Published 15:33 IST, January 17th 2021
Did you know Will Smith voiced THIS legendary character from HBO's 'Happily Ever After'?
Did you know that Will Smith has voiced a character in an episode of the quintessential animated anthology TV series 'Happily Ever After'? Read on to know more!
The Men In Black and Bad Boys fame star Will Smith had voiced the legendary fairytale character Pinocchio in an episode of the HBO children's show Happily Ever After released in 1997. He had voiced the character in the 28-minute episode which was titled "Pinocchio aka Pinoak", and was the Season 2 debut episode, aired originally on April 13, 1997, on HBO. The episode was directed by Edward Bell.
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More about Will Smith in Pinocchio (1997)
According to IMDb, the plot of the episode follows Will Smith as 'Pinnochio', the puppet who wants to be a real boy and who belongs to an African-American prospector in this version of the tale. Comedian Chris Rock voiced Woody the Termite, while the Late Della Reese voiced the Blues Fairy. The 1800's tale, originally conceived by Carlos Collodi, takes place at the Barbary Coast, where Pinoak learns to be "a real boy" with the help of Woody, Old George (voiced by Charles S. Dutton) and The Blues Fairy.
As per the original 'Pinocchio' story by creator Carlos Collodi, Pinocchio was carved as a wooden puppet by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan village, but later in life, Pinocchio dreams to become a real boy. Because of his tendency to lie, his nose grows frequently. The songs featured in the episode were 'No Strings Attached' sung by Chris Rock and 'What's Right, What's Wrong' by Della Reese. Watch the episode featuring Will Smith in Pinocchio, here:
More about Will Smith's movies and updates
Will Smith is well known for his leading roles in several blockbuster action movies especially the Men In Black trilogy and the 'Bad Boys' trilogy. While Happily Ever After was his first voiceover work in an animation film, he further went on to voice Lance Sterling in Spies of Disguise (2019) and the live-action Disney remake of Aladdin (2020). He voiced as the titular character for the latter film, which went on to become the highest-grossing film of his career earning over $1 billion as per global box office receipts. He received Oscar nominations for Best Actor for playing professional boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001) and real-life stockbroker Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), where his son Jaden, made his acting debut as well.
Will Smith has also had an illustrious career as a musician winning four Grammy Awards. According to IMDb, Will Smith's last film released was the third Bad Boys film, Bad Boys for Life (2020) where he reprised his role as detective Mike Lowery alongside Martin Lawrence. He also portrayed Deadshot in DC's Suicide Squad (2016) and the Netflix film 'Bright'. He will next star in the upcoming biographical film King Richard portraying the father and coach of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams. The film is slated to release on November 19, 2021, simultaneously on HBO Max streaming platform.
Promo Pic Source: A still from Pinocchio (1997) and Will Smith/Instagram.
Updated 15:33 IST, January 17th 2021