Review: ‘Pinocchio 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition’

The Disney classic comes out of the vault for its first quality DVD release. Pinocchio (2-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition) is marked with the highest quality transfer with an All-New Digital restoration, and you can really tell. The shiny new restoration makes the seventy year old classic glow like it did the first time I saw it as a child. This release also marks the beginning of a Disney trend where they are featuring a standard DVD with the Blu-Ray purchase, hoping that people will buy the Blu-ray even if they don’t have a player yet. HD started a similar “combo” trend right before its demise and I think it is smart. People thinking towards an eventual HD upgrade may prefer to spend a little more on a combo than to double dip to upgrade later. Disney also has an advantage since they have the threat of the “Vault,” so if you upgrade a year from now Pinocchio won’t be here for you anymore.

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You shouldn’t need me to recap this movie, and if you do you have no excuse for not buying this film to see it. This classic morality tale is one of Disney’s finest and this set is a fitting collection to honor it. For kids, you get a polished film that can hold up next to current films with wonderful features tailored made for them like “pop-up video style trivia” and interactive games. For the adults, you get a look behind the scenes at how Disney operated seventy years ago and wish they had the ability to make hand drawn animation like this today. This DVD purchase is a no brainer “must-have” for any family or animation connoisseur.

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Special Features

  • Audio Commentary with Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg, and J.B. Kaufman
  • Geppettos Then and Now
  • Never Before Seen Deleted Scenes
  • Never Before Seen Alternate Ending
  • Disney View – Expanded Viewing Experience
  • Cine-Explore Experience
  • Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge
  • Pleasure Island Carnival Games
  • No Strings Attached – The Making of Pinocchio
  • All-New Music Video

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    Audio/Video
    I was impressed with the new restoration and it is available in Blu-Ray HD. The audio was great and can go up to 7.1 with the Blu-Ray release, and 5.1 on the standard DVD. The surround upgrade was a delight especially in the musically rich portions of the film and the later scenes in the whale.

     

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    Dean McCarthy

    Dean McCarthy is a registered film fanatic with a near druglike addiction to DVD collecting. He has been writing in various forms for many years but most of his published works can be found here on Pop Culture Zoo. He is also the co-host of the podcast found at www.stunksstage.com. He is delighted you even bothered reading his article and can be easily reached HERE for any questions, queries, or quarrels.