Pinocchio star says working with "legend" Tom Hanks was dream come true
Child star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth voices the wooden boy in this new adaptation.
Child actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth – who voices Pinocchio in Disney's new adaptation of the classic Italian fairytale – has spoken about his "dream" experience working with Tom Hanks on the movie.
Hanks plays Geppetto in the film, which arrives on Disney Plus on Thursday 8th September, and during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Ainsworth shared some insight about what it was like starring alongside the two-time Oscar winner.
“You always dream of working with legends such as Tom Hanks," he said. "And luckily my dream came true with Pinocchio.
"And he was really, really nice. Like, he gave me the nickname Ben-occhio on set which was really nice!"
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Ainsworth further explained that Hanks also had the idea for him to wear his own Pinocchio hat around the set, adding that: "It was really fun working with him."
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The new film is fairly faithful to the previous Disney animation from 1940, but there are also a couple of changes – including the addition of four new musical numbers, two of which are performed by Hanks.
And Ainsworth also got a chance to sing in the film, performing I've Got No Strings – one of the numbers carried over from the previous Disney film.
“The music and the songs were so fun to do," he explained. "We recorded some of the songs in Abbey Road Studios, so it was exceptional, like going in there.
"And it was like, not a lot of people have even been there. So we recorded in studio three into John Lennon's microphone. So it was out of this world. I was just singing a song, you know, and it was amazing!”
Read more: Thor: Love and Thunder to premiere on demand as Disney Plus Day perk
Pinocchio is released on Disney Plus on Thursday 8th September 2022 as part of Disney Plus Day. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.
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