After having such tremendous success in 1937, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs–which marked the first time animation was used to produce an entire feature length film–some were skeptical when Walt Disney decided to follow it up with yet another animated movie. Moviegoers wondered if a second animated film could hold the attention of kids and adults alike, the way Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had done so successfully. Pinocchio, based on the serialized stories of Italian writer Carlo Collodi, was released in 1940, became an instant hit and is considered a classic by most film fans and historians.
Pinocchio won Oscars for its music, including Best Original Song for “When You Wish Upon a Star”–the Jiminy Cricket ballad that became the theme for Walt Disney enterprises. Other songs include: “Little Wooden Head,” “Give a Little Whistle,” “Hi Diddle Dee Dee,” and “I’ve Got No Strings.”
In these days of massive special effects and CGI, I find myself continually amazed by the craftsmanship involved in Pinocchio. Hand-drawn, inked and colored, then photographed in sequence, each detail is so intricate and the backgrounds fluid. The minute details of Geppetto’s workshop are a marvel.
Most people know the story; toymaker and clockmaker Geppetto carved a boy-sized marionette and wished upon an evening star that little wooden-head could become a real boy. Then the blue fairy arrives and grants Gepetto’s wish in stages–he brings the puppet to life but makes him first prove he is worthy of being a “real” boy. Forced to serve as the boys conscience is a little cricket named Jiminy (voiced by Cliff Edwards), who entered the shop just to warm up.
As Pinocchio (voiced by Dickie Jones) heads for school and is easily distracted by Honest John (Walter Catlett), the conniving fox, and Gideon (Mel Blanc), his brainless feline sidekick, we realize Pinocchio is headed for real trouble; as Pinocchio follows them to a “career” as a puppet with no strings for the cruel Stromboli (Charles Judels), it up to Jiminy to set him free. While the mischievous marionette escapes with the help of the Blue Fairy, he’s warned to get his act together if he ever wants to be a real boy. Yet, when he encounters the same men, who this time convinces him to go to Pleasure Island, where there is no supervision and no rules, Pinocchio is off again. Pleasure Island is a really strange place, where puppets are transformed into donkeys and Pinocchio must eventually rescue Geppetto from the belly of a giant whale.
While Pinocchio is a kid’s film, it goes way beyond that. Thematically, the film deals with tougher subjects than most people would associate with a Disney project. The con men are truly very dangerous for Pinocchio to be around morally, which isn’t something that comes up to often in stories directed at kids. At Pleasure Island, Pinocchio learns about some decidedly harsh adult realities: temptation, corruption, and exploitation. There’s enough going on, that it’s impossible not to see new things with each viewing.
Pinocchio remains a wonderful film. Every shot is a sight to behold and each character is memorable in its own way. At its core though, the film is a timeless story about a boy and his “father.” Given Disney’s wonderful Blu-ray presentation, I urge everyone to add Pinocchio to their collections.
Pinocchio looks outstanding on Blu-ray! The colors are richly saturated except for when they’re deliberately muted during night scenes at Pleasure Island. Disney used an AVC/MPEG-4 codec, and the level of detail is superb, with no apparent DNR or edge enhancement and no transfer artifacts. The biggest surprise, though, is that there’s more of an illusion of 3-dimensionality than in the previous release. This is an all-new digital restoration and Pinocchio has never looked so good. Pinocchio is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and you have the choice of watching with or without the Disney View borders.
You can choose between a digitally restored original theatrical Mono soundtrack or an English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit). I watched both, and I have to say that I prefer the 7.1 track. It really fills the room with sound, and the rear speakers have something to do in almost every scene. Subtitles are in English SDH.
This BD is crammed with special features:
Disc One
• Trivia Track (HD) – Kicking things off is this pop-up text-and-graphics track, dubbed “Pinocchio’s Master of Facts.” It’s cute, mixing a children’s story version (in text form), plus factoids and behind-the-scenes trivia.
• Disney Song Selections – Aka, a karaoke function.Turn it on, and subtitles appear with lyrics for all of the film’s songs.
• Music Video (HD, 3 minutes) – “When You Wish Upon a Star,” by Meaghan Jette Martin.
• Audio Commentary – Finally on disc one, this Blu-ray offers the option to watch the film with or without commentary, either audio-only or picture-in-picture form.
Disc Two
• Documentary: “No Strings Attached” (HD, 56 minutes) – The centerpiece of the newly-produced extras is this very fine, full-length doc. Unfortunately, it’s effectiveness depends upon whether you watch the commentary and/or PIP track. Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg and J. B. Kaufman again appear (they are the leads on the commentary), as well as other animators and much archival footage of Walt Disney. However, there is additional background on Pinocchio and its development.
• Deleted Scenes (HD) – First are 11 minutes of deleted scenes including an alternate ending, all in storyboard form. There’s also “Live Action Reference Footage” (10 minutes of it), which was produced without sound for Disney animators, but is presented here with narrative to give insight and context. Finally, there is a deleted song, “Honest John,” which is audio-only.
• Featurette: “The Sweat Box” (HD, 6 minutes) – Short, but intriguing vignette on the legendary Disney screening room called the “Sweat Box” by animators, where they had to go and present their early work and ideas to the man himself, Walt Disney.
• Featurette: “Geppettos Then and Now” (HD, 11 minutes) – Featurette on how ‘Pinocchio’ has helped shaped the history of toymaking.
• Still Galleries (HD) – Titled “Pinocchio’s Art Galleries,” under this umbrella are no less than eight galleries. Everything from concept art, to sketches and storyboards, to more never-before-seen reference images.
• Theatrical Trailers (SD) – Finally, rounding out this impressive package are a trio of theatrical trailers. For some reason, they are the only features on the entire set presented in standard-def only.
Disc Three
• DVD Copy – As an added bonus, Disney has even thrown in a third disc, which features a standard-def copy of the film. I suspect, as a way to get non-Blu-ray-owning customers to buy this set anyway, enticing them to pick up a Blu-ray player in the near future.
Of course, no Platinum Series Blu-ray would be complete without some exclusives, too…
• Audio Commentary/Picture-in-Picture – Featured is an enlightening discussion with Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg and J. B. Kaufman, available as an audio-only track or full-blown PIP. The latter is far preferable — the entire 88-minute chat is punctuated by rare behind-the-scenes footage, storyboard and artwork images, vintage interviews with animators, and other exciting finds. Though some information is repeated with the documentary, this PIP track is terrific. (Disney dubs the PIP track “Cine-Explore Mode,” and a Bonus View/Profile 1.1-compatible player is required to access it.)
• Interactive Games (HD) – More kid-friendly fare, with four challenges for the younger set. There’s the “Pinocchio Know’s Trivia Challenge” (which practically anyone can solve if you just watch a little of the trivia track); “Pinocchio’s Puzzles,” which is hosted by Jiminy Cricket; and a spate of three “Pleasure Island Carnival Games,” which are arcade-like, though hard to control with the remote.
• Movie Challenge (BD-Live) – The first of four BD-Live features, here you can compete in this online trivia challenge that runs throughout the length of the movie.
• Movie Chat (BD-Live) – Type in your own text comments as the movie plays, and do your own version of a running text commentary.
• Movie Mail (BD-Live) – you can create personalized voice messages that play attached to pre-selected film clips, and send them to other BD-Live users.
• Disney Movie Rewards Live (BD-Live) – Here, earn points playing the trivia, to “win” downloadable content like avatars and wallpapers.
