Entertainment News | TV & Film
Walt Disney Studios has unveiled a new trailer for their live-action retelling of “Pinocchio”.
Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo, who stars as a new take on the beloved character “The Blue Fairy” took to Instagram to discuss the trailer's release.
“The beloved classic comes to life and yours truly is as blue as can be!! #Pinocchio.”
In an interview with Variety in March 2021, Erivo expressed her excitement about taking on the role of The Blue Fairy.
“We don’t have very many Black fairies. I’m very proud to be joining the ranks with Yara Shahidi (Shahidi is set to play Tinker Bell in Disney's “Peter Pan & Wendy”) and I’m very proud we’re getting to join the ranks of Disney with Halle Bailey, who’s playing the Little Mermaid. It’s kind of awesome."
Erivo shared a clip of her on set earlier this year. In the clip, Erivo can be seen belting out “When You Wish Upon A Star”, a song originally sung in the 1940 adaptation by Cliff Edwards.
“Pinocchio” was directed by Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, The Back to The Future franchise) and features an A-list cast including Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Micheal Key, and Luke Evans.
To help bring her look to life, Erivo enlisted celebrity makeup artist Terrell Mullin. Mullin’s took to Instagram to celebrate the release of the trailer.
”Nothing like seeing your work in a trailer.... Disney "PINOCCHIO" coming to a theater near you.”
In addition to Mullin, hair stylist and complexion consultant Coree Moreno worked on Erivo’s hair for the film.
In the two-minute trailer, we get a glimpse of their work. In the trailer Erivo appears as the Blue Fairy, waving her wand towards the titular character voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth.
Other familiar characters from the 1940 version such as Geppetto (Hanks), Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Honest John (Keegan-Michael Key) also make appearances.
Based on the 1883 Italian book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi and the 1940 Disney adaptation, the new “Pinocchio” was originally announced in April 2015. The film was originally set to be directed by Sam Mendes (1917), and then Paul King (Paddington) before being taken on by Zemeckis in 2019.
The screenplay for “Pinocchio” was helmed by Zemeckis & Chris Weitz. Zemeckis also joins Derek Hogue as one of the film's producers, with Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine, Jeremy Johns, and Paul Weitz serving as executive producers.
Music from the 1940 adaptation is expected to return with additional songs composed by Academy Award nominees Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard (“The Polar Express”). "Pinocchio" is set to premiere September 8 on Disney Plus.