Pinocchio Platinum Edition BD and DVD

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dx23 · #1 Post by **dx23** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:52 pm

One of my favorite Disney films, Pinocchio, is getting the BD treatment. Although there is a lot of fluff in the extras, I'm interested in seeing the Alternate ending, the making of and the commentary. From Blu-Ray.com:

Disney Announces Pinocchio Platinum Blu-ray
Posted October 17, 2008 06:32 PM by Josh Dreuth

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring 'Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition' to Blu-ray on March 10th, day-and-date with the DVD re-release. Video will be presented in 1080p AVC accompanied by a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This two-disc Blu-ray set will also feature a bonus DVD of the film, similar to the recent 'Sleeping Beauty' Blu-ray release, for those who want a standard definition copy for the bedroom or car.

Extras for this release include:

Disc 1
*Cine-Explore (BD Exclusive)
*Disney BD-Live Network – The Disney BD-Live Network is just one of the many ways movie lovers, families, and loved ones can continue to stay connected and engage in their favorite movies (BD Exclusive)
*Movie Chat – Communicate with your remote friends on-screen while in a synchronized viewing party using your remote control or any text enabled device such as a laptop, desk top or any PDA device such as a Blackberry, iPhone or most other regular cell phones. Your chat session will appear over the movie and occur in real-time while watching the movie together.
*Movie Mail – Blu-ray owners will be able to record a personalized video message of themselves, superimpose that capture onto one of many pre-selected clips of the movie, and send it off to a friend, colleague, or relative. This specific feature enables Pinocchio Blu-ray Disc owner to personalize a very special greeting as never before.
*Movie Challenge – Users will be able to test their skills against other players in a synchronized, real-time, online trivia game while watching Pinocchio with anyone online. Movie Challenge is always active no matter what time of the day it is, and there will always be a game in progress.
*Disney Movie Rewards Live – Pinocchio Blu-ray owners will be able to accumulate Disney Movie Reward Points by participating in many Disney BD-Live Network activities. In return, viewers can redeem points for exclusive content such as Avatars, downloadable extras and many more exciting possibilities.

Disc 2
*Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge (BD Exclusive)
*Pinocchio's Matter of Facts - Learn fun facts about Pinocchio and other related subjects as you watch the movie
*Audio Commentary - An all-new audio commentary with Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg and J. B. Kaufman
*Disney Song Selection - Select this option to sing along with favorite songs as the lyrics appear onscreen
*No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio - Witness the behind-the scenes magic that transformed Carlo Collodi's popular book into a classic animated film.
*Deleted Scenes
The Story of the Grandfather Tree - Kindly Geppetto tells Pinocchio about the Great Pine Tree from which Pinocchio is descended.
In The Belly Of The Whale - The most elaborate of Pinocchio's deleted scenes that remain in the Disney Archives, these recently discovered storyboards reveal a different version of Geppetto inside Monstro.
*Alternate Ending - A recently uncovered set of small storyboard panels reveal plans for a different version of Pinocchio becoming a real boy.
*The Sweat Box - The Sweatbox was a small projection room at the Disney studio where Walt critiqued story reels, rough animation, and dailies of films in progress with his anxious artists. This piece traces the history of the Sweatbox and brings to life this important part of Walt Disney's artistic process.
*Live Action Reference Footage
*Pinocchio Art Galleries
*Deleted Songs - An audio collection of period “pop” recordings of songs that not used in the final film.
*Pinocchio Puzzles - Hosted by Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio's Puzzles is a multi-tiered Puzzle game that contains six unique wooden puzzles for the viewer to assemble. Each puzzle forms an image from the film that comes to life once they are complete.

Michael · #2 Post by **Michael** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:43 am

Fantastic!

HerrSchreck · #3 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:27 am

Hi diddly dee... my fave disney, BD.

Michael Kerpan · #4 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:34 pm

HerrSchreck wrote:Hi diddly dee... my fave disney, BD.

Mine too. I've waited a long time for this. (We probably do have an ancient video of this hidden away somewhere).

What A Disgrace · #5 Post by **What A Disgrace** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:46 pm

This is the only Disney movie still close to my heart. I plan on buying.

Tom Hagen · #6 Post by **Tom Hagen** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:38 pm

The trailer for this release opens up the new Sleeping Beauty discs, and I can happily report that the hi-def restoration looks absolutely amazing. I would be excited for this release even if it were barebones just because it hasn't been available on any format since I believe 1999. The fact that it will look so beautiful and will be loaded with more extras then I will have time to go through just adds to anticipation. Pinocchio is hands-down my favorite Disney film as well, but the entire upcoming calendar for the Platinum series over the next two years is loaded with essential releases: Snow White in fall of next year, Beauty and the Beast in spring of '10, and Fantasia (and Fantasia 2000) in fall of '10.

Feego · #7 Post by **Feego** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:17 pm

This is my favorite Disney film as well and a Platinum edition I have been lusting after for years. Can't wait to go through those special features. One question: the commentary should be on disc 1, no?

#8 Post by **swo17** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:25 pm

*Movie Chat – Communicate with your remote friends on-screen while in a synchronized viewing party using your remote control or any text enabled device such as a laptop, desk top or any PDA device such as a Blackberry, iPhone or most other regular cell phones. Your chat session will appear over the movie and occur in real-time while watching the movie together.

So basically, while I'm watching the movie, I also have to watch my kid text all her weiner friends back and forth onscreen? This is what I've been holding out for Profile 2.0 for?

Michael · #9 Post by **Michael** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:28 pm

My favorite Disney film ever. I'm not sure if the new edition is something we all should rejoice. Watching it the other night, the transfer being awfully dark and flat left me very perplexed and bewildered. It was like watching a different film. If you look at the dvdbeaver comparisions between the first edition and the current one, the difference is amazing. I prefer the colors of the first edition - it's the Pinocchio I remember from my childhood - the vivid colors that make Disney for me. What happened?

#10 Post by **domino harvey** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:43 pm

When I saw the DVDBeaver caps, my first reaction was that Disney just drew over the existing cells. I mean, I doubt that's what they did, but it does look both the same and different, doesn't it?

Antoine Doinel · #11 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:04 pm

I recall reading very recently (I can't find the review right now) a very glowing appraisal of the disc in which the reviewer said brushstrokes were still visible in some instances, leading him to believe Disney didn't just put the film through the digital wringer haphazardly.

Saturnome · #12 Post by **Saturnome** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:21 pm

Those differences are incredible! I bought the film yesterday, but I still have never seen it, yet somehow the older pics with the warmer colors reminds me more of the pictures I used to see in my old Disney books. But I wouldn't want to judge how the film should looks from some children books.

Maybe they reshot the whole film with the archived cels?

Ishmael · #13 Post by **Ishmael** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:30 pm

Antoine Doinel wrote:I recall reading very recently (I can't find the review right now) a very glowing appraisal of the disc in which the reviewer said brushstrokes were still visible in some instances, leading him to believe Disney didn't just put the film through the digital wringer haphazardly.

Are you thinking of Glenn Erickson's review? He says:

Erickson wrote:We saw traces of original brushstrokes in some shots of Geppetto, indicating that Disney's people didn't simply shotgun the show with a 'paint by numbers' fill-in computer program.

Antoine Doinel · #14 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:36 pm

Yeah, that's the one. Oddly, when you search for Pinocchio on the DVDTalk site, his review doesn't come up.

HarryLong · #15 Post by **HarryLong** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:39 pm

It looks from the frame grabs as though the color was balanced more toward blue. This makes it look darker (in fact it alsters some colors preety radically), but if you look at the backgrounds in the caps from the earlier DVD release you'll see that areas in inky black shadow there have more detail revealed in the new DVD & BR versions.
I like the detail, but the colors strike me as wrong.

Michael · #16 Post by **Michael** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:49 pm

Looking at dvdbeaver's screencaps again, the one of Pinocchio's finger on fire proves why the new edition is messed up. Where's the glow from the fire on his head or even anywhere?

#17 Post by **swo17** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:20 pm

Are there any featurettes dealing with the restoration process on the film that might, erm, illuminate things?

Tom Hagen · #18 Post by **Tom Hagen** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:22 pm

I watched the new edition last night, and to my untrained eyes it looked outstanding; crisper and cleaner than I could have imagined while still retaining all the charm of a (perhaps the seminal?) hand-drawn animated film. I had forgotten what a phenomenally detailed picture Pinocchio is. It's too bad that Beaver doesn't have any caps up of the Pleasureland scenes or the sequence where Monstro is sneezing out and chasing after the raft. In my view, the new restoration brings out so much of the artistry of the original animators.

And yes, the trailer for Snow White looks equally incredible.

Feego · #19 Post by **Feego** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:05 pm

david hare wrote:Matt it is definitely NOT too blue! The original SD from 2003 or whenever is far too orange, among other problems.

I agree with this completely. I compared the new Blu-ray to the original DVD release today, and the older one is definitely too orange. This is especially noticeable in the early scenes in Gepetto's workshop. The backgrounds in the older release are nearly monochromatic, showing varying shades of the same reddish-brown hue. The new Blu-ray exhibits an array of colors in the background, including greens and yellows not visible on the old DVD. The new release is gorgeous.

#20 Post by **Matt** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:25 pm

You guys are most assuredly right. I wasn't thinking of the colors in the context of the scenes. The caps from scenes taking place in "daylight" look fine to me.

There is quite the controversy raging in the Amazon reviews about the color palette. And there are some more comparison caps on the AVS Forum.

#21 Post by **Finch** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:46 pm

I owned the old DVD too (which was perfectly acceptable for its time) and can only agree with previous posters that this new transfer is nothing short of sensational, even on SD DVD. To use an old cliche, it was like seeing the film again for the first time. I have always had a lot of fondness and appreciation for it but having rewatched it last night I feel that it has replaced Dumbo as my favourite Disney film, with Sleeping Beauty coming in third.

HerrSchreck · #22 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:00 pm

Whatever the story on the colors, I still can't resist. I'll be grabbing this prontissimo.

Honest John & Lampwick are some of my favorite cartoon characters-- hell, characters-- ever. Love love love this movie, always have.

Feego · #23 Post by **Feego** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:28 pm

Reading through the forum on the IMDb, there seems to be an issue with the song "Give a Little Whistle" on the new DVD and Blu-ray. Jiminy Cricket's line "And if your whistle's weak, yell..." is followed by Pinocchio saying, "Jiminy Cricket," after which Jiminy says, "Right!" The word, "Right" is missing on the new release. I checked this out myself, and it is indeed missing, although you can hear it on the old DVD and VHS issues. I can only assume this was some sort of mistake in remastering.

A small issue, really, but I thought I would mention it.

CSM126 · #24 Post by **CSM126** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:23 am

Feego wrote:Reading through the forum on the IMDb, there seems to be an issue with the song "Give a Little Whistle" on the new DVD and Blu-ray. Jiminy Cricket's line "And if your whistle's weak, yell..." is followed by Pinocchio saying, "Jiminy Cricket," after which Jiminy says, "Right!" The word, "Right" is missing on the new release. I checked this out myself, and it is indeed missing, although you can hear it on the old DVD and VHS issues. I can only assume this was some sort of mistake in remastering.

A small issue, really, but I thought I would mention it.

Also:

Land of Whimsy wrote:Additionally, when watching the disc tonight, my brother also immediately noticed that Jiminy's line "Look out, Pinoke!" at the end of the song, as Pinocchio falls over, has also disappeared into the ether.

HerrSchreck · #25 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:14 am

Another great youth viewing of Pinoke on the Big Screen of the Old Days:

I saw this in the early 70's on the huge screen of the Loews Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse just before the whole zone slid into decrepitude. Your's truly was born about 10 minutes away near the old Burnside Avenue subway stop on the #4 train.

Glorious days of the old west Bronx, long gone. When you could get a great pastrami sammich from the great old jewish shop owners for a buck anywhere on old Fordham road.

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