Pinocchio Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

Downs...

6. Most Of The Changes Will Annoy Fans

Though Zemeckis sticks pretty closely to the basic narrative beats of the 1940 animated film, he and co-writer Chris Weitz (About a Boy) do make some changes to the plot that are unlikely to be enthusiastically embraced by fans.

At best these alterations feel unnecessary and excessive, and at worst they're poor substitutes for what occurred in the original movie.

For starters, Geppetto (Tom Hanks) is given a sob story in this version - he's a grieving woodcarver who creates Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) while mourning the loss of his son. As changes go it's not hugely offensive, yet feels like a tacked on attempt to wring some added emotion from the story.

Elsewhere trickster fox Honest John (Keegan-Michael Key) has been given a cringe-worthy "modern" update, as he talks to Pinocchio about turning him into an "influencer" and even jokingly ponders giving him the nickname "Chris Pine."

The most substantial changes occur at the very end of the story, though, when Pinocchio and Geppetto face off against Monstro.

Beyond the fact that Monstro himself has been altered from a giant sperm whale into a tentacled whale-kaiju abomination, Pinocchio is given a nifty, almost superhero-like ability to help escape Monstro, and the outcome of their escape is also changed from the animation.

All in all it feels like Zemeckis and Weitz wanted to differentiate their film from the original in small ways, yet ultimately almost every single change made is less interesting than what came before. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.