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March 6th, 2009 4:03 PM by Aaron H. Bynum

As has become the tradition for classic Disney animated features, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's long-planned re-release of the theatrical presentation Pinocchio has finally arrived. Taking film enthusiasts and animation fans back in time to a moment in cartooning history when imagination was running high and the prescient intuition of one Walt Disney was soon to break through, Pinocchio returns to home video in time for its seventieth anniversary.

Pinocchio was first released in February 1940.

The familiar fairy tale of a lonely woodcarver and the magical journey his manufactured son Pinocchio take in their quest to discover those sentiments most dear to humanity -- or simply, that which makes one human -- Pinocchio was only Walt Disney's second animated feature.

Pinocchio was a movie that would go on to help teach the world how to wish upon stars, understand the comical but very true value of the human conscience, and revel in the durability of Disney classics.

When the puppet Pinocchio is brought to life by the gorgeous and contemplative Blue Fairy, it is up to the wooden child to prove that he is worthy of indeed becoming a real boy to serve as companion to his generous creator-father, Geppetto. At times led astray by wicked characters of an amusing sort and at times tempted by the vaguer lies in life to pursue empty pleasures, Pinocchio must rely on his friend Jiminy Cricket and his better judgment in order to not only save Geppetto but also to save himself.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will re-release Pinocchio on DVD and Blu-ray disc next week. Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition, as it will be titled, will contain the original film, digitally restored, along with the usual clutter of new bonus materials. The standard, two-disc Platinum Edition release ($29.99) and Blu-ray release ($35.99) will hit store shelves on March 10th, 2009.

Bonus features for this release include audio commentary with Leonard Maltin, Eric Goldberg and J. B. Kaufman; deleted scenes ("The Story of the Grandfather Tree" and "In the Belly of the Whale"); trivia games; deleted songs; and an alternate ending. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, Pinocchio sported remarkable, technical sharpness. Contributing animators included Oliver M. Johnston Jr., Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, Fred Moore, Jack Campbell, Bob Youngquist, and many other memorable artists from decades past.
on Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, a recognized leader in the home entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista product, which includes DVD, Blu-ray Disc™ and electronic distribution. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is a division of The Walt Disney Studios.

Related Disney Classics on DVD at Animation Insider:
"Sleeping Beauty" at AnimationInsider.net (10/2008)
"The Sword in the Stone" at AnimationInsider.net (06/2008)
"101 Dalmatians at AnimationInsider.net (03/2008)