If you’re a child of the ’80s, you likely remember watching Pete’s Dragon a whole lot. It was a staple of “movies to watch on low-productivity days” at many schools.
Earlier this year, Walt Disney Studios reimagined the beloved live-action/animation mash-up in a live-action/CG that had a distinctly darker feel to it and a bit less whimsy and music, but was still fun and charming enough to scare up a “Certified Fresh” 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — over 30 points higher than the 50% rating of the original.
Videos by ComicBook.com
To celebrate the release of the new Pete’s Dragon on Blu-ray and DVD, Disney put together a handful of ’80s-era care packages, right down to a snazzy VHS clamshell to protect a digital release code for the film, and sent them out to websites, blogs, and news outlets who cover pop culture.
Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford), a woodcarver, delights local children with stories of a mysterious dragon that lives deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. His daughter Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) believes these are just tall tales, until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley), a 10-year-old orphan who says he lives in the woods with a giant, friendly dragon. With help from a young girl named Natalie (Oona Laurence), Grace sets out to investigate if this fantastic claim can be true.
You can check out an unboxing video, courtesy the Emerald City Video podcast, below.
…it seems like not too much of a stretch that they picked Pepsi because you don’t want the “New Coke” association to be made with your remake, no?
In any event, you can get the new Pete’s Dragon on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming. The 1977 original is available on home video as well, and is notably part of a Disney- and family-movie themed sale on Vudu this month.
