The trailer for the live action remake of Pinocchio was released two months ago and it looks very promising.

The CGI looks incredible in the trailer. The most impressive looking thing I noticed was Jiminy Cricket. He still looks like his cartoon like self, but it’s done in a way that doesn’t look too fake. The animation of Jack and Willie also looks fantastic, though we don’t get to see as much of them in the trailer. It would’ve been nice to see what Pinocchio looks like, but it’s understandable with Disney’s style of trailers.

It seems like it’s going to be a faithful recreation as well, as we get to see the settings for almost every major scene. We see Geppetto’s workshop, Mangiafuoco’s stage, and a ship full of people that appears to be arriving at Pleasure Island. It doesn’t look like there are any new locations being added, which is honestly more ideal as the new scenes in the live action films haven’t been all that great. I’m looking at you Mulan.

The cast hasn’t been fully released, but those who have been announced are going to be very exciting to see. The most prominent actor and the one we see the most in the trailer is Tom Hanks as Geppetto. From the lines he had in the trailer, he seems to be a great fit for the beloved puppetmaster, and unlike most of his appearances in films, I couldn’t tell it was him at first. 

Some of the other cast members who have been announced are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Cynthis Erivo as the Blue Fairy, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Pinocchio. Robert Downey Jr. is also listed, although the character he’s playing hasn’t been announced.

It seems like this film could be the savior these Disney remakes needed. Beauty and the Beast was okay, but the rest have been poorly received, and for good reason. The execution has just been bad for these movies, with the last remake, Mulan seeming to make things worse. Hopefully, Disney does the right thing with Pinocchio and doesn’t make a ton of unnecessary changes.

As of right now, there is no set release date, it seems like production is well underway, and the film should be released sometime in 2023.