Pinocchio: How Corporate Filth Finally Broke My Heart- an essay

[fab1976]

My kids have no interest in the Disney classics, in any form really. One is 9, the other is 14, and I can’t say we have ever watched Pinocchio with them. And they are both born and raised Disney. Don’t take your kids lack of interest in Pinocchio yesterday to heart!

 

[BrianL]

That’s a tall order.

You get on out of here!

Actually, I always thought that I wouldn't like Lio & Stitch, and only in the past few years sat down to watch it, and I love it! I also love the series and never knew that the franchise had such a tight and well-fleshed out lore and continuity.

I'm not big on the live action remakes, they're typically due to Disney execs going for an easy cash-grab, and it shows.

I'm kinda interested in this Pinocchio because Bob Zemeckis is directing. He's done some great stuff, though I didn't care for his version of A Christmas Carol.

I'm more interested in the Pinocchio by Guillermo Del Toro, as there's bound to be different territory there. The original Pinocchio character in literature was not at all appealing, but then Caillou proves you can be unappealing yet garner popularity at the same time.


I get the references to Marvel and Star Wars, but you're missing a Pixar reference in this line.

"...stretched from a galaxy far far away all the way to the quantum realm: stretched out to infinity and beyond..."
Or whatever.

I love Del Toro, but my buddy was really creeped out by the trailer, probably because as he put it, "Pinnocchio is buck naked!" It is a little offputting actually.

 

[Mysterian]

You get on out of here!

Actually, I always thought that I wouldn't like Lio & Stitch, and only in the past few years sat down to watch it, and I love it! I also love the series and never knew that the franchise had such a tight and well-fleshed out lore and continuity.



I love Del Toro, but my buddy was really creeped out by the trailer, probably because as he put it, "Pinnocchio is buck naked!" It is a little offputting actually.

Ha! I didn't notice. I just thought he looked a little like Groot.

 

[MamaMermaid]

and Dumbo. I also really don't like Bambi.

Oh I forgot about Bambi. Hard pass! Also, no Fox and Hound either!!

 

[Timandalicia]

I’m a huge Disney fan and have no interest in the live action remakes. Maybe your kids are onto something.

Yes. The live-action remakes check all the boxes of my “maybe it’s…”

 

[Timandalicia]

My DD19 is a HUGE Disney fan and she is not interested in seeing the live action Pinocchio . It has nothing to do with her liking or not liking Disney - it’s just not a story she’s interested in. Now, if there was a live action Princess and the Frog, Moana, Tangled or more, she’d be glued to the TV - these are stories from her childhood. She may watch this new Pinocchio sometime, but it will never be a priority for her to watch over something else.

Actually my wife finds the original Pinocchio very disturbing.

 

[Timandalicia]

I cannot stand Pinocchio in any form so will not be watching.

My wife is disturbed by the original. Kinda scary for some kids, with no resolution to the child trafficking in the film…
But it’s Disney so we have to like it.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Guess I’m in the minority, but I saw the original Pinocchio as a child, and liked it. Later bought it on VHS for my son, and watched with him a number of times. There are some scary scenes for very young children, but pretty much all Disney movies have that. I like the story and its general message: be a good boy (or girl), don’t lie, and always let your conscience be your guide.

Haven’t seen this new movie, only previews, and since we currently don’t have Disney+, will be awhile before I do. But I’m a fan of Tom Hanks and Cynthia Erivo and would like to see them and the rest of the cast in this. I won’t discount it simply for being live action; after all, some, like Beauty and the Beast, have been quite good IMO. Despite mostly negative reviews, I like to judge for myself.

 

[KayMichigan]

The original Pinocchio is a disturbing movie. My Dad, who was born in 1928, saw it in the theaters when he was a kid and always remembered how Monstro the whale scared the heck out of him.

But it's nowhere near as disturbing as the book it's based on!!

 

[TLSnell1981]

I'm fine with live action remakes. Although the new Pinocchio is really bad....storyline, acting, etc.

 

[TB'sWidow]

Just watched and I guess I’m in the minority too, I really enjoyed it Jiminy cricket is one of my favorites along with the song When you wish upon a star

 

[Timandalicia]

Agreed.

Pinocchio and Dumbo are two IPs I've never enjoyed and won't watch again - in any form.

OP, I'm sorry you were disappointed. I'm sure your kids love Disney - with or without Pinocchio!

Well. Watched it finally. It stunk in many ways. Still left the child trafficking unresolved. Im not a big Pinocchio fan myself but Jiminy Cricket is an iconic ambassador of Disney that they butchered in the new film.
But yes. The kids still love Disney. It was just a moment that we yet had experienced and I fear will come more frequently as we go.

 

[Timandalicia]

I'm fine with live action remakes. Although the new Pinocchio is really bad....storyline, acting, etc.

Ugh. It stunk. It was like Joseph Gordon-Levitt did his Jiminy Cricket impression at a Hollywood party and a drunk Robert Zemeckis said “you’re hired!”

 

[Mysterian]

I finally saw it.

Pleasure Island in the new movie: Why the smog men? These were never explained. Was the idea that making them more fantastical distances the kidnapping scene from the reality of humans trafficking humans?

I didn’t check the cast list before going in, but I immediately recognized Keegan-Michael Key as the Fox. He’s almost a Disney regular at this point. Didn’t recognize Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The actor who played Pinocchio was spot-on.

I couldn’t really become engaged with the movie, never really felt a strong connection between Geppetto and Pinocchio. I know it’s a remake, but some scenes just felt like the movie was riding the rails and never really developing it’s own pace.

 

[KayMichigan]

OK, I just watched this in bits and pieces and skimmed the rest of it.

Spoiler

Wow, they really chopped up the original movie plot! Honest John and Gideon (no names so I guess they're the Fox and the Cat) only have one scene and don't interact at all with the Coachman, who apparently just sort of picks him up. From what I saw the Fox was the best character in the movie. I certainly could have done without the wisecracking bird that sounded like Roz from Monsters Inc.

And what the heck was up with that ending? Pinocchio stays a wooden boy and he and Geppetto just walk off the beach and that's the end of the movie?? Apparently it's left unsaid whether Pinocchio ever becomes a real boy, but I always thought that was the point of the whole story. And boy, Pinocchio's squeaky voice got annoying fast.

I think they only reason this got made was because they got Tom Hanks.

 

[RamblingMad]

The reality is that not all Disney is good. There is lots that I don't like. And if you get too much of something, it gets boring.

I watched way too much during the lockdown and the year that followed that if something isn't good, I give up fast. I've already given up on two more shows: Echoes and Devil in Ohio. And I couldn't get through the first episode of Imperfects. It has to be good now a days.

We watched the preview for the new Marvel movies and besides the continuation of Daredevil and maybe the new Samuel Jackson one, we didn't care for the rest. That's a lot of Marvel that we'll skip.

 

[Timandalicia]

Ugh. It stunk. It was like Joseph Gordon-Levitt did his Jiminy Cricket impression at a Hollywood party and a drunk Robert Zemeckis said “you’re hired!”