Pinocchio

Grade: B

It had been a very long time since I’d seen any version of Pinocchio. I had it in my head that the “Hi, diddle dee dee, an actor’s life for me” song was from Peter Pan. Watching Robert Zemeckis’s Pinocchio, which dropped on Disney+ recently, I was struck by how much happens in the course of just one day – not to mention the first 24 hours of this puppet’s life. Children will definitely remain engaged, with the sheer amount of action, and this new Pinocchio is a worthy addition to the canon of remakes.

When I heard there were songs in this version, I went in with some dread. But they don’t get in the way. Thankfully, Zemeckis and team are smart enough not to let the forward momentum screech to a clumsy halt for a long, overblown number. In fact, they err on the side of being too short. Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy is woefully underused. She has one scene, and sings about half of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” This is the one instance where I think everybody would have been delighted if she had been allowed to perform the whole song. Otherwise, I welcomed the briefness of the truncated songs.

With A Christmas Carol, The Polar Express, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Zemeckis has extensive experience with both animation and half animation, half live action. His hands are all over this movie, in the best way. The clocks at the beginning will undoubtedly make many think of his Back to the Future. And, for a more arcane reference, there’s a scene in this Pinocchio where a line (which is the payoff of the scene) gets interrupted by an abrupt new development. It made me think of a line in Back to the Future part 2 when a sudden lightning bolt prevents Marty McFly from finishing what he was saying. Frequent Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri is on board, and as usual, listening to his score is often like a master class in composing. He had me at the piano shortly after watching this, to figure out some of his chord progressions. I loved the descending arpeggio pattern in the first scene.

Predictably, Tom Hanks co-stars as Geppetto, reuniting him with his Forrest Gump/Cast Away/The Polar Express director. It’s exactly the kind of Hanks performance you’d expect. He’s fine. He and Zemeckis go together like peas and carrots at this point. Kyanne Lamaya is infectious and touching as Fabiana, a member of the touring carnival show. Keegan-Michael Key gets to showcase his big brassy Broadwayish voice as Honest John. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the MVP here, as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. The shoes he has to fill are figuratively huge, if literally quite miniature – but he carries the movie as the iconic conscience.

This Pinocchio is adequately entertaining and efficient. Pleasure Island looks tantalizing. No songs outstay their welcome. Guillermo del Toro has a dark, twisted take on Pinocchio that will hit Netflix on December 9 – so there’s something for everyone here.

Grade: B