Pete's Dragon (High-Flying Edition)

Released: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

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In 1977, a loveable dragon called Pete entered our world and changed it forever. Now, this August, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, releases their best treatment yet for the loveable dragon with Pete's Dragon (High-Flying Edition).

Pete’s Dragon is an uplifting, musical adventure about a spunky young orphan that blends live action and stellar Disney animation.  With his only friend, Elliot, a tubby, 12-foot-tall dragon who can make himself invisible, Pete (Sean Marshall) takes refuge from his abusive adoptive family in the seaside town of Passamaquoddy, Maine.   After Elliot’s invisible antics wreak havoc with the residents, and Pete gets the blame, Nora (Helen Reddy) is touched by the youngster’s plight and takes him to live with her and her tippling father, Lampie (Mickey Rooney) in the Passamaquoddy Point lighthouse.  Lampie’s tipsy tales of the boy and his dragon amuse the disbelieving townsfolk, until the local quack, Dr. Terminus, discovers that Elliot is real and hatches a scheme to capture the dragon.  An exciting and inspiring story with unforgettable music, including the Academy Award nominated “Candle on the Water”, “There's Room for  Everyone” ,and “Brazzle Dazzle Day.

During the year 1977, the landscape of the film industry was changing.  Musical family films were on the way out, and science fiction films like Star Wars were on the way in.  While Pete’s Dragon did not get the attention classics such as Marry Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks did, it certainly merited it.  The film’s plot is simple; but at its heart is a great tale told by a great cast that only Disney can put together.  The cast is simply amazing with outstanding performances all around, but Helen Reddy simply shines through in her role as Nora.  Her performance as Nora is perfect and only enhances the comparison of Pete’s Dragon to other Disney classics.

As with most “classic” films, the special effects are way past their prime; however, for its day and age, Pete’s Dragon’s effects were top notch, and the use of animation and live action together blend nicely in this film for you to feel as if Pete is really there with the live actors. 

The video presentation is the best to date for this film.  It is presented in its original 1.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  There are very little blemishes and the brightness and contrast are as perfect as they can get to its 1977 release.   The soundtrack has even been “remixed” to delight even the most critical Disney/home theater enthusiast, and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Unlike the  extremely bare-bones “Gold edition” released in the early part of the decade, Pete’s Dragon “flying high edition” is packed full of special features including:  Brazzle Dazzle Effects: Disney’s Movie Magic – An entertaining new look at Disney’s pioneering work in the magical mix of live-action and animation -- narrated by the star of Pete’s Dragon, Sean Marshall.  There is a deleted Storyboard Sequence, Promotional Record (Audio Only) – New pop versions of song from the film (personally I liked the originals)

Until Disney gets around to releasing Pete’s Dragon on Blu-ray, this is the must-have version for any Disney lover out there.

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-- Nathan M Rose

Pete's Dragon (High-Flying Edition) Video Clips

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Dragon In the Cave (Film)


Featurette: Dragons (Bonus)