Everything has been quiet on the Disney live-action animated film adaptation since Cruella was released in May 2021, but that is about to change this fall.
Pinocchio, Disney’s second animated feature film when it premiered in 1940, will have a live adaptation in September. But since Pinocchio is also a fairy tale in the public domain, it is also one of three adaptations coming out this year. The first, a Russian adaptation with a very memorable dubbing, came out in February. An animated stop motion version of the story directed by Guillermo del Toro will hit Netflix in December.
The Disney version stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto, the lumberjack, with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the wooden puppet. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will give voice to spiritual advisor Jiminy Cricket and Cynthia Ervivo will be the Blue Fairy. The new trailer shows almost all the notable characters, but only a brief glimpse of Pinocchio himself.
Pinocchio’s original animated release in 1940 won two Academy Awards for his music: Best Original Soundtrack and Best Original Song, for “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which has since become in a Disney anthem. Pinocchio’s live-action adaptation will premiere at Disney Plus on September 8, just in time for Disney Plus Day, when the company will announce a series of Disney Plus-related announcements.