Tom Hanks brings Pinocchio to life in first look at Disney's live-action remake

By
Maureen Lee Lenker
Author Maureen Lee Lenker
Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

EW's editorial guidelines
Published on March 9, 2022 02:10PM EST

When you wish upon a star, you get a first look at Tom Hanks as Geppetto.

On Wednesday, Disney+ dropped the first image from their live-action take on Pinocchio, which hits the streaming platform this September.

The image features Oscar-winner Tom Hanks in a curly wig as Geppetto, the kindly woodcarver who builds the puppet Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and loves him as if he were his human son. Here, we see him putting the finishing touches on the wooden puppet, who is the spitting image of Disney's animated version of the fairy-tale character.

Tom Hanks as Geppetto in PINOCCHIO
Tom Hanks in 'Pinocchio'. Disney+

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Pinocchio is the latest live-action update in the Disney canon. It also stars Joseph Gorden-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio's conscience and one of Disney animation's most enduring creations.

Cynthia Erivo also stars as the Blue Fairy, who answers Geppetto's wish to make Pinocchio a real boy, and Keegan-Michael Key will portray "Honest" John, a bad influence in the impressionable young Pinocchio's life. Lorraine Bracco joins the cast as a new character, Sofia the Seagull, and Luke Evans will portray a mysterious figure known as The Coachman.

Disney has a storied history with Pinocchio. In 1940, it was their second-ever full-length animated feature after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it became the first-ever animated feature to win competitive Oscars, picking up gold for Best Original Score and Best Song. That song, "When You Wish Upon a Star," has also become something of an anthem for Disney and their magic-making brand over the years.

But the little Italian puppet will be all the rage this fall, as the Disney rendition will face off director Guillermo del Toro's own take on the story when his long-gestating stop-motion version premieres in December.

Related content: