Blu-ray review (also DVD region 1 & 2)
Directed by Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen
Starring the voices of Dickie Jones, Mel Blanc, Charles Judels, Christian Rub, Cliff Edwards
Release date Out now

A lonely woodcarver named Geppetto creates a marionette. After making a wish on a starry night, he’s shocked to discover the puppet has come to life...

One of the undisputed jewels in the Disney crown, it’s astonishing that this release commemorates the 70th anniversary of Pinocchio. It looks so fresh, so vital and so new that it redefines the word ‘timeless’.

A classic morality tale with a simple but deeply affecting narrative, this graceful story is a world away from modern day animated features that rely too heavily on pop culture references and sly ‘adult’ humour that dates very quickly.

Pinocchio is often a very dark movie; the character suffers on his emotional journey, and there are no easy get-outs for our hero as he pays an awful price for his inability to resist temptation. The whimsical ‘all smiles’ reputation that Disney films are often saddled with are absent from this particular text: Home on the Range it ain’t!

That’s not to say that the film is designed to emotionally scar kids. The central theme of Gepetto’s selfless love of his son is prominent throughout, allowing kids to be one step ahead of the title character in seeing the moral of the tale.

The copious extras include a Picture-in-Picture video commentary with animator Eric Goldberg, and critic Leonard Maltin discussing the making of the movie and its place in the Disney canon in meticulous detail. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 10/10
A masterpiece that you must own.