First look at Tom Hanks as Geppetto in Disney+’s Pinocchio

Is there any role that Tom Hanks cannot do?

Earlier this week, Disney+ released the very first still of their upcoming live-action remake of Pinocchio, inspired by the 1940 film of the same name.  Tom Hanks is set to portray the Italian woodcarver, Geppetto, who carved himself a son that he named Pinocchio.

Both Hanks and the puppet boy closely resemble the designs of the animated version, which is amazing to say the least.  In the animated feature, Pinnochio transformed into a real boy with the help of his father’s wishes, the magical Blue Fairy, and Jiminy Cricket, who serves as his friend and advisor to his conscience.  The remake will follow story tradition, as well as sprinkle in a few new elements.

Joining Tom Hanks and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Pinnochio will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erviro as the Blue Fairy, Keegan Michael-Key as Honest John, and Luke Evans as the Coachman. The sprinkling new element is Lorraine Bracco, who’ll voice the new character Sofia the Seagull.

Will she be joining Monstro the Whale or helping out Jiminy? Though, he had done a pretty good job himself.

Pinocchio won the Oscar in 1941 for Best Original Song, “When You Wish Upon a Star”, and another for Original Score.  While it is more than likely that the song will be utilized in the live-action (how can it not?), it did become Disney’s most popular lyrical piece, with it also being its official theme for its branding (specifically for the parks).

The original Pinocchio story, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was written by Carlo Collodi in 1883 in Italy, and while the story does have a cheerful ending, Collodi had a much darker fate in mind for the puppet in his first drafting.

You can see Pinocchio be brought to life, along with Geppetto, come this September when Disney+ premieres it on its platform.

What do you think of Tom Hanks as Geppetto?  Let us know in the comments.