PUPPET POWER

Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo and Luke Evans star in a live-action remake of Disney’s classic film

- EMMA BULLIMORE, REBECCA MAHONEY

NEW FANTASY DRAMA

Pinocchio Available from Thursday 8 September, Disney+

He’s got no strings to hold him down… and so the beloved boy puppet is back this week in a star-studded remake as Disney breathes new life into its much-treasured 1940 animation, Pinocchio.

Blending live action and CGI, the story doesn’t stray too far from the original, with Tom Hanks perfectly cast as kind-but-lonely woodcarver Geppetto, who builds a puppet named Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and wishes upon a star for his creation to become real.

But when the Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo) appears and partially grants Geppetto’s wish, Pinocchio learns he must prove himself before he can become a real, live boy – with no strings attached.

Despite guidance from his ‘conscience’, the ever-plucky Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Pinocchio lands in trouble with all manner of unsavoury characters, including the sinister Coachman (Luke Evans).

GREATER DEPTH

‘Pinocchio is such a timeless story with some very powerful messages,’ says Evans, 43, who also starred in Disney’s 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast as the villainous Gaston.