Why Pinocchio on Disney+ is a great live-action remake

Something that has been flooding the internet is the amount of negative reviews after the release of Robert Zemeckis’ Disney remake Pinocchio. I remember watching the film and thinking how it retains the same amount of magic that the original harbored way back in 1940.

I couldn’t believe the vitriol that was being thrown at this beautifully-made film. Many critics decried it for being unnecessary and soulless. The sad part is, they’re dead wrong. The critics can’t understand its entertainment value. I already explained why fans are ruining films nowadays, and Pinnochio is the best example of fans not giving remake movies a chance because the original cast a large shadow.

It’s a shame that a “tomatometer” on Rotten Tomatoes decides the final verdict for a film. The majority of critics do not speak for everyone and they do not speak to me. Without further ado, here is why this remake stands tall.

Pinocchio features great character development

One thing that the remake does well with its characters is the development. Pinocchio is seen as less of a mindless robot that believes whatever people tell him and appears to be more clever. As the movie goes on, he grows less trusting of people.

Moreover, Gepetto has a reason for creating Pinocchio. His son died for some unknown reason and his puppet is brought to life with the help of fairy magic and Geppetto’s desires to have a son, which ultimately manifest into the wooden puppet.

In addition, Sofia the Seagull is a wonderful inclusion to the film. She adds purpose by helping Pinocchio find his father after telling him that he traveled to Pleasure Island to find his puppet son. In the predecessor, Pinocchio finds out his father went to find him after a message was sent by the Blue Fairy via a dove. This explanation seems like more of a deus ex machina rather than cohesive character furthering the plot.

Pinnochio’s design is stellar

What I appreciate the most about the remake is the fact that the filmmakers stayed true to the original design of the doll. His CGI is incredibly groundbreaking for a plasticized toy. It would be easy to say that director Zemeckis could get lost in his toys with such vibrance in every detail of CGI, but that never wanes with the living puppet remaining faithful to its Disney origins. It’s obvious that the filmmakers didn’t want to take away too much from the original designs and it certainly pays off.

The CG in Pinocchio is marvelous

The CG, in general, is marvelous to look at. Every time I look at Honest John, I can’t help but think about the number of hours that it took to create this character. Every fiber, hair, and piece of dust on his face looks like he were filmed with a 4K camera.

Monstro, the sea monster, looks more menacing in this iteration adding to the CG spectacle and splendor. The thing that worried most fans was whether or not the characters would dip into the uncanny valley and, luckily, Zemeckis restrained himself to keep the characters from looking too realistic or creepy. It’s as colorful and as stunning as the 1940 film and its sets look amazing, it’s as if the filmmakers filmed this in Italy in 1895.

This, however, isn’t the first time a film was initially reviled and hated by fans and critics and, years down the line, gets reassessed with a positive theme and different light. Did you enjoy the movie?