Geppetto (film)

Geppetto is a 2000 made-for-television musical remake of the popular Italian children's book The Adventures of Pinocchio and the original 1940 Disney film, starring Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus debuting on The Wonderful World of Disney. 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 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 will 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. Still furious at Pinocchio's misbehavior, Geppetto 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.

Trying to keep up with the boat, Geppetto 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 great deal 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 Blue 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

 * Drew Carey as Geppetto
 * Julia Louis-Dreyfus as The Blue Fairy
 * Brent Spiner as Stromboli
 * René Auberjonois as Professor Buonragazzo
 * Seth Adkins as Pinocchio
 * Usher as Pleasure Island Ringmaster
 * Ana Gasteyer as Senora Giovanni
 * Wayne Brady as Lezarno
 * Anthony Crivello as Bernardo

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).

Jerry Mitchell was the film's choreographer.

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

 * Nominated for four Emmy Awards in 2000:
 * Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 * Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 * Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries
 * Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 * Winner of the 2001 Costume Designers Guild Awards for Excellence in Costume Design for Television - Period/Fantasy
 * Winner of two Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards in 2001
 * Best Period Makeup - Television (for a Mini-Series/Motion Picture Made for Television
 * Best Special Makeup Effects - Television (for a Mini-Series/Motion Picture Made for Television)
 * Seth Adkins won the 2000 YoungStar Award for Best Young Actor/Performance in a Miniseries/Made-For-TV Film