Pinocchio Blu-ray review
Mathew Plale
February 24th, 2017
“When you wish upon a star / Makes no difference who you are / Anything your heart desires will come to you”
As the number fades off, it is revealed to be sang by Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards), sitting by a book that reads “Pinocchio.” Jiminy Cricket understands the audience’s skepticism, noting he also didn’t believe such words. “Let me tell you what changed my mind,” he says, turning the book to its first page.
In his shop, the elderly Geppetto (voiced by Christian Rub) is revealed to be a master of woodworking—clocks adorn the walls, music boxes wait to be turned. The most marvelous creation, though, sits on a shelf of its own. Geppetto puts the finishing touches on the marionette and names him Pinocchio.
After making a wish and dozing off, Pinocchio (voiced by Dickie Jones) is visited by the Blue Fairy (voiced by Evelyn Venable), who grants the wooden doll the gift of life, to be a “real boy”, with the caveat that he make good, honest use of it. And we all know what happens to little marionettes when they lie…
Pinocchio is quickly launched into a world that involves the sadistic circus master Stromboli, the deceptive fox Honest John and cat Gideon, and the dangerously hedonistic Pleasure Island, a land where naughty children are turned into literal jackasses, which should ring truest to the adult viewers. Such characters and locations stand out, as they are unseen in many Disney animated films. (That an entertainment district in Disney World was once named after Pleasure Island strikes a clever blow on the excess of Disney as a whole.)
Through this, PINOCCHIO (Disney’s second animated feature, after 1937’s SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS) is able to explore complex ideas related to fighting temptations, identifying deception and coping with one’s identity. Some moments hit a borderline exploitative fashion (skipping school undoubtedly leads to kidnapping…?), but much should stick with the younger audience—especially the oft-cited nose-growing.
PINOCCHIO, under supervising directors Ben Sharpsteen and Hamitlon Luske (and, of course, Walt Disney himself), is a remarkable effort, loaded with memorable characters, terrific animation and a range of marvelous sequences, as childishly amusing as the sleeping scene, in which a symphony of clocks and snores rattles Jiminy Cricket’s peace, and as nightmarishly disturbing as the jackass transformation scene. It is also one of the most challenging and rewarding. It sits, rightfully, in a pristine animation pantheon—not only is it near the top of Disney’ Golden Age, but it stands, nearly eight decades later, as one of the finest films of its kind.
Of cinematically history note, PINOCCHIO was the first animated feature to win a competitive Oscar—two, actually, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“When You Wish Upon a Star”; that same song ranks 7th on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest in film history). SNOW WHITE, the one that got the ink moving, was given honorary awards.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: 1.33:1 in 1080p with MPEG-4 AVC codec. This high-definition transfer—the one used on the 70th anniversary release—is a stellar example of just how brilliant, vibrant and detailed decades-old animated films can look on Blu-ray. This is definitely one of Disney’s best of this type.
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; French 7.1 DTS-HDHR; Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Subtitles in English, Spanish and French. PINOCCHIO sounds quite nice as well, especially when the music numbers come in.
*denotes a special feature new to this release. The rest were previously available on the 2009 Platinum Edition release.
The Pinocchio Project: “When You Wish Upon a Star”* is divided into two parts: The Project (3:03) and The Video (2:49), which go behind the scenes of and feature a video for a modern version of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Walt’s Story Meetings: Pleasure Island* (7:14): These voice recreations, taken from 1938-1939 meetings regarding the Pleasure Island sequence, are accompanied by archival photos and drawings.
In Walt’s Words: PINOCCHIO* (4:48): This 1956 footage features Walt Disney discussing the 1940 film.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in POOR PAPA* (5:19): The first Oswald cartoon.
Audio commentary by Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg and J.B. Kaufman: The trio offer a highly informative and listenable track that will please fans of Disney, PINOCCIO and animation.
No Strings Attached: The Making of PINOCCHIO (56:09): This terrific documentary takes a look at the entire production of the 1940 classic, as well as Disney at the time and its place in animation history.
Deleted Scenes (10:33): There are three here, which can be viewed separately or as a whole. They are: “The Story of the Grandfather Tree,” “In the Belly of the Whale” and “Alternate Ending.” Included is an introduction.
The Sweatbox (6:25) goes inside of the titular room in which Disney and his animators would share developments on projects.
Geppettos Then and Now (10:57): This piece puts the spotlight on actual toymakers.
Live-Action Reference Footage (9:57): Narration guides this footage.
Publicity: Housed here: Original Theatrical Trailer (1940), Theatrical Trailer (1984) and Theatrical Trailer (1992)
A Wish Come True: The Making of PINOCCHIO (5:06) is a brief fluff piece on the movie.
Storyboard-to-Film Final Comparison (4:04) for various scenes.
Song Selection (10:17) allows viewers to jump to any musical cue in the film. The songs, which can be viewed separately or as a whole, are: “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Little Wooden Head,” “Give a Little Whistle,” “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee” and “I’ve Got No Strings.”
“When You Wish Upon a Star” Music Video by Meaghan Jette Martin
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