For over 65 years, Disney had been content with merely DTV-sequelizing to death, and not remaking, the various classics in their esteemed library of animated films. Obviously, with the massive success of MALEFICENT, all that has changed. Alongside the recent CINDERELLA and the non-Disney JUNGLE BOOK and SNOW WHITE flicks in production, the House of Mouse is currently prepping live-action takes on THE JUNGLE BOOK, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, DUMBO, and even MULAN. Now, another of their beloved family classics is getting the remake treatment: PINOCCHIO.
WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE/ABOUT A BOY screenwriter Peter Hedges is the guy Disney has tasked with rendering the story of the puppet who dreamed of being a real boy into a live-action remake.
Apparently, Guillermo del Toro’s long-in-development stop-motion PINOCCHIO flick is still in the works, and is currently looking for foreign financing.
Unlike some of the other films on Disney’s remake docket, the PINOCCHIO legend is no stranger to the big screen. Forget the flicks like A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE that have been directly inspired by the story; over a dozen feature films (most notoriously the Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Roberto Benigni-starring adaptations) and even more TV programs have already adapted Carlo Collodi’s original character, and his quest to become a living, breathing boy. That’s arguably more than the THE JUNGLE BOOK, which is also in public domain. Hedges and Disney's task is to inject the spectacle and sincerity (and, later, the big-name actors) necessary to provide folks with enough incentive to watch the character lie and nearly die on his path to mortality.
One factor that will be exclusive to this take, however: Disney’s incarnation is the one that introduced Jiminy Cricket to the world (he was an unnamed minor character in the original novel), and you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be a major part of their reimagining. He is one of their mascots, after all. Another safe bet: when we hear Jiminy speak, it will be with a very recognizable voice.
Next time we hear about this, it’ll probably be with a director’s name attached. Who would you want to see helm this thing (Spielberg and GDT don’t count)?
