Disney is still going strong with remaking their animated classics in live-action. Next in line is Pinocchio: the story of a puppet developing a moral compass and becoming a real boy. That sounds simple in itself, but it's anything but. Director Robert Zemeckis and company certainly have their work cut out for them in making this tale friendly enough for audiences.
Released in 1940, the original Pinocchio has a plethora of moments and characters which might be frowned on today. Not only are they scary, but they reflect a different time in terms of what was politically acceptable. As such, some parents might worry about exposing their kids to the wrong values. Disney likely won't take the risk of driving away consumers in this way, so viewers can expect to see plenty of changes with this remake.
6 Honest John
Remaking an animated film in live-action implies framing the tale in a more realistic light. For that reason, Pinocchio himself (and the fairy who helps him) may be the extent of the fantasy elements here. This means Honest John will likely be cut down or changed.
He's a fox who lures Pinocchio and other gullible individuals into his cruel scams. It's easy to see what the designers were going for with the choice of animal, but John's presence undermines the story's own logic. With an anthropomorphic canine walking around, what makes a talking puppet so special? Not to mention, it's just cheaper to have a human actor on set rather than a CG fox.
5 Stromboli
Pop culture is much more politically correct than in 1940 and Disney wants to be at the forefront to ensure that. Among their other actions, this means abandoning conventions of their older films which don't agree with modern sensibilities. That includes racial stereotypes.
One such example is an Italian villain named Stromboli. Yes, that is actually his name. The original work calls him "Mangiafuoco," but Disney presumably changed it to be more widely digestible. He's a sinister puppeteer whose attire and flamboyant attitude echo a greedy Gypsy caricature. If this character does show up in any capacity, the filmmakers will definitely dial back his gimmick. Otherwise, they might offend the country where the story came from in the first place.
4 Swearing
Also on the list of questionable content is swearing. Although many view animation as a children's medium, old cartoons occasionally dropped a naughty word into the mix. Specifically, Pinocchio has a few mentions of "jackass." While it makes narrative sense, Disney will doubtless want a friendlier word choice for the remake.
After all, they've shown their willingness to shift the script in other works. Maleficent, for instance, alters her evil spell during her revisionist Sleeping Beauty film. Instead of decreeing that Princess Aurora will die on her sixteenth birthday, she says that her target will merely sleep. Taking out a few cuss words seems like small potatoes next to that.
3 Pleasure Island
This is among the scarier scenes not just because of the visuals, but also due to the implications. Pleasure Island is a place where kids can misbehave to their heart's content. Delinquent activities include gambling and chomping on cigars. These already raise red flags with today's Disney; they don't even want adults smoking in their movies anymore. However, it only gets worse.
Kids who indulge in this bad behavior slowly turn into donkeys. The overseers then ship them to various unscrupulous organizations, never to be seen nor heard from again. Yep, an animated movie has human trafficking.
Zemeckis is no stranger to twisted imagery, having several weird visuals in his performance capture films, but this is pushing it. Seeing children morph into photorealistic donkeys is straight out of a horror flick. Plus, Disney wouldn't want to leave them to such an awful fate. This risks undermining the happy ending, which focus groups will surely frown on.
2 Monstro The Malicious Whale
The name should give it away. In the original film, this whale is an outright villain. People fear his very name, as he's swallowed many a sailor whole. He even sports angry eyes. This is why he's a recurring boss in the Kingdom Hearts games, but it's also what makes him so disconnected from reality.
Whales in nature generally don't come looking for trouble. Most of them aren't even carnivores, mainly subsisting on krill and other tiny food. As such, the filmmakers may not want to paint them in a bad light. They'll probably portray Monstro as a normal sperm whale who swallows Geppetto by accident. He's simply misunderstood like Pinocchio himself. Sure, it's sappy and contrived, but the writers could at least fit it thematically into the story.
With the puppet protagonist and the race-swapped Blue Fairy, an additional message about acceptance is easily in the cards, especially given Disney's political leanings becoming increasingly emphasized in their content. It also wouldn't be out-of-place within the inherent themes of responsibility.
1 An Underwater Stroll
Another part of live-action is stricter adherence to the laws of nature and physics. The animated Pinocchio breaks both of these in its third act. To rescue his father from Monstro, the puppet jumps into the ocean. He and Jiminy then walk along the bottom in search of Geppetto. Not only can they breathe, but the water pressure has no effect on them. It made no sense when the film was made, and it makes no sense now.
It's impossible to realistically depict this sequence because realism never enters the equation. On top of the aforementioned issues, an authentic sea also has the slight problem of no lights. On the pitch-black ocean floor, the characters can't see anything, let alone a whale. Granted, the Blue Fairy could return and aid them with a spell, but the writers can only call on this character so many times before undermining any conflict.
For this reason, Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket may build a raft. They'll eventually end up on one anyway, so why wait? Whatever the logistics may be, this sequence will assuredly see the most changes from the animated classic.