In a spree to cash in on the nostalgia from the last century, Disney has been pumping out remakes and comic book adaptions relentlessly. Continuing the tradition, the studio has now released the remake of Pinocchio, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
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Some of its earlier remakes, Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book raked in huge box office numbers. These successes led to the remake of The Lion King directed by Jon Favreau, which became the second-highest-grossing film of 2019.
The reception of Pinocchio
Many of Disney’s remakes were criticized for being a soulless retread of the same story but without the charm; Pinocchio seems to fall into the same category. A common criticism of the movie seems to be that it is far more focused on pleasing the younger audience, leaving little for the adults.
Despite his illustrious career, Tom Hanks’ performance as Geppetto has been called the weak link of the film. On the other hand, Joseph Gordon-Levitt voiced Jiminy Cricket and was regarded as the standout performer, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth’s performance as Pinocchio was also praised.
Even though the visuals are still awe-inspiring due to the immense money spent on CGI, the story remains bland. The critical reception is quite similar to The Lion King in 2019, which also had a weaker plot compared to the original film but had great visuals.
Fans feel exhausted by all the remakes
Even though the term superhero fatigue has been splashed around for some time, the Disney remakes seem to have taken up the mantle. Many fans are feeling burnt out from these remakes, reasoning the barrage of movies to be just for the sake of raking in the dough.
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On the other hand, fans can breathe a sigh of relief as veteran director Guillermo del Toro is also making a stop-motion animated movie on Pinocchio. The director is known for his interests in fairy tales and horror, which will allow fans to see an original adaptation of the story.
Pinocchio was released straight to Disney+ on September 8, 2022.
Source: Twitter
