Blu-Ray Review:

Pinocchio

By Jason Gillard

*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.

Movie

Pinocchio was Walt Disney's second feature film.  Snow White which came out before it was a smash hit.  It was the blockbuster of its time.  So the animators at Disney were trying to come up with something that would keep their momentum going.  They settled upon a story about a man named Geppetto who creates a puppet that he wishes was a real boy.  The rest is history.  Pinocchio came out about 70 years ago now and it still remains as engaging as it did since it debuted.  Geppetto was a lonely woodcarver who crafted a marionette  that he named Pinocchio.  One night Geppetto wished upon a star that Pinocchio would turn into a real boy.  A blue fairy arrives and tells both Geppetto and Pinocchio in order to become a real boy Pinocchio must prove his true worth by being honest and selfless.  The next day Pinocchio starts out on his new life but meets many challenges including falling victim to two con men who sell him to a show and send him to Pleasure Island where Pinocchio has to survive an evil force that turns children into donkeys.  From there Pinocchio has to find his way home and save Geppetto from the belly of a whale.  It never ceases to amaze me what they could do as far as animation 70 years ago.  Everything is rich and well detailed.  I am sure you have probably seen the film before at sometime in your life, but probably not as good as it looks here.

9 out of 10

Video

Just like Sleeping Beauty that came before it, Pinocchio is given the royal treatment.  They have went back and restored it and given us an absolutely stunning 1080p transfer.  The colours in the film absolutely jump off the screen.  Everything looks like it could have been done yesterday.  I especially noticed the hand painted backgrounds.  There were details that I don't remember ever seeing before and it took the power of hi-def to bring them out.  Black levels are deep and rich.  I should also mention that the film is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.33:1.  This means that you're going to have black bars on either side of your widescreen set.  This is the way it was made and the way it should be presented here.  The transfer is also incredibly clean and free of defects.  I would never have known this film was made in 1940, just by looking at the picture here.  There is really nothing I can complain about and Disney is setting a major precedence here and lets hope they keep up with this level of quality in future titles.

10 out of 10

Audio

If there was any sort of let down it would have to be the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track.  I imagine most of the problems with this track are because of the source material.  Voices in the film come across as tinny or hollow. That's not to say that this film has sounded any better than the mix that is included here, it's just that it's not as good as I expected it to be.  I am assuming that Disney has done their best with the source material and some might think a 7.1 track might be overkill, but I give Disney praise for at least attempting to give these special releases the best available currently.  With all that said it still sounds good and they also included the original mono track if you want to hear what the original sounded like.

7 out of 10

Extras

Here is what is included in the way of extras:

Exclusive Cine-Explore Feature
Audio Commentary
Exclusive BD-Live Interactivity
No Strings Attached
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending
Deleted Song
The Sweat Box
Live Action Reference Footage
Optional Border Fills
Pinocchio Art Galleries
Geppettos Then and Now
Disney Song Selection
Music Video
Pinocchio's Matter of Facts
Exclusive Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge
Trailer Gallery
Pleasure Island Carnival Games
Pinocchio's Puzzles
Bonus Standard Definition Copy of the Film

As you can see Disney has pulled out all the stops for this Platinum release.  I won't go through everything, but there are a few things I would like to highlight.  My favorite extra had to be the documentary called "No Strings Attached."  This documentary is a great behind the scenes piece that is over 55 minutes in length.  It discusses things like the films legacy and the restoration work that was done to restore the film.  I also thought "The Sweat Box" was really interesting even though it's short.  It details a small production room where animators used to show rough cuts to Walt Disney.  I also liked the PIP (Cine-Explore) track.  If you're a fan of animation or the movie there is a lot of info here.   I should also point out Optional Border Fills.  This is for those people who hate the black bars on either side of their screen.  It basically puts in images that match with whats going on with the film.  Personally I would never turn this feature on.  Lastly Disney has included a regular DVD copy of the film that you could use in your car or if you don't have Blu-ray players in every room in your house.  Disney has done a great job with the extras here.

9 out of 10

Overall

This movie is a classic and Disney has done a great job with an awesome picture, good sound and a plethora of extras.  This should be sitting on your shelf right next to Sleeping Beauty.

9.5 out of 10

Pinocchio Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com