Pinocchio Platinum: March 10, 2009

[Leviathan]

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/pinocchio-platinumedition-pressrelease-0310.html

The bonus features are light, and the DVD's restoration will undoubtably bring forth the usual round of complaining and kvetching over the colors not matching the old laserdiscs (and of couse, the conspiracy theories of Michael Eisner working nefariously to supress true Technicolor representations of the features), but hey, it's coming.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I only had the laserdisc of Pinocchio (the big CAV boxset) and I don't remember any commentary tracks offered on that, so the DVD at least has that going for it. The extras seem plentiful to me. I don't think they're light at all -- for instance, they have storyboards that feature an alternate ending.

I'm hoping the Blu-Ray set will have a decent restoration, without DNR meddling. It would be nice to have a decent copy of my favorite Disney film.

[Duck Dodgers]

I'll buy it and I hope it'll be good.
It's among my favorite animated features ever.
To be more correct, "Dumbo" and "Pinocchio" are my favorite animated features ever, followed by "Alice in Wonderland" (even if I'm well aware that it works for sequences and not as a whole feature), "Peter Pan", "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" and "Mr. Bug goes to Town" (this one too is filled with great sequences).

[nickramer]

I wonder if this will include the original demo for "I'm a Happy Go Luckey Fellow", a song that was going to be used in Pinocchio but ended up in "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947).

[Bugsy-Kun]

I remember watching a lot of times as a kid.
I probably buy it. Goldberg and Maltin are excellent choices for the commentary.
And i haven't seen it since 15 years now. :D

[MF TOON]

5.1 surround mix... :rolleyes:


I wish Disney would do a ltd. release of all of their "animated classics" from Snow White to The Lion King adhering to the original elements, palettes, soundtracks, aspect ratios, etc. of the films and without any of the promotional slop and kids features on the platinum editions. No brightened colors and cgi enhancements and remixed soundtracks and contrast boosting and stupid interactive kids game. Just all 32 films in one thoughtfully packaged (with original poster artwork) comprehensive set with commentaries, storyboards, galleries, and all the featurette & making-of supplements offered for adult consumers.

I hate how every single release from this studio, save for the better part the WDT's, is in some way an artistic compromise (original sound mix botched, digitally "inking" over lines, color palette enhanced for modern home theater look, etc)

This film was released in 1940... what the hell is the point of a 5.1 surround mix?!?

[MF TOON]

Also, what a wasted oppurtunity to not include at least a handful of the "I'm No Fool" and "You And Your" shorts on Disc 2.

[Bugsy-Kun]

That i just worry is they included fake sound effects for make... much modern tough. :rolleyes:
We seen it in the dubbed versions of our favourite cartoons and that's shy to watch it with times.

Also, what a wasted oppurtunity to not include at least a handful of the "I'm No Fool" and "You And Your" shorts on Disc 2.

That's maybe the only complain of this edition, but maybe they will save for a future Treasure DVD.

[Brandon Panther]

If it exists, they could include Mel Blanc's deleted dialogue for the cat, as a bonus feature.

[nickramer]

Calm down, folks. I doubt Disney would stoop that low and add new sound effects in the film like a couple of public domain companys I know or in some cases, CTW/SW.

[Jack G.]

I'm hoping for a decent restoration - nothing way off the mark in colors.

Pinocchio is the last film I need to complete the "Walt-era" of Disney features and an important one at that.

Please, no major screw-ups Disney!

[gabriel_katikos]

I wonder if this will have the original RKO Radio Pictures logo (and not the Buena Vista logo) at the beginning of the film? Considering the 2003 UK DVD of Pinocchio had it, it's likely that this Platinum Edition will have the RKO logo, too.

[MF TOON]

Calm down, folks. I doubt Disney would stoop that low and add new sound effects in the film like a couple of public domain companys I know or in some cases, CTW/SW.

Clearly you haven't heard the added foley effects in mary poppins and other soundtracks the comnpany have needlessly screwed around with. rechanneling to fake stereo is enough of a bastardization for me personally!

[nickramer]

Not counting the Live-Action films with animated sequences, were there any Disney animated feature DVDs that had this audio sound effect tampering?

[MF TOON]

I'm sure the answer is yes although I can;t name any off the top of my head. I can say for certain that they've screwed around with many soundtracks in the past, but at least seen fit in almost all cases to include the option of the original sound mix. That's not apparent here from the specs int he press release...

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Regarding audio tampering: I wouldn't mind if they include an option of the original soundtrack. I just bought the DVD of Young Frankenstein, and you get a choice of the original mono soundtrack in addition to the enhanced 5.1 surround blah blah blah.

[J. A. Boschen]

I wonder if this will have the original RKO Radio Pictures logo (and not the Buena Vista logo) at the beginning of the film? Considering the 2003 UK DVD of Pinocchio had it, it's likely that this Platinum Edition will have the RKO logo, too.

I am hoping that the DVD contains this also. Whats interesting and awsome about the old Disney features, is that they were the only production company to feature a rendition and a specially designed RKO logo on their features during the golden age of Hollywood; other studios such as Selznick International, Samuel Goldwyn, etc who all distributed some of their films through RKO did not feature any logos of the studio.

[Vdubdavid]

I am hoping that the DVD contains this also. Whats interesting and awsome about the old Disney features, is that they were the only production company to feature a rendition and a specially designed RKO logo on their features during the golden age of Hollywood; other studios such as Selznick International, Samuel Goldwyn, etc who all distributed some of their films through RKO did not feature any logos of the studio.

Which makes it all the more galling that the RKO cards weren't included on the Platinum Editions of Bambi and Cinderella.

[Mr. Semaj]

The last time I saw Pinocchio was when it aired on ABC in December 2002. I don't make that many DVD purchases, but I'll definitely make sure to buy this when it comes out.

I hope this set includes the theatrical trailers for its original and re-releases.

[Larry T]

Not counting the Live-Action films with animated sequences, were there any Disney animated feature DVDs that had this audio sound effect tampering?

I thought Cinderella had some done to it back in the early 90s- not sure if this was fixed or not for later releases.

[zavkram]

I have the current DVD of Pinocchio; but I plan to either sell it or give it away if the Platinum Edition turns out to be visually and aurally superior. I'm going to pre-order a copy next month.

BTW, I just received my copy of Sleeping Beauty yesterday from Amazon... in the accompanying DVD Guide, it states that Disney is coming out with a (new?) Platinum Edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... I'd be interested to learn just how this forthcoming edition of that film will differ from the previous one.

As far as the Buena Vista re-issues of Bambi and Cinderella are concerned... perhaps those were the only decent versions available for Disney's restoration. The original RKO versions might have sustained too much damage to their respective negatives, who knows? In the older Snow White DVD set the RKO logo footage was included as a bonus feature, rather than integrated at the start of the film.

[Vdubdavid]

As far as the Buena Vista re-issues of Bambi and Cinderella are concerned... perhaps those were the only decent versions available for Disney's restoration. The original RKO versions might have sustained too much damage to their respective negatives, who knows? In the older Snow White DVD set the RKO logo footage was included as a bonus feature, rather than integrated at the start of the film.

I don't buy that argument. The RKO cards were included on the laserdisc editions of both films (I've seen screengrabs), so they definately exist and could have been restored.

As for Snow White, Disney gets a pass on that one as the original titles do appear to be truly lost, hence there being a recreation in the bonus features. The beginning credits on the bonus appear to be lifted (and colorized) from the short "Inside the Walt Disney Studio", released around the time of Snow White, to publicize the picture (this short was included on the "Behind the Scenes" Disney Treasure DVD). The acutal RKO triangle symbol wasn't used, instead there was a notice "Distributed by R.K.O. Radio Pictures" on one of the original credit slates.

The end title seems to be anyone's guess. I'm guessing it didn't have a reference to RKO (none of the other features that followed did), but on that bonus feature there was, so go figure.

[CueBallCat79]

I don't buy that argument. The RKO cards were included on the laserdisc editions of both films (I've seen screengrabs), so they definately exist and could have been restored.

Perhaps Disney doesn't want to give anyone else credit for a film they want to claim 100% ownership of, as ridiculous as it sounds. I'm sure to them the Disney logo is the only logo that matters. So RKO logo be damned. We've already seen that giving consumers a completely un-tampered with film is beyond Disney's ability. So something like this shouldn't be too much of a shock.

[The "Chase"]

Bumping this thread because I found the cover...


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wED0QPekL._SS500_.jpg

Let the CGI bashing begin...

[Mr. Semaj]

Still stoked, but isn't that more of a "montage" cover?

I think the image of Monstro was used in the film's 1984 re-release poster, as was the fairy's image in the 1992 re-release poster.

[Leviathan]

The logo being towards the right edge instead of centered is awkward and weird, otherwise it's pretty slick.

[Brandon Panther]

Isn't Photoshop wonderful?

And I don't think Pinocchio was released in 1939.

[Jack G.]

The logo being towards the right edge instead of centered is awkward and weird, otherwise it's pretty slick.I'm bored of everything being centered.
Anything besides centered is a welcome relief design-wise.

[TheBlueHombre]

I bought a Blu-Ray player with some Christmas money and one of the movies I purchased was Wall-E. The trailer for Pinocchio in Blu-Ray is absolutely stunning. I came out of my chair and was going "Wow!" The picture quality is absolutely fantastic - so crisp and clear. I am definitely going to buy this film on Blu-Ray on March 9th. I own the "Gold Collection" DVD and it doesn't hold a candle to what I saw on that preview for the Blu-Ray version.

[Cartman]

I am definitely picking up this set.

[Larry T]

I am definitely picking up this set.

Me too.

[wiley207]

All right! I'm DEFINITELY gonna get this! "Pinocchio" is one of my all-time favorite Disney films. I have the VHS, which I bought off eBay back in 2005 (the film was "in the vault" at that time, and I heard rumors about a new DVD release to come out in the near future, so I decided to wait for the new DVD but still own a copy of the film). I have the 1993 Disney "Black Diamond" Classic version:
http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2811&stc=1&d=1231203736
I mean sure, so what if it has trailers for "Aladdin" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at the beginning, and has the original RKO Radio Pictures logo replaced with a Buena Vista logo from the 1960s at the beginning? I get a feeling of nostalgia putting this tape in the VCR, hearing the "Feature Presentation" announcement and fanfare, seeing that early 1990s Disney Classics "diamond" opening (with Sorcerer Mickey) and then the film beginning, in its 1992 restoration print with a nice "homey" kind of look to it and a crisp clear soundtrack. I often watch it on our big-screen TV hooked up to a surround speaker set for an even better viewing experience.

But once I get the new DVD, I'll still keep this VHS, as I like collecting them.

Overall, kudos to Walt Disney Home Video for finally giving "Pinocchio" the home video treatment it deserves!

[Steve Stanch]

Pinocchio looks amazing in 35mm, especially if you're able to see an IB Technicolor print. If you ever have the chance, don't miss it.

[TheBlueHombre]

Pinocchio is one movie that definitely holds up over the course of time. I think the movie is even more remarkable today than the first time I saw it.

[bj_wanlund]

Prob will buy the Pinocchio Platinum Edition in Blu-Ray.

That oughta be fun, as I haven't seen the whole film.

BJ

[Mr. Semaj]

Now that I'm thinking about it, I might actually convince my girlfriend to buy this for my birthday. ;)

[TServo2049]

One thing I've noticed - even the Region 2 disc with the RKO logo still had the 1956(?) reissue credits. They're obviously from the late 50s, since they have "TECHNICOLOR (R)" and the "RCA Sound Recording" bug, instead of "IN TECHNICOLOR" and "RCA SOUND SYSTEM" [or more accurately, "SOUND (RCA logo) SYSTEM"].

Why would they restore the RKO *logo*, but not the original *credits* themselves?

To go a little off topic, I think a similar thing may have happened with Dumbo - notice that Bill Peet's name is spelled Bill Peet, which I didn't think happened until the 50s; it was spelled "Bill Peed" on all the stuff in the 40s.

In fact, an old video print of "Tiger Trouble" had a noticeable splice from the 50s re-release crew credits to the original 40s credits, right before the dissolve to the title card, and you could see that Bill's last name was spelled "Peed" on the original, while it was "Peet" on the re-release. (They fixed this with a fake video dissolve on later versions, as seen on DVD for example).

But anyway, the point is...why would they have restored the RKO logo, but left in the reissue credits? The reissue credits may be mostly the same, but they aren't *completely* the same, as evidenced by the late-50s-vintage process references...