Honestly, if you grew up in the late nineties or early 2000s, you probably have a fever dream memory of a mustachioed Drew Carey singing to a wooden puppet. It wasn't a hallucination. It was Disney.
In May 2000, ABC aired a made-for-TV musical titled Geppetto. It was a massive swing. They took the guy from The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, put him in a 1850s Italian vest, and asked him to carry a primetime musical. It sounds like a punchline now—and it definitely became one on Whose Line for years—but the Geppetto movie Drew Carey starred in was actually a fascinating, weirdly ambitious project that attempted to flip the script on one of the most famous stories ever told.
Why This Version of Pinocchio Was Different
Most versions of this story focus on the puppet. We watch Pinocchio learn to be a "real boy," we see the nose grow, and we see the donkey ears. This movie? It’s all about the dad.
The script, written by David I. Stern, treats Geppetto like a frustrated suburban parent. He gets exactly what he wished for—a son—and then immediately realizes that parenting is a nightmare. Pinocchio isn't a perfect angel; he’s a kid who asks annoying questions and doesn't want to follow in the family business. It’s a remarkably human take on a fairy tale. Instead of a magical fable, it’s basically a mid-life crisis set to music.
A Cast That Makes No Sense (But Sorta Works)
Looking back at the credits is like reading a random generator of Y2K stardom. You’ve got Drew Carey in the lead, which was already a choice. But then you look at the supporting players:
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Blue Fairy. She’s essentially playing a magical, slightly annoyed version of Elaine Benes.
- Usher as the Ringleader on Pleasure Island. Yes, the R&B legend. He has a whole dance number.
- Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek) as the villainous Stromboli.
- Wayne Brady as a bumbling magician.
- Seth Adkins as the puppet himself.
It’s a bizarre mix. You have world-class singers like Usher and Broadway-adjacent talent like Spiner alongside Carey, who—bless his heart—is not a singer. Carey’s voice is... well, it’s the voice of a guy who hosts a game show. But in a weird way, his lack of polish makes the character more relatable. He sounds like a tired dad singing to his kid in the kitchen, which fits the vibe they were going for.
The Stephen Schwartz Connection
The real secret weapon of the Geppetto movie Drew Carey headlined was the music. It was written by Stephen Schwartz. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the guy behind Wicked, Pippin, and the lyrics for Pocahontas.
Originally, Schwartz wanted this to be a reunion for Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Can you imagine? It would have been a Mary Poppins spiritual successor. But Andrews had throat surgery, the plans shifted, and suddenly we got the guy from the Cleveland Rocks video.
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Even though the movie is often mocked, the song "Empty Heart" is actually a beautiful, wrenching ballad about loneliness. And "Satisfaction Guaranteed," performed in the town of Idyllia (where parents can buy "perfect" children), is a catchy, cynical earworm that feels way more sophisticated than your average TV movie fare.
The Pleasure Island Problem
One thing this movie didn't shy away from was the darkness. Pleasure Island in this version involves boys turning into donkeys on a literal roller coaster. It’s jarring. One minute you have Wayne Brady doing magic tricks, and the next, Drew Carey is watching children be sold into slavery while Usher sings a high-energy pop track.
It captures that specific "Disney TV Movie" aesthetic of the era—bright colors, slightly cheap-looking sets, and a tone that oscillates wildly between slapstick and trauma.
The Legacy of the "Mistake"
Why don't we see this on Disney+ today? It's kind of a "lost" film. For years, the only way to watch it was a grainy VHS rip on YouTube.
The Geppetto movie Drew Carey project became a recurring gag on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie would relentlessly roast Drew for it. It became shorthand for a "celebrity vanity project gone wrong." But is it actually bad?
Honestly, it’s mediocre in a charming way. It’s a relic of a time when networks would dump millions of dollars into a live-action musical just for a Sunday night broadcast. It has heart, even if the CGI whale at the end looks like it was rendered on a calculator. It eventually found a second life as a stage musical called My Son Pinocchio: Geppetto's Musical Tale, which is still performed in regional theaters today.
What to Do If You Want to Watch It
If you’re looking to revisit this piece of 2000s history, you won't find it on the major streamers. Here is how you can actually engage with it:
- Check YouTube: Fans have uploaded various versions of the broadcast, though the quality is usually 480p at best.
- Find the Soundtrack: The Stephen Schwartz songs are actually worth a listen on Spotify or Apple Music. Skip the dialogue and just appreciate the composition.
- Watch the Whose Line Clips: If you want the "meta" experience, search for the clips where the cast makes fun of Drew’s "dance moves" from the film. It provides the necessary context for why the movie is remembered the way it is.
The film serves as a reminder that before every IP was a multi-billion dollar franchise, Disney was willing to get a little weird. They took a comedian, a Seinfeld star, and a future R&B icon, threw them into a puppet story, and hoped for the best. It didn't change the world, but it definitely left a mark on anyone who stayed up late enough to catch it on ABC.