Disney spruces up Pinocchio Blu-ray

Studio adds decorative framing, dubbed 'Disney View'

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 3/6/2009

For Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, the answer is to color every inch of it. Starting with Pinocchio, the studio is sprucing up the black bars that normally frame its classic animation when rendered for the small screen.

Animator Toby Bluth has been charged with creating ‘decorative’ bars that will exclusively frame the Blu-ray Disc version of Pinocchio, due March 10. The standard DVD edition will continue to feature the plain black bars.

This decorative framing, dubbed ‘Disney View,’ is expected to also roll out with the studio’s next classic animated Blu-ray release, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in October.

So as not to distort the original theatrical image, Disney’s classic animation has historically come tagged with black bars on the sides when played on widescreen TV sets. But some fans have complained that the bars take away from their viewing experience.

For Pinocchio, Bluth created 16 sets of Disney View bars, which run at various times during the film.

“It supports the film and is at most an accompaniment,” said Bluth. “There aren’t any panels that distract from the film. They are like theatrical set pieces framing the action.”

Bluth is already at work on bars for Snow White.