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One of the pleasures of writing
about the film business is meeting some wonderful
people. Disney recently held an event for guests to meet
artist, Toby Bluth. He was commissed by Disney to create
panels for the Blu-ray release of "Pinocchio." The event
was held in Santa Monica at the Every Picture Tells A
Story bookstore.
The store is a neat spot on Montana Ave. in Santa
Monica. It features several books about film and art, as
well as various pieces of artwork. Disney treated guests
to sweets and wine, while Bluth held court in the back
of the store signing autographs. Bluth greeted every
guest with a hearty handshake and a smile.
Bluth is an accomplished artist with work done for
Disney and Hanna-Barbera. His work varies from whimsical
artwork, to stunning reproductions of Disney's most
famous animated films. He's also a stage director.
The artwork Bluth created for the "Pinocchio" Blu-ray is
meant to augment the film presentation on a widescreen
television. The film was shot in the 1.37:1 aspect
ratio, which if shown properly on a widescreen 16x9
television, will fill the middle of the screen with
black bars on the side. This is what a viewer would see
see in a movie theater. The projectionist would mask the
widescreen with black curtains.
On the Blu-ray disc, Toby's artwork is an option that
viewers can chose. Admittedly, I was leary of this idea,
for it doesn't have any precedent for "Pinocchio" or any
other film made in the early 1940s. Applying visuals in
the sidebars is there to apease widescreen television
owners who want everything they watch to fill the
screen.
Disney and Bluth's approach looks good. Bluth's work is
tastefully faithful to the original film's artwork.
Watching the movie with the "Disney View" option (with
Bluth's work), the artwork isn't distracting. He's done
a beautiful job and creates a nice framing device for
the movie. I still prefered to watch it without the
artwork. That's the way I've seen it on the big movie
screen for years.
Another nice surprise was meeting Alice Davis. Disney
fans probably know her best as animator Marc Davis'
wife. But she's an accomplished artist and costume
designer. She designed the costumes for Disneyland's
Pirates of the Caribbean and It's A Small World
attractions.
We had a genuinely pleasant conversation about her
career, Disney, Marc, and animals. Smart and charming,
Alice was a pleasure to talk to.
"Pinocchio" arrives on DVD and Blu-ray (which includes a
DVD of the film) March 10, 2009.
Bill Kallay
Special thanks to the Jackie Cavanaugh, Click
Communcations, Daryl (Disney), Toby Bluth and Alice
Davis
Photos: © William Kallay. All rights reserved.
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