I've had the opinion that we are seeing the beginning of "copyright lockdown" where some much has been locked down by existing copyrights that very little "new" can be done because it is too close to something that is already copyrighted. On the topic of Pinocchio, there was a stop-motion series done by the team that eventually became Rankin-Bass that did the Christmas specials like Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Per Wikipedia they previously did a series called The New Adventures Of Pinocchio. I remember reading that they had to be careful not to get too close the Disney version because of copyright concerns. There was also a related issue with the Filmation movie Pinocchio And The Emperor Of The Night which had to be settled in court.
The one I’ve been excited for is Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion animated version for Netflix, which has been in active production in Oregon for a while and is written by Del Toro and Patrick McHale (who created the very charming and dark Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall). That one most likely will not be an entirely kid-friendly version, or at least will lean much more into dark elements than any Disney rendition will. I think we’re in a similar spot as in 2015 when two separate adaptations of The Jungle Book were in production. After Jon Favreau’s version for Disney was a hit, Andy Serkis’ equally big-budget theatrical-intended take was delayed for years until eventually going straight-to-Netflix under the title Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. Whichever version is successful first will likely be the one that buries all the others.
This is a pet peeve of mine. I see plenty of original films in the theater every year, and there are at least a dozen original films in the theater at the moment. If you hurry you can see JoJo Rabbit, a film about a young boy during the last days of WWII, and his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler.
Love the 40 version which is IMO one of the best movies ever, love It enough that I would never watch another version. Sort of like The Godfather and Good Bad and the Ugly and 2001.
I have just watched this Italian version, which is pretty good and quite different from the way fairy tales are usually presented in Hollywood productions:
The "Pinocchio" character was not invented by Disney. There have been "adult" versions of Cinderella and Snowy White too
I'm not a lawyer, but I think an issue is whether specific elements would be an issue if they get too close to another version. As an example, Pinocchio in the Disney version has a specific look (such as the hat and clothing) that would likely have to be avoided. In the version I mentioned (The New Adventures Of Pinocchio) Pinocchio doesn't bare much a resemblance to the Disney version (wear no hat, looks more like a puppet rather than a boy with puppet aspects added on). They recently released a CGI movie named Red Shoes & The Seven Dwarfs which features a new twist on the story of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs. I suspect that a reason for the name change was due to possible issues with the Disney Version (the opening title at first shows Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs but "Snow White" is knocked down and replaced with "Red Shoes"). A related example involved comic book which would feature a proposed funny animal version of the Justice League called the Justa Lotta Animals. Due to copyright issues (if the series was popular copyright issues would prevent it from being more widely used, such as on TV and at the movies), the idea was shelved and funny animal team named Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew was created instead.
t' Saw the trailer. This looks like the living nightmare the Pinnocio story is. I REALLY HATE PINNOCIO. It's like the Italian "Alice in Wonderland" or "Peter Pan" -- weird and annoying even to children, yet we are supposed embrace them as a "childhood classic" for some ungodly reason reason. I say BURN PINNOCCIO. There another euro-weirdie coming out where a sheep is born with a pig's head. Yeah. Take Your Kids!!!! It's kid stuff! I think we love Pinnocio and Alice and Peter Pan so we can legally traumatize our children in the theater to shut them up for two hours.
Are you thinking of Lamb? I saw the trailer for it. They're walking around with a child with a sheep's head. It was very disturbing. Wiki says it's a supernatural drama. It seemed more like horror. Lamb (2021 film) - Wikipedia
It's time. Looks more like Jiminy Cricket: The Movie. Good to see Tom Hanks still getting work though. Also this appears to be a Disney+ exclusive? Interesting choice. I wonder if the live-action remakes are not doing so hot in the cinema.
For anyone who is interested, this is a great article recently published on The Smithsonian Institute's website, that provides excellent information on Carlos Collodi's novel, including many details specific to 19th-century Italy that have been lost in some film (and, presumably, literary) translations. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-real-pinocchio-180980027/
Problem is, that was a movie from a different era. A movie about truth and morality for a audience which can comprehend neither? I was thinking that Chris Weitz would make a perfect Geppetto (Really). Thinking back, he already played that part in Alita.
Just what the Pinocchio story needs... to be even creepier. Here my list: The Creepiest Children's Classics of All-Time: 1. Pinocchio 2. Alice in Wonderland 3. Peter Pan 4. Barney & Friends
Saw it first-run in the theater. I had an idea for a sex movie called "Pinnochia." It's not her nose that grown, but another part of her anatomy. So you don't care if she's telling the truth, or not.
They're calling it a "Day & Date Release," so I'm guessing that means they realized it wouldn't be a huge hit in theaters alone, so they're hedging their bets and putting it on Disney+ streaming and in theaters at the same time. I don't know if it'll be an extra charge (ala Black Widow) or if it's just free for the watching (like Encanto and Soul). The film looks absolutely bizarre to me, but -- as I often say -- I'm not the target audience.
This seems like the kind of movie that I'd watch when bored but mostly to see how they adapted the original. Not a movie that I would watch on it's own merits. It looks okay, while the original still looks amazing.
