When most people think of Walt Disney Studios, they think of a large and viable company which has been around seemingly forever. They started making movies back in the 1930s and new Disney movies are still big events today. However, things weren't always great for Disney. The 1970s represented a strange transitional period for the company. Animated theatrical releases like Robin Hood and The Rescuers were successful, but they weren't the ground-breaking classics on which the company had built itself. Indeed, Disney had been putting out far more odd live-action movies such as Gus, Escape to Witch Mountain, Freaky Friday, and Candleshoe. 1977's Pete's Dragon represents a combination/clash of these two philosophies, delivering a movie which dwells in two worlds and doesn't really satisfy either.

Pete's Dragon opens with a young boy named Pete (Sean Marshall) hiding in the forest, as he's being pursued by the evil Gogan family, which is lead by Lena (Shelley Winters). Pete is able to evade capture, all the while whispering to an invisible presence. Once out of the woods, that presence is revealed to be a green and purple dragon named Elliot (voiced by Charlie Callas), who has the ability to become invisible. (He can also breathe fire and fly.) Pete and Elliot make their way to the quaint village of Passamaquoddy. However, once there, Elliot wreaks havoc and the townspeople turn on Pete. Nora (Helen Reddy) who lives in the nearby lighthouse with her father, Lampie (Mickey Rooney), rescues Pete and invites the boy to live with her. Of course, she doesn't believe his stories about the dragon. But, traveling salesman Doc Terminus (Jim Dale) and his sidekick, Hoagy (Red Buttons), do and they become determined to catch Elliot. Pete tries his best to fit in in town, but keeping Elliot out of trouble while avoiding the Gogan's and Doc Terminus proves to be very challenging.

Pete's Dragon is a period piece which looks like a period piece. The story takes place in the early 1900s -- definitely a tranquil, pastoral time. The film was shot in the late 1970s. However, it looks and feels like something from the 1960s. It's difficult to put one's finger on, but there's something about the innocent quality of the movie, combined with the musical numbers which simple makes it feel like a project from the 60s. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it creates a feeling that something is off in the film. Pete's Dragon also suffers from the fact that some of it has not aged very well. Some of the rear projection effects, such as when Doc Terminus is seen driving his vehicle look archaic, and I don't know if anyone under the age of thirty has any idea who Helen Reddy is. (And even in 1977, when she was still known as a musical star, her casting seemed quite odd.) The script by Malcolm Marmorstein, based on a story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field, is over-loaded, as one set of villains would have surely been enough given the fact that the entire town thinks that Pete is cursed.

Still, having said that, Pete's Dragon has an undeniable charm. Elliot's design, with his small head and big body, is unique and you can't help but love the big goof. The scenes between Pete and Elliot are undeniably stiff due to the animation process (which certainly shows its seams), but they are also fun, especially the first scene in which the pair share a snack. Much more impressive are the practical effects which show the presence of an invisible Elliot and the damage which he causes. (Whenever our cat gets under the covers and moves around, I'm reminded of the scene in which Elliot is covered by a net.) The song "'Boo Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You, Too)" may have an awful title, but it's certainly catchy. (Much more so than the Oscar-nominated "Candle on the Water".) The supporting cast is very good, most notably Mickey Rooney, who brings good-natured wit to his role and Jim Dale who makes Doc Terminus a villain, but one we don't fear.

Is Pete's Dragon a popular movie? I don't know, but Disney trots it out every few years for a re-release. I think that it's well-known among Generation Xers like myself who may have seen it in the theater, but I don't know if it's ever caught on with any other generation. Again, the movie's look and feel give it a sense of being from a different time. But, this could be part of the charm which draws a new audience to it. Whatever the case, if you haven't seen Pete's Dragon in a while, see it again, and remember when Disney really was trying to deliver wholesome entertainment. If you've never seen it, you're in for a movie which is all over the place, yet sweet and charming at the same time.

Pete's Dragon appears with a "pop!" on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. The image is surprisingly sharp and clear, showing on obvious grain and no notable defects from the source materials. Pete's Dragon is one of those movies which always looks soft and grainy, but they've done a great job with the clean-up here. Other than some shimmering at times, the image is very crisp. The colors look good and the daytime shots show a lot of depth. The image is nicely detailed and never overly dark or bright. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogues and sound effects. As one would hope, the songs sound very good here. But, keep in mind that this is a re-built stereo track, so we don't get an overabundance of effects here. There are some nice stereo effects in a few places and the crowd scenes offer some respectable surround sound effects. Not a dazzling track, but a solid one.

The Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Disc contains only three extras. "Brazzle Dazzle Effects: Behind Disney's Movie Magic" (25 minutes) is a featurette narrated by Pete himself, Sean Marshall. This piece explores the process of combining live action footage and animation. It goes back to the 1920s to see the roots of this process and moves forward through Three Caballeros and Song of the South. The piece looks at Mary Poppins, finally arriving at Pete's Dragon. The final 10 minutes of the piece focuses solely on Pete's Dragon, making this a sort of mini-making of, as it touches on the sets, the special effects, and the actors which Marshall sharing his memories. "Deleted Storyboard Sequence: Terminus & Hoagy Hunt Elliot" (2 minutes) offers the pencil-drawn storyboards to the scene accompanied by music and dialogue. "Original Song Concept: 'Boo Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You, Too)'" (3 minutes) shows storyboards while the audio is a demo version of the song sung by an adult. The extras are rounded out by a THEATRICAL TRAILER (which may be for a re-release, as it opens with "He's back") and a TRAILER which has the feel of an old home video trailer.