Saturday, March 28, 2009

Pinocchio (1940)



Walt Disney's follow-up to the smash hit Snow White was not at the time regarded as a huge success. Decades after it's debut in 1940, Pinocchio has proven to be not only a cash-cow for the lucrative home video market but visual proof that the benchmark of animation's golden age had certainly been created.

So much has already been written about this jaw droppingly beautiful film. The humour, the design, the superlative animation that reinforces Disney's "illusion of life" technique. All can be found in this wonderful film.

Previously available on dvd, Pinocchio has been reissued this year but this time in a fully restored version. The differences between the two are astonishing. Viewing the new release is like watching Pinocchio for the very first time. Pinocchio's background design had always been a major part of its appeal and this restored version allows the viewer to see the gorgeous attention to detail applied by Walt Disney's team of artists. Every frame is a work of art begging to be explored via the freeze frame button on the dvd remote.

I doubt that films as breathtakingly beautiful as Pinocchio will ever be made again. Hand drawn creations have since been replaced by CGI rendering. Pinocchio certainly belongs to that grand and glorious period of Hollywood's Golden age of animation.









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