Watch This With Your Kids- Pete’s Dragon

August 22, 2009 By Elizabeth

Academy Award-nominated music and an eye-popping combination of animation and live-action, PETE’S DRAGON: High Flying Edition is a new DVD release of this Walt Disney classic. This 1977 musical adventure about a young orphan and his unusual friend boasts a star-studded cast including Mickey Rooney, Shelley Winters, Jeff Conaway, Helen Reddy, and Sean Marshall as Pete.

Set at the turn of the century in a coastal New England town, the story PetesDragon_Photo_03 (1) starts with orphaned Pete on the run along with his dragon pal Pete, who only he can see. They meet Nora, who has no family and feels instant kinship with Pete. When the townsfolk see the Pete seems to be able to do “magical” things (that are actually the work of Elliott), they try to exploit Pete’s talents for their own gain.

The DVD is packed with Bonus Features including:

“Brazzle Dazzle Effects”- includes a new look at Disney’s pioneering work in the magical mix of live-action and animation
Deleted storyboard sequence with a rare demo dialogue track
The first demo recording of the original song “Boo Bop BopBop Bop” with early concept sketches of Pete singing to Elliott
Original demo recordings of two other songs from the film plus one that was deleted from the film when the character was deleted
Promotional record of 4 pop versions of the songs

This is a clip of the scene where Pete shares apples with Elliott:

Collectors of Disney movies and fans of combination live-action/animation will want to add this DVD to their collection. If your kids love musicals, pick up Pete’s Dragon: High Flying Edition for them to watch this weekend!