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Geppetto (2000)

Geppetto
Geppetto (TV musical).jpg
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)
Website movies.disney.com/geppetto

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?.

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 his wooden puppet, Pinocchio (Seth Adkins), to life with her magic 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.


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