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Title:	Pinocchio (1940)
Studio Line:	Disney - For anyone who has ever wished upon a star. Walt Disney’s immortal masterpiece Pinocchio has inspired millions to wish upon a star and always “let your conscience be your guide.” Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, this timeless story of the wooden puppet and his kindly owner, the woodcarver Geppetto, is available to a whole new generation in this limited edition release! On a magical starlit night, a blue fairy brings Geppetto’s beloved marionette Pinocchio to life, beginning a fantastic adventure that will test the puppet’s bravery, loyalty and honesty - virtues he must learn to become a real boy. Despite the warnings of his wise friend, Jimmy Cricket, Pinocchio gets entangled in one humorous predicament after another, leading to his valiant quest to save Geppetto, who’s trapped inside Monstro the whale! Honored with two Academy Awards for Best Song ("When You Wish Upon A Star") and Best Original Score, Pinocchio reminds us all of the power of love, family and believing in your dreams - making it "arguably, the greatest animated adventure of all time!" (TV Guide)
Director:	Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen
Cast:	Dickie Jones-Pinocchio, Christian Rub-Christian Rub, Cliff Edwards-Jiminy Cricket, Don Brodie-Barker, Walter Catlett-J. Worthington Foulfellow, Frankie Darro-Lampwick, Charles Judels-Stromboli, The Coachman, Evelyn Venable-The Blue Fairy
Academy Awards:	Won for Best Original Score, Best Song-"When You Wish Upon A Star," 1941
DVD:	Standard 1.33:1; audio English Digital Stereo, French Digital Stereo; THX; subtitles none; Closed-captioned; single side - dual layer; 24 chapters; rated PG; 88 min.; $29.99; street date 10/26/99.
Supplements:	Theatrical Trailer.
Purchase:	DVD | Disney DVD Collection | Book - Carlo Collodi

Picture/Sound/Extras: B/B/D- At a point in time when Disney have released more than 40 animated films and made the form insanely popular, it's hard to imagine that it wasn't always that way. Well, it wasn't, and when Walt initiated the creation of 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he was pioneering a new form: the full-length cartoon. Few thought it would work - the film commonly was called "Walt's folly" - but, of course, Disney proved them wrong, as that movie went on to become a huge hit and silenced all nay-sayers. As such, the reception for Disney's next animated feature, 1940's Pinocchio, was set to be brighter, but it's a mistake to think that the film's success was guaranteed. Snow White easily could have been viewed as a one-time fluke, and the burgeoning field of feature animation could have died a quick death with the failure of Pinocchio. Although Pinocchio wasn't tremendously successful at the box office during its initial release - it actually lost money, mainly due to the film's then-huge cost of about $2.6 million - its quality further verified the validity of feature animation. Could Disney have withstood a major critical and financial flop with their second release? Maybe, because the short cartoons were still their commercial bread and butter, but it would have been much more difficult. As it currently stands, Pinocchio eventually turned a profit due to multiple reissues, and it ultimately achieved the standing it currently enjoys as one of the greatest animated films of all time. While I'll quibble with that title being assigned to some Disney pictures - The Jungle Book leaves me cold, and I find Dumbo to be a bit dull - I have to second that emotion for Pinocchio; it's easily the best of the early features, and it certainly could be argued that it's the best ever. Pinocchio isn't a perfect film. It runs a little too long, the episodic nature lacks a coherent plot, and it seems somewhat dated at this point in time. However, it's strong enough to easily overcome all of those flaws. The characters are very compelling and well-rounded, each mini-story works nicely and moves along the story, and the film presents an excellent balance of humor, terror, magic and pathos. Really, with the exception of romance, there's pretty much something for everyone in this package. Three of those four aspects are common to most Disney films, but I have to admit that I think the horror in parts of Pinocchio is remarkably well-portrayed. The menace of Stromboli and he states Pinocchio's ultimate fate when he's worn out works well, but the scenes in which the boys are turned into donkeys are truly frightening. The sight of Lampwick's shadow as he mutates into a literal jackass was a brilliant method; since this was animation, they obviously could have depicted the whole thing in camera, but the use of the profile makes the whole thing much scarier - sometimes a hint of terror is more horrifying than blatant symbols. Anyway, Pinocchio remains one of the great animated films. I used to only enjoy newer Disney fare, but Pinocchio was one of the movies that convinced me the older classics actually had something to offer. The DVD: Pinocchio appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; as such, the image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Pinocchio looks marvelous for such an old film, but some roughness to the image keeps it from reaching the stellar levels of quality achieved by some of the other Disney offerings. Sharpness consistently looks terrific; there's not a soft image in sight, and all this occurs without any resulting moiré effects or jagged edges. Grain mars the picture to a certain degree, and a number of scenes also seem a bit gritty; this isn't an extreme problem, but it remains a concern for much of the movie. Other print flaws appear virtually absent; I noted no examples of scratches, hairs, speckles or other problems. Colors looked consistently quite bold and bright, with no signs of bleeding or smearing. Black levels were unexceptional but perfectly adequate, and shadow detail seemed fine as well. All in all, Pinocchio really looks quite good, and if I'd watched it independent of viewings of Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians, I might have thought it appeared even better, but the smoothness and clarity of those images makes Pinocchio's roughness seem more evident than it otherwise might. Like all these other old-time Disney flicks, Pinocchio features audio that has been remixed from the original monaural track. Here, the soundtrack is presented in a Dolby Digital 4.0 mix. As with the other soundtracks, this one seems pretty well anchored in the center channel. The music spreads to the sides a bit, and we hear the very occasional effect from the right or left, but for the most part, it remains a mono mix. The surrounds back up the music gently and that's about it. Really, this modest agenda is perfectly fine with me, for it doesn't overreach the boundaries of what a sixty-year-old mono track can produce; it adds a bit of ambience to the experience, and that's all it needs to do. Sound quality appears less striking than some of the other Disney films, but since this is the oldest one available on DVD, that's not a surprise. Dialogue appears a bit tinny but is always very clear and intelligible, with a reasonable amount of depth to it. Music seems clean and smooth, though it lacks bass, and effects are also fairly thin but acceptably realistic and without distortion. Small amounts of background noise can be heard on occasion, but these instances are very minor. It's not a memorable soundtrack, but for such an old picture, it works quite well. Despite the fact that the CAV LD boxset included a decent documentary about the movie and a number of other features, it's pretty lame that Pinocchio only includes a trailer. Oh well - at least it's the origi nal theatrical one, not a clip from one of the film's many reissues - I guess that counts for something. Despite the lack of supplements, Pinocchio stands as a terrific achievement in animation and a darned entertaining film as well. The DVD provides very good picture and sound. Although I wish this offered more of a special edition, my recommendation is simple: Pinocchio is a "must-own" DVD. Menu: DVD Movie Guide | Archive | Top