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Pinocchio: 2-Disc Platinum 70th Anniversary Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Adam Palcher (13th April 2009). |
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The Film
 Disney pulls out all the stops with the re-mastered version of the legendary classic "Pinocchio" for its 70th Anniversary, revisiting this classic tale is something everyone must do. I have some nostalgia tied to this classic so it was a great pleasure to see this film again after so many years. The story of "Pinocchio" tells the tale of a small wooden boy (Dickie Jones), his inventor Geppetto (Christian Rub), and his conscience Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards). Pinocchio is an adventurous, innocent boy on a mission to become a real boy, but he has to prove loyalty and bravery along the way. Quickly getting lost and caught up in the outside world and all it’s temptations Pinocchio finds himself in some unlikely situations that prove to him that always doing what seems right isn’t always the right thing to do. With Jiminy by his side they cross the paths of some unlikely characters that are the pure projection of the bad guy, taking advantage of Pinocchio and his innocence has keeping him further from the his dream of being with Geppetto and becoming a real boy. The film is felt by many film historians to be the most technically perfect of all the Disney animated features, but the legend did not start out that way, with a rough opening at the box office in 1940 it did not get the response expected due to the fact of World War II just starting, the cutting off of the European markets, and lack of any real romantic love story. But alas, the film was a critical hit and the song “When You Wish Upon A Star” won Best Song at that year's Academy Awards. Encountering danger and overcoming obstacles, putting forward others and sacrificing yourself for the good of man are great lessons learned for anybody and is the moral of the story with Pinocchio and company. It’s so easy to remember why this Disney favorite has become such a legendary classic when watching it again. It was so fun to revisit and more than anything remembering the award winning music almost word for word was truly a treat. I urge anyone to go out and revisit this classic, or buy it and see it for the first time. 70 years and as effective as the day it was released.
Video
This rich and beautiful transformation is what you hope for when you purchase a Blu-ray, with a less noisy version of the film than the past DVD or VHS releases you would never guess that this is a 70-year-old film. Sharp details and shadows are really surprising to be kept up for as old as they are. The film is presented in it’s original format of 1:33:1, but you have the option to fill the 16x9 screen with a color of your choice. The transfer has been mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression, and overall exceptional contrast and proof that Disney knows what they’re doing when it comes to re-mastering a classic.
Audio
Matching the video there is a newly re-mastered remix of the audio presented in English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 7.1 Surround track (48kHz/24-bit) as well as the original English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural (192kbps), another obvious improvement on past releases and hard to find anything wrong with. As stated above the soundtrack stuck out and that’s due to the restored original that is cleaned up and bright. Subtitles are presented in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
The packaging states this new edition boast 2-discs, when in fact it's 3-disc with the third disc being a standard DVD edition of the film. The extras of this 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray is chalk full of new and fun supplements. Most extras are presented in 1080p, or 1080i, and some 480i options. With English, French, and Spanish 2.0 sound. Subtitles are English, Spanish or French. DISC ONE: First up is an option to watch the film with audio commentary with film critic Leonard Maltin, Disney animator Eric Goldberg and historian J.B. Kaufman. You can select just audio option or view this as an interactive "Cine-Explore" Picture-in-Picture video commentary (requires profile 1.1 players or greater to access this feature) option, as well. If you decide to go with the PIP option you get a lot more extras, with some of the creators matching up behind-the-scenes footage, artwork, storyboards, and vintage interviews with the original animators. Seems like a tie in with the “No Strings Attached” documentary listed below. But either way a really cool feature full of information. There's another viewing option, the "Disney View" expanded viewing experience interactive feature, while you watch the film the dark edges of the screen are filled with custom paintings by Disney background animator Toby Bluth. "Pinocchio’s Matter of Facts" trivia track is a kids related function testing the knowledge of the film with pop-up graphics and questions about the movie itself and what happened behind-the-scenes. Next is "Disney Song Selection" feature, this allows for sing-a-long subtitles for anyone to sing the songs of the film. They include: - “When You Wish Upon A Star” runs 2 minutes and 2 seconds. - “Little Wooden Head” runs 2 minutes and 11 seconds. - “Give A Little Whistle” runs 1 minute and 38 seconds. - “Hi-Diddle-Di-Di” runs 1 minute and 29 seconds. - “I’ve Got No Strings” running at 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Following that is an HD version of a new rendition of "When You Wish Upon A Star" music video by Meaghan Jette Martin running 3 minutes. Ouch! The disc includes bonus trailers some play at the beginning of the disc and some can be accessed through the menu, they are for: - "Disney" promo running at 52 seconds. - "Anti-smoking" PSA using images from the movie for becomeanex.org runs 20 seconds. - "Disney Blu-ray" spot runs 1 minute and 15 seconds. - "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" runs 1 minute 40 seconds. - "UP" the newest Pixar feature runs for 1 minutes and 56 seconds. - "Tinkerbell & The Lost Treasure" runs 1 minute and 31 seconds. - "Disney Movie Rewards" spot runs for 19 seconds. - "Bolt" runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Monsters Inc." runs for 1 minute 8 seconds. - "Disney Parks" spot runs for 31 seconds. The disc includes some BD-Live features for those with profile 2.0 players only and include: - "Movie Challenge" an online movie trivia challenge. - "Movie Chat" chat with other viewers online while watching the film. Operates as a text commentary. - "Movie Mail" use this feature to create custom voice messages to send to other viewers online. - "Disney Movie Rewards Live" shop for cool items at the rewards site. DISC TWO: "No Strings Attached: The Making Of Pinocchio" is presented in HD 1080p 24/fps with a runtime of 56 minutes 4 seconds, this is a full-length documentary about the history and making of this classic film with archival footage and interviews with animators. Well worth your time if you love this film. There are some deleted scenes which can be viewed individually or with a 'Play all' option, they include: - "Intoduction" runs for 1 minute and features a brief look at how the filmmakers at Disney were masters of story telling and on how some scenes are cut from the film. We learn that there were three previously lost scenes from the film that were cut out and are presented here. - "The Story Of The Grandfather Tree" runs for 3 minutes 20 seconds, this scene never made it past the storyboard sequence, the scene Geppetto tells Pinocchio a story about his grandfather, a mighty tree in the forrest. - "In The Belly Of The Whale" runs for 4 minutes 15 seconds, also never made it past the storyboard sequence, this is an elaborate scene which shows what Geppetto and Figaro got up to inside the Whale dreaming of food. - "Alternate Ending" runs for 2 minutes, roughly sketched as a storyboard sequence without any reference, however clearly shows that it's a simpler ending than seen in the film. "The Sweat Box" featurette is a close look at the screening room where animators were taken to preview their work to the one and only Walt Disney, run time is 6 minutes 24 seconds. "Live Action Reference Footage" featurette runs for 9 minutes 58 seconds and features incredible behind-the-scenes footage of actors playing out scenes from the film to provide animators with a live action reference for when they are creating the final animated elements of the film. 8 "Pinocchio" art galleries are included. I counted at least 500 images, everything from concept art, to sketches and storyboards, live photos, to more never-before-seen reference images. Everything is presented in HD. They are all broken down into categories: - “Visual Development” - “Gustaf Tenngren Art” - “Character Design” - “Maquettes & Models” - “Backgrounds & Layouts” - “Storyboard Art” - “Production Pictures” - “Live Action Reference" Publicity section includes 3 theatrical trailers: - Original theatrical trailer (1940) runs for 2 minutes. - Theatrical trailer (1984) runs for 1 minute 30 seconds. - Theatrical trailer (1992) runs for 1 minute 30 seconds. "Honest John" deleted song runs for 2 minutes, this could have easily been included in the deleted scenes section of the disc, it's a 1974 promotional recording of a song not used in the film. Next is "Geppetto's Then And Now" featurette which runs for 10 minutes 57 seconds, and is a neat look at toy making, and spans the gamut from wooden toys to the modern toys of today. Briefly covers how toys impact children and their development among other things, but also plays out like an extended commercial for some toys including the "Ultimate WALL•E" toy. Finally the disc features some interactive games, they include: - "Pinocchio's Puzzles" these are wooden puzzles that you can complete. - 4 "Pleasure Island" carnival games, a series of games where you have to save the kids from Pleasure Island. DISC THREE: This is a standard DVD version of the film which includes several of the same features, included here is the audio commentary, the music video, the "Disney Song Selection" sing-a-long feature, and "Pinocchio's Matter Of Facts" trivia track as well as bonus trailers for: - "Disney" promo running at 52 seconds. - "Anti-smoking" PSA using images from the movie for becomeanex.org runs 20 seconds. - "Disney Blu-ray" spot runs 1 minute and 15 seconds. - "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" runs 1 minute 40 seconds. - "UP" the newest Pixar feature runs for 1 minutes and 56 seconds. - "Tinkerbell & The Lost Treasure" runs 1 minute and 31 seconds. - "Disney Movie Rewards" spot runs for 19 seconds. - "Tigger & Pooh And A Musical Too" runs for 57 seconds. - "School House Rock! Earth" runs for 32 seconds. - "Bolt" runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Disney Parks" spot runs for 32 seconds.
Packaging
This 3-disc set is packaged in a deluxe Blu-ray case housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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