
Of course, this is not the first time, in animation or live-action, the tale of Pinocchio comes back to the screen. But it’s also not the first recent attempt to bring the little boy back to cinematic life. At one point in time Tim Burton both sought to direct a live-action Pinocchio. Robert Downey Jr. was to star as Geppetto, Pinocchio’s creator. Needless to say, neither re-imagining came to be. Also Guillermo Del Toro once saw in his sights a stop-motion animated retelling, but word on that has been slim for years.
Along with Pinocchio, Disney has announced or already started production on the live-action remakes of The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Mulan and Winnie the Pooh. Whether moviegoers want them or not, the Mouse House has them in store soon. But on the bright side, at least Cinderella was good, so there’s hope. [Deadline]
