Pinocchio 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

79

Film Synopsis:

Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney's Pinocchio! The legendary masterpiece that inspired millions to believe in their dreams has reawakened with an all-new, state-of-the-art digital restoration that shines brilliantly on 2-disc DVD. Now, for the first time ever, the richly detailed animation, unforgettable award-winning music ("When You Wish Upon A Star") and heartwarming adventure-filled story comes to life like never before. Plus, all-new dazzling bonus features transport you into Pinocchio's fantastic world! Join Geppetto's beloved puppet -- with Jiminy Cricket as his guide -- on a thrilling quest that tests Pinocchio's bravery, loyalty and honesty, virtues he must learn to become a real boy. The one and only Pinocchio will live on forever in the heart of anyone who has wished upon a star.

My Take:

I love this story. Pinocchio was one of my earliest movie going experiences (early 1970's) and I will never forget it. When I was young there was no home video and in order to see films like this you went to the theater. I can clearly remember the angst I felt when Geppetto, Jiminy and Pinocchio were trying to escape from that rather nasty whale (Monstro?) and the heartbreaking moment that followed. Of course we all know how things turned out and I think that growing up watching Disney films is where I developed my affinity for feel good movies. I haven't seen it since my teenagers were little but the nostalgic feeling that washes over me when I watch it never seems to diminish. I think the music is what brings it back most. Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee, I've got not strings and When you wish upon a star represent my favorites. The music is every bit as integral to this story's telling as the characters themselves and it is recognized the world over. The movie is based upon the story by Carlo Collodi and while it may not strictly adhere to it the adaptation is warm, touching and value oriented. We should all have a conscience (and friend) like Jiminy. He is the constant in the story that helps to keep Pinoc from straying to far and provides a bit of light comic relief so that we can have a chuckle here and there. Figaro and Cleo never speak a word but there is never any doubt about their ability to communicate thanks to the beautifully articulated and expressive animation that has become a Disney staple. Pinocchio is the second animated feature film released by Disney (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs preceded it) and it is my favorite of those early classic tales.

Disney is a class act that set the bar early on for feature length animated films. This 70th Anniversary Edition home video release of Pinocchio is another example of their long standing investment to offering quality home video releases. They, like a few other studios, have shown a fervent commitment to the Blu-ray format. Disney high definition Blu-ray discs have consistently been technically impressive as well as providing worthwhile bonus supplements. I appreciate their attention to detail such as their Total Menu navigation and enhanced BD-Live features like Movie Chat, Movie Mail etc. Recently they have started to include a standard definition DVD of the film in the multi-disc Blu-ray release packages. This is a great way for those who haven't yet upgraded to Blu-ray Disc (but intend to) to enjoy these releases now with the high definition option open later on. Blu-ray Disc has come a long way in the last year and a half or so. Most of the growing pains experienced by early adopters seem to have been resolved. I recall a time where I would drop a disc into my player and hold my breath waiting for it to load and play (trouble free). Those instances have all but vanished. We are beginning to see what the format is capable of and from what I can see Disney is looking toward the future by providing high quality releases that will hopefully solidify the place of this great medium. If you don't believe me just pick up a copy of Pinocchio..

Parental Guide:

This film is appropriate for all ages.

Audio: 72

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Video: 86

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Pinocchio comes to Blu-ray Disc from Disney featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 27 mbps and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.3 mbps.

This film has undergone a restorative process that cleaned up the original print and the results are impressive. Colors shine brilliantly with pleasing saturation and striking blues that look absolutely beautiful. The 1.33:1 framed video is pillarboxed in black however Disney offers the option of viewing it via their Disney-view option where the pillarboxes feature custom artwork by Toby Bluth. The original film elements don't have the high resolution of today's digitally enhanced animated films but fidelity remains intact as image quality is excellent. Blacks don't have velvety texture and eye popping contrast but they are solid black and stand out well when onscreen with mixed content. Looking at the sequence where the Can Can dancers appear onstage at Stromboli's show (when Pinocchio sings I've got no strings) the black portions of their costumes are a deep shade of black. I noticed the same thing later as the black smoke from the steam ship carrying the boys to Pleasure Island looked deep black. Dark scenes had excellent contrast with visible stages in grays and dark colors within backgrounds. I saw a brief flash of video noise that appeared on the back of Geppetto's shirt in the final scene as he cried over Pinocchio. Other than that this appeared to be a flawless encoding that looked excellent.

Disney included the restored original mono track and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 channel surround mix. I listened to both but primarily used the multi-channel soundtrack during my evaluation. The main focus is in the front with the award winning music spread over the entire soundstage. The four surround channels are mixed a bit lower than the mains so that frontal perspective remained intact while providing a discernible amount of spatiality that added dimension. That is pretty much the extent of the surround activity which was fine with me but really made the 7.1 channel presentation seem unnecessary. I think that the mix was appropriate in that it didn't feel disingenuous to the original soundtrack but simply added a bit of polish. There was some low frequency detail associated with claps of thunder and the pounding ocean water but it didn't provide enough depth to resonate deep into the room. The audio was crystal clear and free of the crackle and hiss that sometimes accompanies older recordings. Listening to the original soundtrack only yielded a minor change in depth perception and imaging. I didn't feel it sounded compressed or dynamically inferior which says something for the restoration process. Obviously this isn't a new recording but considering it was made nearly 70 years ago it sounds pretty darn good.

Bonus Features:

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• Disc 1:
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• Disney View : Enhanced viewing mode - replaces black pillarboxes with custom paintings by Toby Bluth
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• Cine-explore - PiP BonusView commentary with Leonard Maltin, J.B. Kaufman and Eric Goldberg. Includes storyboards, background on the production and more
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• Music video - Meaghan Jette Martin performing When you wish upon a star
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• The music of Pinocchio - with sing along pop up lyrics which includes an option during movie playback
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• Pinocchio's matter of facts trivia track
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• Pinocchio know trivia challenge
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• (HD) Disney Sneek Peeks - Bolt, Monster's Inc., Up, Tinker Bell and the lost treasure and more
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• Disney BD-Live - Movie Chat, Movie Mall, Movie Challenge and Disney Movie Rewards are all announced but not currently enabled - Be sure to check on or after release date

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• Disc 2:
  
• (HD) Pinocchio's Puzzles
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• Pleasure Island Carnival Games
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• (HD) No strings attached: The making of Pinocchio - 55 minute documentary
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• 2 deleted Scenes with introduction and an alternate ending
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• (HD) The Sweatbox - A brief look at the Disney invention used for viewing storyboards in projected sequence
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• (HD) Live action reference footage featurette
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• Pinocchio art galleries
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• Deleted song - Honest John
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• (HD) Geppetto's then and now - Documentary that focuses on toy makers and their history
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• Theatrical trailers - Original, 1984, and 1992

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• Disc 3:
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• Standard Definition bonus copy of Platinum Edition DVD of Pinocchio

Final Thoughts:

Pinocchio is one of the most beloved of the Disney Classic animated feature films. It is a personal favorite of mine and seeing it brings back fond memories not just of my childhood but of sharing it with my own children when they were little. Kudos to Disney on a spectacular Blu-ray Disc package that presents this wonderful family film looking better than ever. It is brimming with bonus features including Blu-ray disc exclusive and interactive features that present fans with a great way to enhance the high definition experience. This set is a must have, period.