Disney is still hellbent on making those live-action remakes of their popular animated films and, dammit, they’re finally creating one I want to see.
Variety is reporting that legendary director Robert Zemeckis is in early talks to direct Pinocchio for the Mouse House. We all know the story of Pinocchio and we all know the original 1940 cartoon from Walt Disney. Like other live-action remakes, this version would likely come with an all-star cast, massive amounts of special effects and advertising and a likely big return at the box office. Despite a few missteps, these remakes are doing very, very well. They’re one of the reasons why Disney has more money than a small nation’s GDP.
Zemeckis would obviously be a perfect fit for the film because he is one of the masters of mixing real performers and locations with special effects. His long list of accomplishments include Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? All of those movies prove that Zemeckis could helm Pinocchio in his sleep and Disney would honestly be lucky to have him. Zemeckis’s involvement also means that Tom Hanks may once again attach himself to the project. He was once eyed for the role of Geppetto but walked away from the project after one of its several stalls in the production process. But Hanks and Zemeckis have worked together multiple times and are close friends so if Zemeckis signs on, Hanks may follow.
Pinocchio is probably the greatest Disney movie of all time and it’s also one that could easily translate into a live-action film. Best of all, it features some of the weirdest and darkest elements from any Disney flick which means that Zemeckis would have a lot of bizarre material to play around with. So he could make a lot of money AND scar some kids in the process. It’s a win win!
We will see what happens next. Disney is churning these remakes out at a high speed and will likely nab Zemeckis when he becomes more available. He is currently on post-production on The Witches but could start on Pinocchio after that. So if you know any crickets looking to break it big in Hollywood you better let them know.