(Credits: Far Out / Universal Studios)
There are very few actors who have as much variety laced throughout their catalogue as Tom Hanks does. In the films that he has worked on, whether he is required to play someone wholesome, happy, sad, angry, brave, or twisted, he is happy to take on whatever the role requires. It’s always exciting to see what roles Hanks sets himself up for, as he refuses to be typecast and is always excited to tackle something new and innovative.
The same can be said for many Disney films. While the franchise might come under fire quite a lot, there is a reason why it has managed to stand the test of time as well as it has. The stories that Disney has managed to tell throughout the years don’t fall into any specific category. While some of their older films might subscribe to more linear storytelling, modern movies such as Inside Out and Soul are much more introspective.
It’s always frustrating when you see interviews with modern actors cast in Disney films who try to read too much into the philosophy of some of the franchise’s previous pictures. Debates about what movies mean about society and the world at large seem to take away from the real reason that these films do so well: they are great stories.
Tom Hanks is closely connected with Disney’s excellent storytelling. Having played one of the most iconic characters in the franchise’s history, Hanks has starred in the Toy Story series, which contains some of the most exciting movies and storylines ever committed to animation. The stories are so compelling that movie-making veterans such as Quentin Tarantino have commended them.
“In the case of Toy Story, the third one is just magnificent; it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. And if you’ve seen the other two, then it’s just devastating,” he said, “But the thing is, three years later or something, they did a fourth, and I have no desire to see it.”
Despite playing such a pivotal role in Toy Story, Tom Hanks has admitted that it isn’t his favourite Disney movie. He is a big fan of the classic Pinocchio, saying that the dark nature of the movie, paired with the trauma that Pinocchio goes through, makes an incredibly compelling, moving and tense story that stands out amongst other Disney properties.
“Walt understood that the dark aspects of ‘fairy tales’ are very important to the storytelling apparatus that that greets both young people and old people. Pinocchio chooses to be led astray by Stromboli and everything else,” said Hanks, “He actually leaves the safety of this house and this father who loves him and goes off and is in danger. When Pinocchio starts growing those ears because he’s turning into one of the asses, then is turned into a beast of burden, that’s a scary thing to go through.”
He continued, “I think that, along with the threat of Monstro, which in itself is pound for pound one of the best sequences ever put down on film, and then the magic way in which he and Geppetto escape him, is dark stuff and rightly so. It’s part of the descent into Hades that a hero has to go through, and Pinocchio does.”
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