1. Jiminy Cricket would go on to star in another animated feature, Fun & Fancy Free, wherein he warbled �I�m a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow�, a tune originally penned for Pinocchio.
2. Geppetto�s faithful (though feisty) pets Figaro and Cleo were not in the original story by Italian author Carlo Collodi.
3. Hollywood legend has it that Evelyn Venable (the voice of the Blue Fairy) was the original model for the �torch lady� in the Columbia Pictures logo.
4. Blooper alert: watch for the comings and goings of Geppetto�s nightcap during the scene where Pinocchio sets his finger on fire.
5. The town where Geppetto lives is based on real town located in Bavaria.
6. Gideon was originally a speaking character and was to be voiced by Warner Brothers cartoon legend Mel Blanc. When he was made a mute, all that was left of Blanc�s contributions was a single hiccup.
7. Charles Judels provided the villainous voices for both Stromboli and the Coachman.
8. Pleasure Island was originally called � �Boobieland�?!
9. The underwater scenes were later used for inspiration during the making of The Little Mermaid.
10. Charcoal pencils were used to draw the massive girth of Monstro the whale.

The bonus features on disc one also include a new �When You Wish Upon a Star� music video (strictly for Disney Channel tweeners), the �Disney Song Selection� option, a �Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge� (get it: �knows�/�nose�) and access to the BD Live Network (one of those �interactive� features that is beyond my understanding or tolerance).

Disc two also has some nifty games (�Pinocchio�s Puzzles� for younger players and �Pleasure Island Carnival Games� for more advanced gamers), as well as the new �Backstage Disney� feature �No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio�. At just under an hour, this documentary delves deep into the creation of the film, and pays special attention to such animation pioneers as Art Babbitt, Bill Tytla and Fred Moore, as well as the concept artists, effects animators and sound designers. The sole surviving cast member, Dick Jones (who voiced Pinoke himself and was named a Disney Legend in 2000), is interviewed, and the film�s Academy Award-winning music men, Leigh Harline, Paul Smith and Ned Washington, are also profiled, with special mention of the legacy of �When You Wish Upon a Star�.

Two shorter features supplement the main �making of� doc, the first being �The Sweatbox� (no, not the infamous, little-seen expos� on the making of The Emperor�s New Groove), which tells of the small, un-air conditioned projection rooms that Walt and his staff used to view dailies and story reels, complete with dramatized recreations of their Pinocchio-era sessions. The second, �Live Action Reference Footage�, not only shows just that in relation to the film in question, but also explains how and why this footage was created and utilized.

Other bonuses include three deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), a deleted song (�Honest John�), a collection of art galleries and trailers and a short featurette on toymakers from around the world titled �Geppettos: Then and Now�.

• Those magical kids from another planet are back � and The Rock is along for the ride in Race to Witch Mountain (Walt Disney Pictures, March 13).
• Catch the wave with the new 2-disc Lilo & Stitch: Big Wave Edition Disney DVD (March 24).
• Disneynature makes its debut with earth on (naturally) Earth Day (April 22).

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-- Posted March 10, 2008
-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logos by William C. Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics