BVHE Press Release: Pete's Dragon: High Flying Edition

I agree with you. I didn't understand when they released a loaded LILO & STITCH some months ago only on DVD and I don't understand this release.

First of all: Thanks for calling the film superb. :) There seems to be a lot of negativity surrounding this film, but I've always loved it to death.

Extras-wise this new release looks pretty solid but I agree that it's a shame that Disney's BD releases seem to be limited to new titles and Platinum Editions as far as their animated (or in this case: partially animated) fare is concerned. See the already mentioned Lilo & Stitch, Mary Poppins, Oliver & Co. etc. etc.

No BD does seem like a missed opportunity here. I wonder if they even bothered to scan in HD.

I too love this film and hope it's done properly, especially since I don't own it on disc already. How was the restoration on the previous release?

I understand why they opted not to release it on BD as it probably wouldn't be a huge seller, but I still wish they would have. 

Count me in the "waiting for BD" camp. Same with Bedknobs & Broomsticks, which is coming in September. I imagine that since Mary Poppins got a DVD re-do with no BD, its follow-up films wouldn't get BDs either (nor the original Witch Mountain films or 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, the last of which is coming in December). I assumed Disney would revisit their live-action/animated hybrids after "Enchanted" came out. I suppose Disney is waiting for greater market penetration of the format (and a better economy) to support non-Platinum catalog titles like this and other 20th century catalog titles.

Still, the old transfer was quite good for 2001. It was 16x9, and the 5.1 sound was good (this was the first Disney film in Dolby Stereo). The process shots have grain and loss of contrast, but such is to be expected from the generation loss. I expect it will be redone here. The extras look better, being more specific to the film. They even managed to track down Sean Marshall, who played Pete, to contribute.

And on another issue, the running time says 129 minutes, yet for years I have seen reviews of the original release stating it was 134 or 135 minutes. That there was a (slightly) longer version of this film has been rumored for years. Someone on ultimatedisney.com managed to get ahold of Dave Smith of the Disney archives. Smith said that the studio's continuity script from October 1977, a month before the premiere, listed it as 128 minutes and 42 seconds, just like the DVD and every American video since the early 1980s. Yet I have read the 135 running time in Box Office magazine twice, and Smith also stated that Variety and Hollywood Reporter's reviews of the film said 135 minutes. Leonard Maltin's Video Guide says it was 134 minutes, then cut to 121 minutes (which is what the film's copyright deposit file says), and then to 106 minutes for the 1984 reissue. And when I bought the old DVD, it came with a trade-in coupon for owners of previous videotape copies with proofs of purchase, it had a picture of the VHS art with a banner saying "Never-Before-Seen Uncut Version". I kept it for awhile but lost that.

There is a jarring edit 40 minutes into the film when Lampie says to Pete "good boy, good lad", and then the next angle seems to pick up in mid-sentence. The soundtrack album also has extra lyrics to "I Saw a Dragon" and "Passamashloddy", but it also has Helen Reddy singing portions of songs which were sung by other characters in the film.

The BoxOffice Magazine issues can be seen here (they're fuzzy, though):

http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111477/68?zoomed=true&zoomPercent=125&zoomX=1&zoomY=0.5&noteText=&noteX=&noteY=&viewMode=magazine

http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_121977/56?zoomed=true&zoomPercent=125&zoomX=1&zoomY=0.5&noteText=&noteX=&noteY=&viewMode=magazine