Disney + releases first 'Pinocchio' teaser starring Tom Hanks

Watch the teaser for Pinocchio

Disney has released the first teaser trailer for its live-action Pinocchio remake starring Tom Hanks.

The film is due to launch on Disney + as part of the streaming platform's Disney+ Day on 8 September.

Hanks stars as Pinocchio's creator, the lonely woodcarver Geppetto, while The Haunting of Bly Manor's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth stars as the iconic puppet on a quest to become a real boy.

In the clip, Hanks' Geppetto recites the famous prayer from the original movie, as he declares through an open window out to the night sky: "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

Tom Hanks as Geppetto in Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. (Disney Enterprises)
Tom Hanks as Geppetto in Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. (Disney Enterprises)

The Blue Fairy, played by Cynthia Ervio, suddenly appears and sings the iconic song When You Wish Upon a Star as she uses her magic wand to bring Pinocchio to life.

Robert Zemeckis, who directed Hanks in Forrest Gump, helms the movie which also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Keegan-Michael Key as Honest John the fox, Lorraine Bracco as Sofia the Seagull and Luke Evans as a new character the Coachman and the sly owner and operator of Pleasure Island.

Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. (Disney Enterprises)
Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. (Disney Enterprises)

The dark tale, originally based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 Italian book The Adventures of Pinocchio, follows the journey of a marionette as he is turned into a real boy, and assisted by his friend and conscience Jiminy Cricket. Along the way, he encounters slavery, sinister con-artists and a gigantic whale that consumes him.

Read more: Ewan McGregor voicing Jiminy Cricket in Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

There will also be another Pinocchio remake from Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, which will voices from Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett.

The title treatment for Pinocchio (Disney)
The title treatment for Pinocchio (Disney)

Netflix says Nightmare Alley's del Toro "reinvents Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto.

"This whimsical, stop-motion musical directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his pursuit of a place in the world."