I took the time to watch the Blu-ray release of Pinocchio released this week, and, well…to be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed. That’s not a knock on the film; the disappointment stemmed from a purely superficial reason: I was hoping the movie would look as crisp and gorgeous as Sleeping Beauty’s release did. Alas, it was not meant to be.
A shame, really, because Pinocchio secretly has some of the most beautiful, detailed backgrounds found anywhere in animation, period. This is especially apparent in Geppetto’s workshop, where each shot is full of elaborate hand made toys and clocks with tiny, intricate decorations not even present in half the stuff in the foreground in most other movies. Note that the transfer isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination — it looks really good on my HD set! — but to have it pop out the same way Sleeping Beauty’s backgrounds did was something I was really looking forward to. Ah, well.
[[image: ar_032009_pinocchio_01.jpg:Jiminy still gives the transfer a thumbs up!:center:0]]
Other than that, though, Pinocchio is the same great film about what it means to grow up (including the best allegory for the horrors of puberty ever put on screen) it has always been. I mysef didn’t think I liked it much until I saw it again about five years ago; I now regard it as one of Disney’s best. If you feel the same way and haven’t seen it since you were a kid, definitely give it another shot. You may surprise yourself.
“Well, can’t please everybody…”
I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed as well – like you said, there’s nothing wrong with the transfer itself, but we’re talking about a movie that is 20 years older than Sleeping Beauty and which was rendered/photographed with lesser technology as a result (funny how you can see the texture of the watercolor board used in the creation background paintings in most shots).
I was bummed that there wasn’t a ‘visual’ commentary like Sleeping Beauty’s, either, though having the Leonard Maltin’s patented schmaltz cut with audio interviews with Disney’s Nine Old Men was a welcome treat.
Honestly, I can’t say I’m a huge fan of “digital restoration.” Used subtly to remove distracting grain and dust is good, but as far as the recent Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray, to me it just felt over-done. I don’t know if the colors and paint should really be that bright.
I’ve seen a handful of cells and paintings from Sleeping Beauty in person and yeah, they’re supposed to be that bright. The art direction in Sleeping Beauty was intentionally filled with super dark colors contrasting with nearly day-glo greens, pinks and blues. Kinda kooky, but whoa with the pretty.
did they edited the cigars scenes?
I heard that some of old disney movies has been started to erase cigars
Nope, no censorship at all. There’s a little PSA saying how awful smoking is before the movie begins, tho.
Now, I’ll go ahead and admit that I haven’t seen this film since before I knew what the word puberty even meant, but holy cow you must have seen a very different film than I did.
I’m in the same boat as everyone else who hasn’t seen this movie sine they were a tot, but man, watching it now is like watching a ghastly fever dream. I’m a bit biased in thinking so since most of the old Disney movies creep me out anyway (it’s the hauntingly canned-sounding music that’s always struck me as being really spooky, in the same way that poorly maintained turn-of-the-last-century amusement parks can be really spooky, especially at dusk), buy, yeah…what in the hell were we talking about again?
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.
A few years back when I had an interest in old fairytales I read the original book by Carlo Collodi. I’d recommend it if a more fleshed out and slightly darker version of Pinocchio sounds interesting to you.