Pinocchio: Laserdisc vs. DVD vs. Blu-Ray

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
Post Reply
monks19
Member
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:58 pm

Pinocchio: Laserdisc vs. DVD vs. Blu-Ray

Post by monks19 »

Hi. This question is to all Disney's home media collectors. Can any of you please give me your take between the three media about the movie's bonus materials ? i'm asking because I couln't find anywhere on Google such a review, even thought DVDizzi has mede such reviews for other classics.

Thanks to answer
Wonderlicious
Diamond Edition
Posts: 4660
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:47 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Post by Wonderlicious »

The reviews at Animated Views tend to have a quick "What's missing?" section regarding bonus features. Here is their detailing regarding Pinocchio:
WHAT’S MISSING? The Platinum Editions have been as notable for the things they miss out as much as for what they offer, and Pinocchio’s chance to shine is no exception, the main dimming of its lights down to a lack of involvement from its break out character Jiminy Cricket. For a time second only to Mickey Mouse (and later Tinkerbell), Jiminy became a figurehead mascot for the Disney Studios, a master of ceremonies of sorts that popped up in another feature, Fun And Fancy Free, a variety of radio specials and television programs, most visibly hosting the I’m No Fool… and You… series of somewhat educationally entertaining animated shorts seen in theaters and on The Mickey Mouse Club. Since the supplements for this release were announced, my big question has been: where are these cartoons?

One could argue that they may be better suited to an often rumored A Disney Education release in the Walt Disney Treasures collection, but the overlap we’ve already seen between these lines suggests that reasoning is redundant – heck, with all the special appearances Jiminy has made in various Disney programs, such as the famed From All Of Us To All Of You Christmas show, the Cricket deserves his own boxed set! Nevertheless, and despite knowing there has to come a cut off point somewhere, the missing out of the six I’m No Fool… and seven You… films are a lamentable loss (even more so when a token couple showed on a previous European SE), as is, one could argue, the handful of Figaro cartoons in which Geppetto’s cat starred with Cleo, Minnie Mouse and Pluto. At the very least, we should have been offered a retrospective featurette on Jiminy’s Disney career, and his importance as a master of ceremonies.

Very famously, Pinocchio was the movie of choice that featured heavily in Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston’s legendary bible on their craft, Disney Animation: The Illusion Of Life and in the early 1980s, they were extensively interviewed for a two-part television special that delved into the pages of that book to show the moving examples they described. Although the special, hosted by Hayley Mills, was jointly created to help promote the Studio’s then current release The Fox And The Hound (indeed it would also be a natural companion to that film in a decent disc edition too), the amount of Pinocchio material and discussion should have seen, if not the entire special, then at least those specific segments included here.

From the LaserDisc, a deluxe 20-page book and lithograph both measuring 12×9” is an understandable omission due to size, and the soundtrack is probably more valuable as something else the Studio can promote as its own purchase. The LD’s original 22 minute documentary isn’t something I would start complaining about missing out on: oddly padded out and, for some reason, hosted by a very excitable Robby Benson (the voice of the Beast from Beauty And The Beast), the light information provided is either covered in some way here (Kimball’s explanation on how Pinocchio’s co-star went from Cricket to Jiminy for instance) or in more detail, though Benson hosts from a wonderful set reconstruction of a scene from the movie.

The rest of the LD supplements have mostly been carried over, though included there but not here are further conceptual drawings and publicity materials including posters, paper clippings, and the entire Pinocchio comic strip from 1940 in still frame form, which provided an evening’s worth of entertainment on its own! Lastly missing here from that edition is a Storyboard To Film Comparison, which made for fascinating viewing. For those with only the Limited Issue DVD, which came with no bonuses other than a theatrical re-issue trailer, this is obviously a phenomenal upgrade in that regard, but once again this is another light Platinum Edition that, as much as it delights with what has been included, disappoints with what it has left out.
http://animatedviews.com/2009/pinocchio ... y-and-dvd/

I hope that helps. Also worthy of note is a 2003 DVD edition released practically everywhere aside from the US. Though labelled as a special edition, it didn't feature much, plus it had a transfer that drained a lot of the colour from the film. However, it did have a 5 minute "making of" (which ultimately didn't reveal much most Disney-fans wouldn't already know), a Figaro cartoon (Cat Nap Pluto), and more importantly two "I'm No Fool..." shorts (I'm No Fool Having Fun and I'm No Fool With Fire, if I remember correctly).
monks19
Member
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:58 pm

Post by monks19 »

What do you mean by "drained" ? Can you be a little more specific, please ?

Thanks to answer
Wonderlicious
Diamond Edition
Posts: 4660
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:47 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Post by Wonderlicious »

monks19 wrote:What do you mean by "drained" ? Can you be a little more specific, please ?

Thanks to answer
It just looks a bit washed out, and it also has something of a greenish tinge. You can see some shots in this topic. The Platinum Edition transfer, with its warmer colours, was a big improvement in my opinion.
Post Reply