Geppetto (film)

Geppetto
Genre Musical fantasy
Based on The Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi
Written by David I. Stern
Carlo Collodi
Directed by Tom Moore
Starring Drew Carey
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Brent Spiner
Rene Auberjonois
Seth Adkins
Usher
Theme music composer Stephen Schwartz
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Ted Zachary
Editor(s) Virginia Katz
Running time 89 minutes
Production company(s) James Pentecost Productions
KARZ Entertainment
Walt Disney Television
Distributor Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network ABC
Original release May 7, 2000 (2000-05-07)

Geppetto is a 2000 made-for-television musical remake of the popular children’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio and the original 1940 Disney film, starring Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It featured original songs written by Stephen Schwartz. Schwartz had developed the songs as a reunion for Mary Poppins stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, but Andrews was undergoing throat surgery so the idea was dropped.

Carey's role in the film became a recurring butt-of-jokes on his series Whose Line is it Anyway?.

Plot

Geppetto (Drew Carey) is a poor toymaker who desperately wishes to become a father. One night, after selling his new spring toys to the children of Villagio, his wish is granted by the Blue Fairy (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who brings with her magic his wooden puppet, Pinocchio (Seth Adkins), to life, saying that someday, if he proves himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, he will become a real boy.

At first, Geppetto is thrilled to have his wish come true, but runs into a string of problems, such as Pinocchio asking unnecessary questions when trying to get to sleep, getting into mischief and wandering off when introducing him to everyone in town, and showing no interest in being a toymaker. The next day, Geppetto sends Pinocchio off to school, telling him to just act like all the other children and he'll do fine. However, Pinocchio gets into a fight at school, in which he was imitating all the other children. A disappointed Geppetto takes him home where an unsuccessful puppeteer named Stromboli (Brent Spiner) becomes interested, thinking he would make him a fortune as the main attraction in his puppet show. Geppetto, still furious at Pinocchio's misbehavior, tries to reason with the Blue Fairy, but she doesn't believe him. He returns home to apologize to Pinocchio, only to find out he ran away to live with Stromboli. Geppetto decides to say goodbye to Pinocchio by watching him perform in Stromboli's puppet show. Stromboli is pleased with Pinocchio as his star puppet which has made him lots of money. But when Pinocchio asks to let him go, Stromboli refuses, stating it would violate a contract he was supposed to sign. When Geppetto arrives, hoping to say goodbye, Stromboli explains that Pinocchio left after the show, claiming that he wanted to see the world. After he leaves, Stromboli is outraged when he notices that Pinocchio ran away from the show and spots him boarding a stagecoach to Pleasure Island. He decides to recapture him while Geppetto goes out to rescue him as well, with the Blue Fairy following him, attempting to assist him in his quest. Along the way, he meets an inept magician named Lezarno (Wayne Brady) and Professor Buonragazzo (René Auberjonois) who lives in the town of Idyllia, where he and his son make perfect and ideal children who always obey their parents. He then arrives at Pleasure Island where he finds out it harnesses a terrible curse in which all the boys turn into donkeys after riding a rollercoaster. He arrives just in time to take Pinocchio home, but Pinocchio refuses, saying he didn't want him because of what a big disappointment he was to him and immediately turns into a donkey once he gets on the rollercoaster and is shipped off to sea by boat.

Geppetto, trying to keep up with the boat, accidentally gets swallowed by a monstrous whale. Pinocchio jumps off the boat and into the water where he gets swallowed by the whale as well and the donkey curse washes away. Geppetto apologizes for the way he acted and noticing that they are inside the whale, they attempt to get out by having Pinocchio tell a lot of lies, causing his nose to grow and tickle the whale's uvula to throw them up. Afterwards, they return to the toy shop where Stromboli arrives to take Pinocchio back, still keeping him under the contract he signed. Geppetto offers him his whole toy shop in exchange for Pinocchio. As Stromboli captures him, Geppetto begs and pleads to the Blue Fairy, who can no longer help, to grant him one last wish. The Fairy then turns Pinocchio into a real boy with her magic and shoos Stromboli away with her magic. Pinocchio and Geppetto live happily ever after and the words on the sign of Geppetto's shop now read, "Geppetto & Son."

Cast

Featured

Musical numbers

  1. "Once Upon a Time" - Geppetto
  2. "Toys" - Geppetto, town children, parents
  3. "Empty Heart" - Geppetto
  4. "Geppetto And Son" - Geppetto, Pinocchio
  5. "Just Because It's Magic" - Blue Fairy, Geppetto
  6. "I've Got No Strings" - Pinocchio
  7. "Bravo, Stromboli!" - Stromboli
  8. "Toys" (Reprise) - Geppetto, Lezarno
  9. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" - Professor Buonragazzo, Buonragazzo Jr., Idyllia residents
  10. "Just Because It's Magic" (Reprise) - Blue Fairy
  11. "Pleasure Island" - Ringmaster
  12. "And Son" (Whale Reprise) - Pinocchio, Geppetto
  13. "Since I Gave My Heart Away" - Geppetto, Blue Fairy, townspeople
  14. "Since I Gave My Heart Away" (Single Version) - Sonya Isaacs

The soundtrack for Geppetto is available from Walt Disney Records, and it features songs from the film composed by Stephen Schwartz, as well as the single, "Since I Gave My Heart Away" performed by Sonya Isaacs (as heard in the end credits of the movie).

Home media

Walt Disney Home Video released the film on VHS May 30, 2000. It was later released to DVD on September 26 of that year, and subsequently reissued on January 13, 2009.

Stage

In 2006, Geppetto was adapted into a stage musical and renamed Disney's My Son Pinocchio: Geppetto's Musical Tale.

Awards

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