For over a decade, Disney has brought new life to their animated classics. The films that have defined the studio, from Cinderella to the Lion King, have returned to the big screen in live action remakes; and for better or for worse the studio has found success with this trend. Yet of all the reimagined movies, some of Disney’s prominent classics have yet to be adapted in this new format. For some time one of these films was none other than the tale of the wooden boy Pinocchio. The animated take on Carlo Collodi’s cherished story has been one of the pioneers in Disney as the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” remains the main theme to the House of Mouse even to this day. There was talk of a live action remake for Pinocchio dating as far back as the 80’s, but plans to develop a new adaptation did not come into fruition until 2015. It took some time but sure enough the Wooden Boy would live again in the new film named, of course, Pinocchio.

Similar to the original, the story centers on Pinocchio(Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) who goes on many adventures along with his trusty conscience Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to discover what it means to be a real boy. The film went through several filmmakers including the likes of Sam Mendes, but eventually settled on legendary director Robert Zemeckis to bring this classic to life. The movie made its debut on September 8th, but rather than premiering in theaters the movie made its way to Disney+ as part of the company’s annual Disney+ Day. I cannot say that Pinocchio is among my favorite Disney films, though I do respect its legacy. Be that as it may, I wanted to give this new adaption a chance to see if it could bring a new take on this timeless classic; and the result was an adaptation with some magic and a lot of inconsistencies.

When it comes to Disney’s live action remakes, I find the best ones are those that keep true to the original but are very much their own interpretation. Pinocchio follows this idea, but could not find the balance to be an effective adaptation which was more than evident in the movie’s plot. The story follows the events of the original to a tee, but in doing so it handcuffs the plot from standing out on its own. The plot does try to add new details like the past of Geppetto (Tom Hanks) and how it reflects on Pinocchio’s story. This aspect was appreciated but it needed more time to flourish which highlighted a major issue for this retelling which was its pacing. The plot throws Pinocchio from one adventure to another with little to no substance in between. While this direction was not surprising it did the story no favors as it gave the plot no time to define itself. Yet perhaps the biggest difference in this new take was its main moral surrounding Pinocchio’s dream of becoming a real boy. This direction was not a bad one as it brought a new way to interpret the point of the classic story. However the execution of this moral needed work as it was hardly touched upon and showed that this new tale was too caught up in its own strings.

Much like the story, the cast had a similar issue-albeit with better results. While their development needed work, there was no denying that the cast’s performances were up to the task of bringing these characters to life. A case in point was none other than the title character. Pinocchio was a fun protagonist but needed some clarification in his personal arc. However the performance by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth was nothing short of impressive as his energy lived up to the standards of the iconic character. Speaking of iconic characters, Joseph Gordon-Levitt nearly stole the show as Jiminy Cricket. While sounding eerie similar to Cliff Edwards’s take, Levitt was able to bring his own spin to the conscience in training and had great chemistry with Ainsworth’s Pinocchio. As for the rest of the cast, the movie featured some stellar performances from the likes of Keegan Michael-Key (Honest John), Luke Evans (The Coachman) and Cynthia Erivo (The Blue Fairy), but their time on screen was limited. The movie also features some new characters like Sofia the Seagull (Lorraine Bracco) and former ballerina Fabiana (Kyanne Lamaya). These additions were appreciated but lacked the presence to stand out. Last and certainly not least was Tom Hanks as Geppeto. Hank’s portrayal as the timely carpenter was, to no surprise, solid but just like the rest of the cast was hindered by his limited appearance.

With the fantastical nature surrounding this tale, it was no surprise to see the visuals would be a major highlight for the new adaptation. As effects go, this live action remake was decent in its presentation. While some of the visuals clashed with the movie’s light cinematography there was no denying that the effects had their moments. The later half of the film was,particularly, prevalent in showcasing this aspect as it featured impressive visuals with creative camerawork. Aside from its sense of spectacle, the movie lived to its predecessor by being a musical. Along with the energetic score by legendary composer Alan Silvestri, the movie featured an array of musical numbers that were both familiar and new. As the songs go, each number was alright but did not have much time to stand out. This was disconcerting for new numbers like the Coachman’s song which had all the makings of being a great Villain Song but it was over before it began.

Being one of Disney’s pioneer films, Pinocchio had much to live up to; and as remakes go this one was fairly standard. Between its rushed storytelling and need to be an homage to the 1940 film, this adaptation came off as an entanglement of ideas. Yet this is not to say that there was no life to this retelling. Between its impressive cast and decent sense of spectacle, the new movie had enough going for it to at least be an enjoyable experience. I cannot say that Pinocchio is as monumental as its animated counterpart (in fact it is far from it), but there is just enough magic to this film to consider it a tolerable addition to Disney’s Live Action Remakes.