Is this the new Pinocchio?
The Japanese movie Hinokio will be released in early 2005. The director, Takahiko Akiyama, was involved in such films as 1996′s science-fiction movie “Acri” and the 2001 “Final Fantasy: the movie”.

In this latest movie, the main character, a boy who refuses to go to school after his mother dies, gradually learns to reconnect with people again with the help of Hinokio, a remote-control robot.

Hinoki is the name of the wood some parts of the robot are made of. Hmm… I like the easy parallel with Pinocchio.