Product Description

Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #898 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2009-03-09
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 84 minutes

Synopsis
Walt Disney's second full-length animated feature is a timeless, breathtakingly beautiful classic. Based on an 1800s story by Carlo Collodi, it stars Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) as a vagabond insect who spends a rainy night at the shop of toymaker Geppetto. The Blue Fairy brings a marionette to life after Geppetto wishes on a star for a son, and Jiminy Cricket is appointed the new boy's conscience. He has a devil of a time keeping up as Pinocchio is willingly lured through various forms of temptation, the most frightening of which leads him to Pleasure Island, where he drinks, smokes, and is almost turned into a jackass. This sequence, as well as Pinocchio's brave rescue of Geppetto from the belly of a whale, ranks among the most memorable in the history of animation. With such songs as When You Wish Upon a Star, this is about as magical as cinema can get, a sublimely beautiful coming-of-age story for all to treasure.

From the Back Cover
The 2 Blu-ray discs have
- Video: 1080p High-Definition / 16x 9 / 1.33:1
- Audio Enhanced: DTS 7.1 HD: English DTS 5.1: Latin Spanish / Italian / Dutch
- Sub-titles: English, English for the Hearing Impaired, Latin Spanish, Italian and Dutch

The single DVD has
- Video: Full frame format 1.33:1
-Audio Enhanced: Dolby Digital 5.1 DEHT: English / Italian / Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1: Croatian
- Sub-titles: English, English for the Hearing Impaired, Italian, Hindi, Dutch, Croatian and Slovenian

Customer Reviews

Pinocchio - a perfect reproduction
I was so relieved to find that this glorious film had been transferred to Blu-Ray in its original 4:3 format. So many times in the past have classics been ruined by "expanding" them into 16:9, causing the loss of the top and bottom of the screen (or even worse; the up and down pan-and-scan).

This Disney classic needs no introduction. Its an excellent film that has been marvellously reproduced. The colours are vibrant and clear. Detailed backgrounds come alive with clarity that I didn't know existed in this film.

A wonderful story that both young and old can enjoy.

Also the inclusion of a DVD version is a great plus to allow the kids (or indeed the parents) to watch it in another room.

Blunocchio
I'm sure you've all seen this classic film, so I will just get down to the nitty gritty. Picture quality is absolutely stunning. The cartoon looks like it was made yesterday! This Blu-ray package also comes with a DVD copy of the film.

There is also third disc with tonnes of bonus features including deleted scenes, an alternative ending, a trivia challenge, games, a documentary, an audio commentary and more.

The Blu-ray has English, Latin Spanish, Italian and Dutch subtitles. The DVD has English, Italian, Hindi, Dutch, Croatian and Slovenian subtitles. They both have English for the hearing impaired.

I almost forgot to mention that also included is a little Pinocchio doll that dances on command!

*Nose grows*

Okay, not really.

This film has never looked better...and Disney's magic dust is as potent as ever.

Note: The review that follows is of the 70th Anniversary edition that includes Blu-ray and DVD discs.

I first saw Pinocchio soon after it appeared on movie screens in 1939 and have since seen it more than a dozen times. Based on Carlo Collodi's children's classic, it remains my favorite Disney animated feature, the first to be released as a DVD and is now available in both Blu-ray and High Definition, also for the first time. It has never looked better. The two-disc Platinum 70th Anniversary Edition supplements the 88-minute film with a wealth of bonus features that include never-before-seen deleted scenes, a never-before-seen alternative ending, the "Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge," "Pleasure Island Carnival Games," the "No Strings Attached" featurette on making the film, and an audio commentary by Leonard Maltin (film critic and historian), Eric Goldberg (Disney animator and director), and J.B. Kaufman (film historian and author). These bonus features are indeed special.

As is also true of so many later Disney animated features (notably Dumbo in 1941, Bambi in 1942, Peter Pan in 1953, and Beauty and the Beast in 1991), the film Pinocchio examines several themes that include a child's or children's separation from loved ones, efforts to reunite them, serious (sometimes life-threatening) dangers to be overcome, lessons learned from all the struggles, and of course the happy ending. Of course, children's reactions to Pinocchio will vary depending upon age. (My ten grandchildren range from two to 17.) Younger ones may become upset by certain scenes, as when the little boys on Pleasure Island become donkeys, but "children of all ages" - including parents and grandparents - will thoroughly enjoy the musical score as well as Jiminy Cricket whose voice is provided by Cliff Edwards. This is one of Disney's loveliest and most charming films. In a survey conducted by the American Film Institute in 2008, Pinocchio was ranked #2 among the ten greatest animated features. (Note: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was #1, then Pinocchio, followed by Bambi, The Lion King, Fantasia, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, Cinderella, and Finding Nemo.) It will be interesting to see how the rankings change in years to come as other excellent animated features (e.g. Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Bolt) begin to attract more attention and appreciation.

I look forward to watching Pinocchio for many more years to come, hopefully with great grandchildren and their parents as well as friends. My guess is that, however technologically advanced our society has become by then, the magic dust of Disney's animated film classics will continue to be as potent as ever.