Review of the Platinum DVD:
Film: B
Okay, quit with the gasps and the hissing already! I think Pinocchio is a wonderful film; a great artistic achievement; a real triumph for animation. That's all true, but -and I think this is why it initially perform not nearly as good as Snow White- it lacks appeal. Yes, it has a cute lead character, a funny 'sidekick', and some imaginative villains, but the artistry of the film draws out charm and appeal in almost every scene. The musical score is very good, but the songs are not that memorable. What I do like, is the darkness of the story; the fact that all the villains get away with what they do. It makes Pinocchio unique in the Disney catalogue.
Presentation/Video/Audio: B/A/B
No real gripes about it, but -as has been said- losing Jiminy's line in the song is unforgivable.
Bonus features: B
Like Wonderlicious said: the regular Platinum DVD fare. The audio commentary was indeed much better than the snooze-fests of Jungle Book and Sleeping Beauty. I didn't like the 54 minute 'documentary' very much. It was much too much praise and far too much name-dropping.
Which DVDs make the grade???
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jpanimation
- Anniversary Edition
- Posts: 1841
- Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:00 am
Pinocchio - Platinum Edition (Blu-ray)
Presentation: B+
I love the cover art. The principle character are all there, appealing, on-model, and all without looking overly crowded. The only character where you can really see the body ghosting (where the bottom half fades away) is the Blue Fairy and it just works. Plus, the blue color scheme feels natural, not forced just to fit the color of the Blu-Ray's case (like many of them unfortunately do). The menu is fine, but I'm just not hot about CG backgrounds (especially with 2D characters put it, they look flat).
I'm also miffed at Jiminy's missing lines.
Film: B+
I like the characters, story, music and animation (especially the animation). The story is full of moments and appealing characters that are sure to leave an impression. I also love how it ends on such an epic note with Monstoro, it really feels like it builds up to that moment. The music isn't as good as Snow White's but still really good. Parents would be better off having there kids watch this over daytime educational crap like Dora the Explorer. Not only will it show them what actual animation is but it should scare them from ever lying, talking to strangers, running away, disobeying their parents, smoking, drinking, playing hooky, and hopefully encourage them to listen to their conscience.
The only thing that always bothered me was Honest John and Gideon being anthropomorphic animals, while the rest of the animals are normal (like the whole Pluto/Goofy thing). It just feels weird with the majority of the characters being human; I just can't see Walt's reasoning behind making only these two characters animals.
Video: A+
It just looks fantastic. I really tried to look for flaws but couldn't find any.
Audio: B+
Sounded good to me. Watching the comparison video showing the missing lines and you really can hear the difference in clarity.
Extra's: B
Can't remember exactly what was here but I remember it having a decent amount of production material with a little less fluff then usual.
Presentation: B+
I love the cover art. The principle character are all there, appealing, on-model, and all without looking overly crowded. The only character where you can really see the body ghosting (where the bottom half fades away) is the Blue Fairy and it just works. Plus, the blue color scheme feels natural, not forced just to fit the color of the Blu-Ray's case (like many of them unfortunately do). The menu is fine, but I'm just not hot about CG backgrounds (especially with 2D characters put it, they look flat).
I'm also miffed at Jiminy's missing lines.
Film: B+
I like the characters, story, music and animation (especially the animation). The story is full of moments and appealing characters that are sure to leave an impression. I also love how it ends on such an epic note with Monstoro, it really feels like it builds up to that moment. The music isn't as good as Snow White's but still really good. Parents would be better off having there kids watch this over daytime educational crap like Dora the Explorer. Not only will it show them what actual animation is but it should scare them from ever lying, talking to strangers, running away, disobeying their parents, smoking, drinking, playing hooky, and hopefully encourage them to listen to their conscience.
The only thing that always bothered me was Honest John and Gideon being anthropomorphic animals, while the rest of the animals are normal (like the whole Pluto/Goofy thing). It just feels weird with the majority of the characters being human; I just can't see Walt's reasoning behind making only these two characters animals.
Never noticed that before but it makes me appreciate the film even more. Walt must've just told the The Hays Office to shove it.Goliath wrote:the fact that all the villains get away with what they do. It makes Pinocchio unique in the Disney catalogue.
Video: A+
It just looks fantastic. I really tried to look for flaws but couldn't find any.
Audio: B+
Sounded good to me. Watching the comparison video showing the missing lines and you really can hear the difference in clarity.
Extra's: B
Can't remember exactly what was here but I remember it having a decent amount of production material with a little less fluff then usual.
Presentation- B
Ok, so not the best cover in the disney library. The layout is a bit cluttered, and off-balance to the left, but at least the characters are on-model. The menus were great...subtle, classy, and appropriate
Film Value- A-
Really a great film. Its amazing how much better looking the animation and background is compared to snow white, even the inking is a lot more consistent. Story wise its still great, and so is the music. Not giving it a full A because its somewhat episodic, a lot cop-outs happen story wise (the fairy shows up to solve everything), and pinocchio has a drastic change in character after Pleasure Island...
Video- A+
Im floored by how good this film looks. Crisp, but not neon colors like Cinderella. Love it.
Audio- A+
I appreciate the inclusion of the mono sountrack. But the reason for the + is a bit personal. They included the original spanish dub, recorded in 1940...the only one done in Argentina.
Extras- A-
I was very pleased. It seemed like the older disney movies were getting a lot of padding, and very little material that related to the film. Also, some of them had no commentaries (cinderella, alice, lady, 101). THis one has a great commentary, very little padding, and mostly pertinent stuff. I agree with some of the comments here: there could have been a feature about the rides in the parks, and jiminy's career.
Ok, so not the best cover in the disney library. The layout is a bit cluttered, and off-balance to the left, but at least the characters are on-model. The menus were great...subtle, classy, and appropriate
Film Value- A-
Really a great film. Its amazing how much better looking the animation and background is compared to snow white, even the inking is a lot more consistent. Story wise its still great, and so is the music. Not giving it a full A because its somewhat episodic, a lot cop-outs happen story wise (the fairy shows up to solve everything), and pinocchio has a drastic change in character after Pleasure Island...
Video- A+
Im floored by how good this film looks. Crisp, but not neon colors like Cinderella. Love it.
Audio- A+
I appreciate the inclusion of the mono sountrack. But the reason for the + is a bit personal. They included the original spanish dub, recorded in 1940...the only one done in Argentina.
Extras- A-
I was very pleased. It seemed like the older disney movies were getting a lot of padding, and very little material that related to the film. Also, some of them had no commentaries (cinderella, alice, lady, 101). THis one has a great commentary, very little padding, and mostly pertinent stuff. I agree with some of the comments here: there could have been a feature about the rides in the parks, and jiminy's career.
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SmartAleck25
- Special Edition
- Posts: 671
- Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:02 pm
- Location: The U.S.
DVD PE:
Presentation: A+
One of my favorite PE covers. It's just so simple and beautiful. The Blue Fairy looks especially nice, providing the shine to the cover. The discs are just plain old discs, but I never really cared about what was on there anyways.
Film: A+
My second favorite Disney animated classic after the Lion King, and my favorite from Walt's Fab Five. There is something about the story that is so timeless, so classic, so absolutely wonderful. It's true that the villains get away with what they want, which makes this film so unique, but Pinocchio's journey to find his true self is incredible. His selfish flaws pay off when he becomes a donkey at Pleasure Island, and his heroic search for Gepetto was extremely bold of him. The entire ending is one of my favorite endings, as it wraps everything up quite nicely. The songs are catchy, and the animation is jaw-dropping. It's amazing how far Walt came from Snow White, and it really shows too. It's a pity it didn't do to well at the box office, but it remains my favorite of the Walt era.
Video: A+
MUCH better than my old VHS.
Audio: A+
Can't complain. As for the missing dialouge, I really could care less. If it doesn't detract from the rest of the movie, I'm totally cool.
Extras: A
The only PE in which I have actually gone through every last thing (including photo galleries, which sadly bore me to death). It's all great: the documentary, the deleted scenes, there's just not as much material as others got.
Overall, a great package. I don't know what the Blu-ray adds, but I'm sure it makes everything even better.
Presentation: A+
One of my favorite PE covers. It's just so simple and beautiful. The Blue Fairy looks especially nice, providing the shine to the cover. The discs are just plain old discs, but I never really cared about what was on there anyways.
Film: A+
My second favorite Disney animated classic after the Lion King, and my favorite from Walt's Fab Five. There is something about the story that is so timeless, so classic, so absolutely wonderful. It's true that the villains get away with what they want, which makes this film so unique, but Pinocchio's journey to find his true self is incredible. His selfish flaws pay off when he becomes a donkey at Pleasure Island, and his heroic search for Gepetto was extremely bold of him. The entire ending is one of my favorite endings, as it wraps everything up quite nicely. The songs are catchy, and the animation is jaw-dropping. It's amazing how far Walt came from Snow White, and it really shows too. It's a pity it didn't do to well at the box office, but it remains my favorite of the Walt era.
Video: A+
MUCH better than my old VHS.
Audio: A+
Can't complain. As for the missing dialouge, I really could care less. If it doesn't detract from the rest of the movie, I'm totally cool.
Extras: A
The only PE in which I have actually gone through every last thing (including photo galleries, which sadly bore me to death). It's all great: the documentary, the deleted scenes, there's just not as much material as others got.
Overall, a great package. I don't know what the Blu-ray adds, but I'm sure it makes everything even better.
Pinocchio Platinum Edition Report Card:
Presentation: B+
Film: A-
Video: A
Audio: A-
Extras: B+
Overall Grade: A- (83%)
Scoreboard:
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A (93.4%)
2. Lilo and Stitch: Big Wave Edition: A (90.2%)
3. Beauty and the Beast Platinum: A-(88%)
4. Beauty and the Beast Diamond A- (85.8%)
5. Pocahontas A- (84.3%)
6. Bambi A- (83.6%)
7. Pinocchio Platinum Edition A- (83%)
8. Dumbo B+ (82.4%)
9. Mulan B+ (82.2%)
10. Princess and the Frog B+ (81.8%)
11. Peter Pan: B+ (78.4%)
12. Lion King: B- (78.2%)
Next, in honor of the soon to be released blu-ray, is (you can rate either of these the same as they are basically are the same):
Alice in Wonderland: Masterpiece/ Un-Anniversary Edition
Presentation: B+
Film: A-
Video: A
Audio: A-
Extras: B+
Overall Grade: A- (83%)
Scoreboard:
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A (93.4%)
2. Lilo and Stitch: Big Wave Edition: A (90.2%)
3. Beauty and the Beast Platinum: A-(88%)
4. Beauty and the Beast Diamond A- (85.8%)
5. Pocahontas A- (84.3%)
6. Bambi A- (83.6%)
7. Pinocchio Platinum Edition A- (83%)
8. Dumbo B+ (82.4%)
9. Mulan B+ (82.2%)
10. Princess and the Frog B+ (81.8%)
11. Peter Pan: B+ (78.4%)
12. Lion King: B- (78.2%)
Next, in honor of the soon to be released blu-ray, is (you can rate either of these the same as they are basically are the same):
Alice in Wonderland: Masterpiece/ Un-Anniversary Edition
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Wonderlicious
- Diamond Edition
- Posts: 4661
- Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:47 am
- Location: UK
- Contact:
Film
A nostalgic favourite, so a reasonably biased shoe-in for a high grade.
A+
Video
Very good. It was one of the earlier of the current restorations and doesn't look as polished as films that appeared restored even just a year and a half or two years later (Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella etc), which is by no means a good or bad thing. Sometimes the colours look a wee bit drab, but still very good.
A-
Audio
I listened to the mono track, and found it very well restored.
A
Extras
So how do I put it? It's the Reader's Digest version. There is a lot to enjoy, and it's better than some of the Platinums ultimately (well, The Lion King and Peter Pan), but it's a let down based on the fact that the laserdisc from 1995 basically has twice as many things. The gallery provided is dinky, and the film had such a long development and so many characters were dropped, it's a bit of a disappointment that little appeared, especially since it all appeared on the laserdisc!
The Un-Anniversary Edition does improve quite a bit (I saw its new materials on YouTube), so that probably would push the grade up a bit.
B
A nostalgic favourite, so a reasonably biased shoe-in for a high grade.
A+
Video
Very good. It was one of the earlier of the current restorations and doesn't look as polished as films that appeared restored even just a year and a half or two years later (Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella etc), which is by no means a good or bad thing. Sometimes the colours look a wee bit drab, but still very good.
A-
Audio
I listened to the mono track, and found it very well restored.
A
Extras
So how do I put it? It's the Reader's Digest version. There is a lot to enjoy, and it's better than some of the Platinums ultimately (well, The Lion King and Peter Pan), but it's a let down based on the fact that the laserdisc from 1995 basically has twice as many things. The gallery provided is dinky, and the film had such a long development and so many characters were dropped, it's a bit of a disappointment that little appeared, especially since it all appeared on the laserdisc!
The Un-Anniversary Edition does improve quite a bit (I saw its new materials on YouTube), so that probably would push the grade up a bit.B
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Big Disney Fan
- Platinum Edition
- Posts: 3110
- Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:28 pm
- Location: Any Disney park you choose
Alice In Wonderland: Masterpiece Edition
FILM: A-
Great! One of my most favorites, but there are two gripes I have: one is that it seems to cut in rather than fade in when Alice approaches the White Rabbit's cottage (this was also like this on some early video releases in the 1980s). The other is (and it may just be my player acting up) when the Queen of Hearts throws down the flamingo and sits on its feet, it seems to slow down or something. But other than those two issues, it's great.
COVER ART: B
As wit the Pinocchio DVD cover art, many characters are missing. The only ones featured here are Alice, the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat. That's it. And it looks a bit dark.
VIDEO/AUDIO: A
Superb. What more is there to say? It has a quality comparable to the Platinum DVDs.
EXTRAS: B+ (I have not seen all the bonuses, so bear with me here)
Many of the bonuses, I have not looked at, so I can't really say. One thing that I always steered clear of is the Virtual Wonderland Party, which is a bit of overly-hyped fluff. Nor have I seen many of the deleted scenes/songs or some of the promotional pieces (Operation Wonderland and "The Fred Waring Show").
What I have seen, however, were the following: I saw the "Adventures In Wonderland" game. And I also saw the One Hour In Wonderland show, which is a treat in its own right, if for no other reason than the fact that it includes a clip from "Song of the South". I also have seen the galleries. And then there are the two theatrical trailers, one from the original 1951 release and the other from the 1974 reissue. There is, however, a gripe that I have is the 1974 reissue trailer. It's different than on the GE trailer, and it looks almost exactly like the one from 1951! I also saw the two introductions to this movie on the Disney anthology series, one in black and white from when it was called "Disneyland", the other in color from "Wonderful World of Color". And did I mention the Mickey Mouse cartoon "Thru the Mirror", one of my most favorite Mickey cartoons ever? And "Alice's Wonderland", the first of the Alice Comedies? They're all great.
And thus concludes my review of the Alice In Wonderland Masterpiece Edition DVD.
FILM: A-
Great! One of my most favorites, but there are two gripes I have: one is that it seems to cut in rather than fade in when Alice approaches the White Rabbit's cottage (this was also like this on some early video releases in the 1980s). The other is (and it may just be my player acting up) when the Queen of Hearts throws down the flamingo and sits on its feet, it seems to slow down or something. But other than those two issues, it's great.
COVER ART: B
As wit the Pinocchio DVD cover art, many characters are missing. The only ones featured here are Alice, the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat. That's it. And it looks a bit dark.
VIDEO/AUDIO: A
Superb. What more is there to say? It has a quality comparable to the Platinum DVDs.
EXTRAS: B+ (I have not seen all the bonuses, so bear with me here)
Many of the bonuses, I have not looked at, so I can't really say. One thing that I always steered clear of is the Virtual Wonderland Party, which is a bit of overly-hyped fluff. Nor have I seen many of the deleted scenes/songs or some of the promotional pieces (Operation Wonderland and "The Fred Waring Show").
What I have seen, however, were the following: I saw the "Adventures In Wonderland" game. And I also saw the One Hour In Wonderland show, which is a treat in its own right, if for no other reason than the fact that it includes a clip from "Song of the South". I also have seen the galleries. And then there are the two theatrical trailers, one from the original 1951 release and the other from the 1974 reissue. There is, however, a gripe that I have is the 1974 reissue trailer. It's different than on the GE trailer, and it looks almost exactly like the one from 1951! I also saw the two introductions to this movie on the Disney anthology series, one in black and white from when it was called "Disneyland", the other in color from "Wonderful World of Color". And did I mention the Mickey Mouse cartoon "Thru the Mirror", one of my most favorite Mickey cartoons ever? And "Alice's Wonderland", the first of the Alice Comedies? They're all great.
And thus concludes my review of the Alice In Wonderland Masterpiece Edition DVD.
Scoreboard:
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A (93.4%)
2. Lilo and Stitch: Big Wave Edition: A (90.2%)
3. Beauty and the Beast Platinum: A-(88%)
4. Beauty and the Beast Diamond A- (85.8%)
5. Pocahontas A- (84.3%)
6. Bambi A- (83.6%)
7. Pinocchio Platinum Edition A- (83%)
8. Dumbo B+ (82.4%)
9. Mulan B+ (82.2%)
10. Princess and the Frog B+ (81.8%)
11. Peter Pan: B+ (78.4%)
12. Lion King: B- (78.2%)
I am going to revive this thread, because i think people may be ready to post again. I am going to skip this last one and do this one instead:
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A (93.4%)
2. Lilo and Stitch: Big Wave Edition: A (90.2%)
3. Beauty and the Beast Platinum: A-(88%)
4. Beauty and the Beast Diamond A- (85.8%)
5. Pocahontas A- (84.3%)
6. Bambi A- (83.6%)
7. Pinocchio Platinum Edition A- (83%)
8. Dumbo B+ (82.4%)
9. Mulan B+ (82.2%)
10. Princess and the Frog B+ (81.8%)
11. Peter Pan: B+ (78.4%)
12. Lion King: B- (78.2%)
I am going to revive this thread, because i think people may be ready to post again. I am going to skip this last one and do this one instead: