Disney is currently developing a live-action adaptation of "Pinocchio' with Peter Hedges set to write the story based on the animated movie released in 1940.
Hedges can be credited for the screenplays for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape', "A Map of the World' and "About a Boy.' He also took directorial duties for "Pieces of April', "Dan in Real Life' and "The Odd Life of Timothy Green' based on scripts that he had written.
Now, "Pinocchio' will be the latest in Disney's approach of extracting films from its comprehensive animated library.
The studio has also made recent announcements that it will be generating live-action movie adaptations of animated stories such as "Winnie the Pooh', "Mulan' and "Dumbo', following the worldwide success of the live-action versions of "Alice in Wonderland', "Maleficent' and "Cinderella.'
Furthermore, a live-action film for "Jungle Book' has been set to be released in 2016 while a "Beauty and the Beast' remake starring "Harry Potter' star Emma Watson and "Downton Abbey' actor Dan Stevens will be released in 2017.
The 1940 "Pinocchio' movie was drawn out from Carlo Collodi's children's book "The Adventures of Pinocchi0' in 1883, telling the story of a poor woodcarver and his animated puppet.
"Pinocchio' had been the second animated feature film that was created by Disney, after it released the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' in 1937 but underperformed in the box office.
Guillermo del Toro has reportedly been helming a stop-motion animated "Pinocchio" project for the past seven years with the Henson Company.
According to del Toro, he is taking on directorial duties alongside Mark Gustafson, the animation director who worked on "The Fantastic Mr. Fox."
The Mexican director shared that he had already considered Tom Waits to take on the role of Pinocchio's father while Donald Sutherland can portray Honest John the Fox.
Aside from the 1940's version, "Pinocchio' has also undergone several cartoon and live-action versions, including that of Mickey Rooney in 1957. Robert Benigni's version in 2002 has also been deemed as the most memorable "Pinocchio' onscreen adaptation.
Even a horror film was rooted from the animated tale as Verne Troyer had put his killer puppet forward in 1996, calling the movie "Pinocchio's Revenge.'
All in all, 19 versions of the animated story have reached television and movie theaters over the past decades.
