Pinocchio

It's no accident that Pinocchio was the first Disney animated feature to be released on VHS and DVD. Hailing from the first generation of Disney masterworks, this flawless 1940 adaptation of Carlo Collodi's ageless story about the titular wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy is ultimately about discovering what it means to be human, offering lessons in honesty and responsibility that continue to impress young viewers (and featuring a theme song—”When You Wish Upon a Star”—that is arguably the greatest in the Disney canon). Pinocchio has been released in various DVD editions since its initial appearance in 1993, but this Blu-ray edition is the equivalent of the Blue Fairy herself, truly bringing this 70-year-old film to life with a downright amazing transfer and a wealth of entertaining extras and archival treasures, including an exhaustive and informed audio commentary featuring Leonard Maltin (enhanced with audio clips from Walt Disney and the original animators), a “making-of” documentary, deleted scenes (and a song), an alternate ending, a pop-up trivia track, age-appropriate games, and more (as well as a bonus standard DVD copy of the film). Also available in a two-disc DVD version, Pinocchio is highly recommended—with no strings attached. Editor's Choice. (D. Liebenson)[Blu-ray Review—Feb. 7, 2017—Disney, 88 min., G, $39.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1940's Pinocchio features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack. Extras new to this release include the production featurettes “Walt's Story Meetings: Pleasure Island” (7 min.), “The Pinocchio Project: When You Wish Upon a Star” (6 min.), and “In Walt's Words” (5 min.), as well as the 1927 first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short “Poor Papa” (4 min.). Special features carried over from previous releases include audio commentary by critics Leonard Maltin, animator Eric Goldberg, and author J.B. Kaufman, a “No Strings Attached” making-of featurette (56 min.), deleted scenes (11 min.), behind-the-scenes segments on “Geppettos Then and Now” (11 min.), a song selection featurette (10 min.), “Live-Action Reference Footage” (10 min.), “The Sweatbox” (7 min.), “A Wish Come True” making-of (5 min.), storyboard comparisons (4 min.), the “When You Wish Upon a Star” music video by Meaghan Jette Martin, trailers, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: aside from a few new extras, this release is identical to the Platinum Collection edition.]