Search - The Adventures of Pinocchio on DVD

MPAA Rating: G Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 09/24/1997 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 34 mins Studio: New Line Home Video Total Copies: 79 Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fairy Tales & Legends

Unlike the more familiar animated Pinocchio by Disney, there are no song interludes here, and characters added to the story by Disney (such as Jiminy Cricket) are not included. Producer Francis Ford Coppola and director Steve Barron, (known for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film) closely adhere to Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel and use the visually timeless setting of a Czechoslovakian village. Jim Henson's puppet studio skillfully brings this Pinocchio to life. Long ago, in his youth, Gepetto (Martin Landau) loved but did not court Leona (Genvieve Bujold), who married Gepetto's brother instead. In that earlier time, he carved her initials with his onto a tree. Now his brother is dead, and though he still feels for Leona, he is still too shy to woo her. Instead, the old puppet-maker goes into the forest and cuts down a tree in order to make a puppet just for himself. The tree is the same one he carved his initials into when he was younger, and it has the magic of his love in it. Soon after the puppet Pinocchio is made, he comes to life. Aside from being made of wood, he begins to live the life of a perfectly normal little boy. He even goes to school. Lorenzini, an evil magician who runs a children's puppet show, hears of Pinocchio and wants to use him in his show. Lorenzini lures children to his show, only to later turn them into donkeys. Donkeys are useful creatures, and Lorenzini makes a lot of money selling them. Through many trials and tribulations, the puppet-boy earns the right to become the human boy Pinocchio (Jonathan Taylor Thomas). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Martin Landau - Geppetto
Jonathan Taylor Thomas - Pinocchio

This handsomely mounted adaptation of the classic story for children gets an upscale presentation for its release on DVD. This edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio features two different transfers of the film, one letterboxed at the film's original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the other pan-and-scanned at the full-frame ratio of 1.33:1, while the audio (in English) is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Optional subtitles in English and Spanish can be accessed, and as a bonus the original theatrical trailer and biographies of the key cast and crew members are included. Finally, two interactive games are also included on the disc. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide