Just watched a special effects version of Carlo Collodi's classic tale 'Pinocchio'. This one starred Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Pinocchio although he only appeared at the end of the film. The voice of the wooden puppet, apparently, was done by some unknown boy called David Doyle. One must ask the question as to why Doyle was restricted to the voiceover and never appeared on screen in person? This DVD had no extras that might have provided an explanation. I doubt if Doyle could have looked much worse than Thomas who didn't resemble the puppet at all and, in fact, I am of the opinion that the puppet looked better! Thomas was too round faced and needed to be steered clear of the fast food joints.
Overall, it was quite a good production with some pleasant background scenery and music even if there was no Blue Fairy. It was directed by a Steve Barron in 1996.
There was a host of boy actors in it although they had only fleeting parts. Actors such as: Dean Cook, Joe Swash (huh?), Oliver Barron (daddy got him on), Jake Court, Luke Deleon, Kevin Dorsey, Thomas Orange and Sean Woodward (I think I've heard the latter's name somewhere before, anyone heard of the others?).
I quite enjoyed the film and am wondering if any of these boy actors got anywhere afterwards.
Another film I enjoyed was 'Geppetto' starring Seth Adkins as Pinocchio and Drew Carey as Geppetto. There was a Blue Fairy in this one. It was set to some musical numbers none of which were particularly memorable except when Pinnochio sings 'Got No Strings On Me' which was in the Walt Disney cartoon classic anyway. I found 'Geppetto' a quite humorous version of the story and overall pretty good. Poor Seth Adkins had to play most of the film wearing special arms and legs to make him look wooden, and apparently they were awkward to wear. Anton Yelchin made a brief appearance in the film.
Anyone seen these films?

Cinefan wrote on 27. Feb 2010 at 21:36:


Jonathan did do the voice for the puppet Pinocchio - David Doyle was the voice of the cricket.

Quote:


The other significant boy actor is Corey Carrier as Lampwick

I saw this movie and there were alot of reasons to watch it. My main reason was to see Myles Jeffrey. Seriously, Myles Jeffrey has to be one of the most adorable actors EVER!!!!! He is the definition of super cute. And I love how he acts. Even his acting style is adorable. Also, Seth Adkins was quite good in this movie but I must admit, I would have liked it alot better if Myles would have played the starring role. I love Myles Jeffrey. He's so adorable.   

Yeah K, you're not kidding when you say that Taylor is overlooked. Not only have I never heard of him but I don't remember seeing him in the movie. He is cute though. Thanks for the pic and for bringing him to our attention.    

My favourite version, by far, is the Italian Mini Series.

I wasn't keen on JTT as Pinocchio at all, he wasn't right for the part IMO.

I liked Seth Adkins but didn't like the film. Wasn't Drew something-or-other in it as Geppetto, he put me off the film.

I like Robbie Kay but didn't think much of that version either.

And I also like Gabriel Thompson, but his version sucked as well.

There is also an interesting alternative Russian take on Pinocchio conceived by Aleksei Tolstoy:

A number of versions exist, my favourite being...

Priklucheniya Buratino (1975)
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

A new version, which I've not seen, was released last year called...

Buratino, Son of Pinocchio (2009)
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)