It’s hard to review Pete’s Dragon without conflating it with my youthful memories of being a Disney fan. I was 7 or 8 and remember wishing that I too had a dragon like Elliot. Somewhere along the way the film became closely tied to my feelings about Disney as an adult too. “Candle on the Water” has always been one of my favorite Disney songs. Plus, seeing the the Elliot float in Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade always elicits a feeling of joy, because it’s such an amazing float (makes me want to shout “Brazzle Dazzle!” right now), and sadness because seeing Elliot always the parade was nearly over.

It goes without saying that Pete’s Dragon is a family friendly film everyone can enjoy. I watched it with my son and found him humming along to the songs even though he’d never seen the move before. For a film made in 1976 the effects are remarkably advanced, you’ll want to check out the special feature narrated by Pete (Sean Marshall) as he explains the history of Disney’s technical film wizardly that allows animation and live action to mix. This goes all the way back to Walt Disney’s first “Alice” shorts featuring Virginia Davis, who just passed away.

The combination of animation and live-action bring the magical friendship between Pete, a young orphan, and his unusual best friend to life in Pete’s Dragon High Flying Edition, now out on DVD from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Adventure, comedy and soaring musical numbers will charmed children and adults alike. And there is nearly an hour of brand-new bonus features, including a look at Disney’s live action/animation legacy, alternate versions of some of the film’s most beloved songs and much more.

Pete’s Dragon was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Music, Original Song and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Score). The film boasts an extraordinary cast that includes Sean Marshall (“To Race the Wind”), Helen Reddy (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Mickey Rooney (Night at the Museum), Jeff Conaway (Grease), Shelley Winters (The Poseidon Adventure), Jim Dale (“Pushing Daisies”) and Red Buttons (“ER”), with Charlie Callas as the voice of Elliot the Dragon.

Also among the features is a classic Donald Duck short called “Lighthouse Keeping.” It features Donald, a crafty seagull, and a light house light that just won’t stay lit. I also really enjoyed the two excepts “Disney Family Album” and “The Plausible Impossible.” Always nice to see Walt Disney in his element entertaining the audience.

Follow below the jump for a complete list of features.

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EARTH, the beautiful and powerful documentary released by DisneyNature earlier this year, is coming to DVD and Blu-ray. Here at The Disney Blog we’ve been given two copies to give away. See below for details on how to enter the drawing.

On September 1, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases EARTH on Blu-ray and DVD! This trio of unforgettable stories is woven together by award-winning filmmakers Alistair Fothegrill (“The Blue Planet) and Mark Linfield (“Planet Earth”), and narrated by Academy Award-winner James Earl Jones. In Blu-ray, the film gives audiences an unmatched opportunity to view its dizzying aerial photography, epic backdrops and rare footage of land, sea and air in astonishing high definition. Bonus material includes a making-of featurette and more.

A large part of Walt Disney’s legacy is his love of the outdoors. You see it in the true life adventure series, the parks, and ultimately in his plans for EPCOT. My hope is that the new Disneynature label will return to this legacy in full. To win a copy of Earth (the DVD version) leave a comment on this post with your idea for what you’d like to see from the Disneynature label in the future. Specific answers with a focus on Walt’s legacy will get extra weight. Make sure to provide a valid email address! Delivery only to US addresses. A winner will be chosen September 4th at Noon eastern.

After the jump you can check out a preview of one of the DVD’s bonus features – Aerial Shots and get more DVD details:

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Based On Popular Demand: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Extends Worldwide Blu-ray Combo Pack Efforts through December 2010

Exceptional Value, Quality & Versatility Included In The Purchase of Any Disney-Branded Blu-ray Disc

BURBANK, Calif.— August 11, 2009 – In a time when price, quality and value are top of mind with consumers, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) today announces the extension of it’s Blu-ray Combo Pack initiatives worldwide, providing extended utility of DVD and exceptional quality of a Blu-ray Disc in a single value-pack. The Combo Packs will now be available across all Disney-branded Blu-ray titles releasing through December of 2010.

In a recent online survey* of US home entertainment consumers conducted by WDSHE and an independent market research company, Lieberman Research Worldwide showed that the value of the Combo Pack is undeniable for consumers. More than 77% consumers that intend to embrace Blu-ray technology in the near future agree that Combo Packs are a better value than purchasing a DVD or Blu-ray alone.

“Since introducing the industry’s first Blu-ray Combo Pack in Fall of 2008, we’ve seen tremendous consumer interest towards the purchase of product that come fully-loaded with extras that fit into their budgets, desires and lifestyles,” commented Bob Chapek, President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. “The Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack is the perfect marriage of value, quality and versatility all wrapped-up in a single package.”

Some of the upcoming Combo Pack titles families can look forward to include an exciting new slate of Disney-branded theatrical, Diamond and Video Premiere titles, such as Hannah The Montana The Movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, UP and Santa Buddies.

WDSHE first pioneered the Combo Pack – a Blu-ray Disc plus a standard definition DVD in a single package – with the Blu-ray release of Sleeping Beauty in October of 2008 to, at the time, allow consumers without Blu-ray players the opportunity to “future proof” their collections. Today, you can find two different models of the Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack on shelf: (1) A Blu-ray + DVD and/or (2) A Blu-ray + DVD + DisneyFile Digital Copy of the movie. Additional Blu-ray Combo Packs current available in the marketplace include Race To Witch Mountain, Bedtime Stories, Bolt, Pinocchio and High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

In addition to the exceptional picture, sound and hours of extra bonus features provided on all Disney Blu-ray Discs, consumers can also take advantage of watching their favorite films across multiple formats of choice. For example, The Blu-ray Disc can be used at home to maximize high definition home entertainment systems, the DVD in the car, and the Digital Copy on a PC or mobile device.

About Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, a recognized leader in the home entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista product which includes DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and electronic distribution. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is a division of The Walt Disney Studios.

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I reviewed Race To Witch Moutain Blu-Ray combo pack at Imaginerding. I love the idea behind the format and the ability to by the film in hi-def for the home theater and the kids can watch the DVD version in the car or in their rooms.

Makes everyone happy!

George Taylor can normally be found digesting Disneyana over at Imaginerding.com!

As I reported earlier on The Pixar Blog , Pixar’s Up (directed by Pete Docter) will be arriving on DVD and hi-def Blu-ray Disc (Region 1) on November 10. Both editions can now be pre-ordered online from a variety of retailers.

The film will come in both a 1-Disc DVD and a deluxe 4-Disc Blu-Ray/ DVD set. The latter will include the film in high definition on Blu-ray, in standard definition on DVD, and as a DisneyFile Digital Copy for your iPod or portable media player.

DisneyStore.com has a list of the bonus features that will found on the Blu-ray/DVD set in particular. You can find it by clicking “Extended Description” on the product page for the set at the Disney Store online.

Up will be the second major Blu-ray release this fall from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Walt Disney’s first feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs makes its debut in the format on October 6 as part of the new Diamond Collection of Disney titles on home video. The Snow White Diamond Edition DVD will hit stores several weeks later on November 24.

Disney Japan and Panasonic have recently agreed to a contract for Disney feature film releases to be put on micro SD cards. Panasonic-manufactured memory cards will be released alongside new DVD releases. Users will be able to incorporate the SD cards into cell phones, car navigation systems, video cameras, and flat screen TVs; of course, Panasonic has already installed card slots in their newest devices.

Expect to pay around $50 per title (or $11 more with purchase of the DVD) in order to enable playback through the micro SD card, which boasts quality comparable to those found on iTunes downloads and DVDs. Most of the titles will not be announced until we near the release date in November, but I’m betting Pirates of the Caribbean will have a good chance of landing on someone’s phone (photo), just in time for the holiday season.

Do you think this is a benefit worth paying more for?

The Secret Tour of Disneyland is a fan produced tour of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom that’s chock full of fun, facts, and trivia about the park. The DVD production and script approaches Travel Channel quality and the host Lauren Delmont could some day give Samantha Brown a run for her money. By far the best quality fan DVD I’ve seen so far.

I know that if ‘Secret Tour’ had been around when I was a kid, I would have worn a rut in it watching it over and over again. But this DVD couldn’t have been around when I was a kid, because it is a mostly up to date tour of the park (there are a few bits that have changed since it was released in 2008). The research on this DVD was obviously done with love and many many visits to the park.

The ‘Secret Tour’ is appropriate for all levels of Disneyland fandom. My 6-year old son enjoyed learning about the park and its history, while myself (someone who knows every on-stage nook and cranny and some backstage areas) even learned a thing or two. It’s also sprinkled with useful tips you can use on your next visit to Anaheim.

The only general complaint in my house was the length. But I really see that as a strength. The two and a half hour tour really allows them to cover a lot of territory. Since it’s a DVD, just hit pause if you need to take a break.

Finally, here’s the trailer they created for the DVD.

Buy it now on LaughingPlace.com’s store and save 15%.

I sat down to watch my DVR’d version of Disney Channel’s “Princess Protection Program” with my 6 year old son tonight with low expectations of it keeping our attention. But I need not have worried. PPP is a great movie in the classic Disney mold that we both enjoyed watching all the way through. In the 60s or 70s PPP would have been released to theaters, albeit with slightly better actors in the villain role, it is that good.

Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, the two actors who are asked to carry this film, have both been labeled as Disney’s hope for the future when Miley Cyrus finally moves on to her next thing. Gomez had the more meaty roll and really carried the film, a good sign for future work from her. Lovato definitely had the poise required to be a princess, but lacks the acting chops of Anne Hathaway in the Princess Diaries, but the fact that she compares at all says something.

Once you get past the films main conceit, the existence of, and need for, a Princess Protection Agency, the plot flows naturally from there. The adventure comedy is about two very different girls – a princess from a small kingdom and a small town girl who, when fate brings them together, must team up to help the would-be queen pass for a regular teen. Lots of great lessons are included in the film, but they mostly avoid hitting you over the head with them. Always a bonus.

As is Disney’s habit these days, they’ve already released a DVD with extra features you don’t get on The Disney Channel just 4 days after the movie’s cable debut.

The full press release is below the cut:

Update: I had the actors reversed as to which was the princess Rosie. That’s what I get for writing so late at night. It’s fixed now

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For many years Tinker Bell had a huge following among Disney fans, but almost no merchandise featured the pint sized fairy. Eventually someone at Disney marketing figured out they were missing out on a steady line of guests willing to shell out for their favorite pixie. Since that moment (about the late 90s) Tink has been just about everywhere.

The culmination of this trend is the series of direct to DVD movies that are under production. The first came out last year and was actually a small gem of a story. The second is scheduled for this fall and looks to repeat the magic. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com, but released October 27, 2009.

The full press release is below the cut:

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