DVD : Pinocchio (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

Rating: - A Great Lie Lesson for Pinocchio
I love Pinocchio when he lies. His nose grew and grew longer and sure gives me an idea how creative author has. It's original powerful animation that Walt Disney has to present. Also I must add when Pinocchio asking the creator Why, Why, and Why and suddenly I asked my parents why Pinocchio asking Why's. A perfect family animation film.

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Rating: - Was my father favorite carttoon !
My father loved Disney 's Pinocchio as a child and I still had the video tape of the carttoon in his memory !

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Rating: - My least favorite Disney animation
I've enjoyed a lot of classics by Walt himself - Dumbo, Bambi, 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp etc. But I just cannot bring myself to like Pinocchio. I'm sorry, but it looked like was made for babies, or four or five year olds at the most. Although, even at the age of five, I found it too childish. I've heard some reviewers say that this film is quite dark, but I just cannot believe that! Firstly, they tried too hard on the animation. It was far too saturated. The colour is all screwed up. The acting is poor. The only good well-developed character is Jiminy Cricket. The other characters are very underdeveloped, so I didn't really care what happened to them. They made Pinocchio really sickly sweet, and I didn't feel for him, he was just annoying. The plot is ridiculous. It was just Pinocchio and Jiminy running into one problem after another. Oh, and the donkey scene is not disturbing - it's just plain stupid!

All in all, Pinocchio is only of interest to VERY young children. Otherwise, do not waste your money. If you want a good family film, rent Amblimation's 'Balto' instead.

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Rating: - ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREATS NEEDS AN UPGRADED EDITION!
This is one of Disney's finest animated features! The fact that it has not had a complete restoration done is mind boggling! The print here looks like it is direct from VHS. It's washed out and to make matters worse, there are no extras! There is a 2 disc Platinum edition coming in 2009, but what's the hold up? Disney seeme to skip over this classic gem and make two & three releases of other titles!??

I rate the film 5 stars, but this DVD edition gets 2 stars. Come on Disney get on the ball and give this film the treatment it deserves. 2 discs, complete restoration and extensive extra material.

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Rating: - My Favorite Classic Disney from Years Past
This movie is a beautifully-made masterpiece that, very unfortunately, seems to be overlooked sometimes because of other old Disney movies that were made around that time (like Snow White). However, of all the "old" Disney movies (made before the era of Eisner), this is the one that most hits the mark for me. Not only is it an interesting story with involving characters, but the overlooked soundtrack is also quite wonderful. "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" is an old favorite of mine, and not to mention "Little Wooden Head" is a catchy little tune. This is my favorite of the oldies-but-goodies because not only does it completely hit the mark, but it doesn't rely on the old cliche of "princess captured by evil stepmother and then saved later on by a nameless Prince Charming who has no personality whatsoever". Though some of those movies are good, like Snow White, some of them are dull like Cinderella, and this movie doesn't make you make that choice.

Now I haven't always been a fan of this movie; this is more of a "grown-up" movie than many of the others that were made around that time. This is a darker tale than the likes of Snow White, and a more intense and involving one than movies like Cinderella. It also doesn't follow the oft-degraded Disney Formula, because there's no real cookie-cutter "bad guy". And since there's no real cookie-cutter bad guy, it makes it all the more interesting to see four or five villains make their entrances and exits, more like a real-life fairy tale than others. None of the villains "gets what he deserves", like in most Disney movies where they fall to their deaths.

That isn't to say that the other Disney movies aren't good. That is, however, to say that this Disney movie was ahead of its time in its innovations in realistic story developments. Granted, the story itself isn't that realistic, but we all know the story, and can take it for granted. And I'm not saying that the film is COMPLETELY underrated either. Just about everybody's heard the song "When You Wish Upon A Star", and it truly is a wonderfully sweet tune.

Speaking of which, Jiminy Cricket is a masterpiece of a character if there ever was one. And there are plenty of other great characters in this movie too: the old puppet master, Geppetto, who just wants a real boy; Cleo and Figaro, the domesticated fish and jealous cat; and of course many great villains, including Honest John, Stromboli, Lampwick, and of course Monstro, most of whom are also used for on-the-spot comic relief. But despite the comic relief, there are definitely some scenes that are too scary for the youngsters, including quite a few edgy scenes including the mad old puppeteer Stromboli. However, it's not ALL dark, which is good. There are some very fun, and some laugh-out-loud funny, scenes, both for the youngsters and for the adults.

Overall, this truly is a great movie for anybody, but especially for those who have ever been through the struggle of being a real boy. :)