Non-Disney Pinocchio Lands Ron Howard

See this little guy? 75 years ago Disney launched him into the lives of children everywhere with their classic 2D-animation. It was their second feature ever, after Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and has remained popular ever since.

It’s all based upon a story by Carlo Collodi, written in the 1880s. It’s the Collodi story that’s the inspiration for a big blockbuster next year starring Robert Downey Jr as Geppetto, the elderly wood carver that creates our title character.

The news out today is that acclaimed director Ron Howard will be heading the project ups the ante significantly. Downey Jr is clearly game – that’s a big coup for any studio – and adding an Academy Award-winning director boosts its appeal even further.

To refresh, Ron Howard departed acting on Happy Days in 1980 to begin an acclaimed directing career. He’s responsible for A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and Jim Carey’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas, as well as the Dan Brown adaptations The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and soon, Inferno. Interestingly he also created one of the best comedies of the last ten years, Arrested Development.

Will Ron Howard and Robert Downey Jr be able to bring the magic to Pinocchio without Disney?