Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Movie Review

2016's biggest surprise and, maybe, its best movie.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 28, 2016

Disney continues to revisit its older films in the live-action realm with much success. Pete's Dragon follows up on Cinderella and The Jungle Book (and precedes Beauty and the Beast) and it's the best of them so far. While not exactly the same as the others -- the original Pete's Dragon was a blend of live action and animation rather than straight animation -- the formula holds tightly enough to lump it in the same category. It's a beautifully simple film, polished but allowing the wonder and raw emotion rather than spectacle and special effects to dictate the movie's cadence. It's subdued and sublime and portends great things for its Writer/Director, David Lowery, who is currently attached to a future live-action re-imagining of Peter Pan.

A dragon and its boy.

A young, five-year-old Pete (Levi Alexander) is tragically separated form his parents and left alone in the woods. Unable to fend for or protect himself from the dangers around him, he's rescued, reassured, and raised by a large, hairy, green dragon he comes to call "Elliot." Several years pass. Pete (Oakes Fegley) and Elliot live a quiet, serene life together, but things change when Elliot wanders a little further from home and comes across a logging camp. He's spotted by a young girl named Natalie (Oona Laurence) who chases and quickly befriends him. But before Pete can reveal the truths about his life, he's swept away into the care of her father Jack (Wes Bentley) and his girlfriend Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard). Pete's stories of a tender and caring caretaker dragon largely fall on deaf ears, save for those attached to Grace's kindly father (Robert Redford). As the families sort out Pete and his claims, Natalie's uncle Gavin (Karl Urban) sets out to capture the dragon and make a pretty penny on introducing it to the world.

Wow. Pete's Dragon begins with a sudden, emotionally charged, and dramatically effective opening scene. It's simple and honest, raw but thematically refined, and captured and presented with a grace that balances difficulty and beauty extraordinarily well. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie, a tone the viewer can only hope it can maintain, and it does. The film thrives on simplicity and an organic feel and flow. Every shot is gracefully composed. No moment is wasted. Every shot means something, every scene a story, every sequence a well-versed and complete piece of the larger whole. Music is key to the movie. As with its visual construction, there's a simple elegance to it and a purpose to every lyric and note. Whether contrasting a sense of adventure with a lurking anxiousness or playfulness with a feel of peril, there's always a balance in play and, perhaps more than any other single element, shapes the film by enhancing the sense of wonder, character details, and that adventurous spirit within, which the movie reveals as its driving thematic force in the wonderfully composed opening moments. This is cinema at its most contemporarily genuine, approachable, agreeable, honest, and lovable.

For as well made as it may be, none of it would matter without an entertaining story to tell. As with everything else, the film thrives on its narrative simplicity, eager only to move the story forward and without the sort of flash and filler that contaminate other modern movies. It's soulful and pure, an exercise in how massaging and enhancing the core, as well as crafting the movie with an obvious passion, clear voice, and purpose, are the most important pieces to almost any successful cinematic venture. Acting is terrific, again more natural and relatable than overblown or unrealistic. Characters are believable human beings who respond, react, and evolve with a pure, relatable cadence. Special effects are excellent, never the focus but seamless in presentation. The movie builds from its heart and soul outwards, with everything firmly attached at the middle and lovingly enveloping the whole. Modern movies, sadly, usually don't get as honest, sweet, sincere, lovingly composed, and expertly executed as this.

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pete's Dragon arrives on Blu-ray with a nicely balanced, not too flashy, tried-and-true 1080p transfer. Much like the movie, really. It can be fairly dark under some of the thicker woodland canopy, where color vibrancy gives way to a bit of darkness. Nevertheless, core greens -- leafy greens and Elliot's green fur -- and smaller accents hold up nicely under the conditions. Brighter, more directly lit scenes thrive, revealing more brilliant greens but also a healthy variety of shades around town and on clothing and vehicles. Details are true and effortlessly complex. The digital source material pushes the movie ever so slightly flat, but never at the expense of clarity and finer point definition on clothes, skin, woodland elements, or other natural and manmade environments. Black levels are deep and honest. Flesh tones appear accurate. A hint of aliasing is evident in a spot or two, ditto banding and source noise, though none of them ever last long enough to raise alarms, let alone an eyebrow. Overall, this is a high quality release from Disney.

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pete's Dragon soars onto Blu-ray with a high end DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The only real drawback is a mild timidity at reference levels; there's a slight hushed feel to some dialogue and music, but clarity is certainly never lacking. Music is well spaced across the front, enjoying natural envelopment and just the right amount of low end depth. The movie is punctuated by several heavy action-style moments or support pieces. Crashing trees, Elliot's rumbly footfalls, and a couple of vehicle crashes and perilous moments are all supported by a deep and well defined bass pronouncement. Environmental ambience of the lighter variety, largely woodland specific details but also a few other scattered bits around town or the logging camp, are nicely integrated as naturally occurring and expertly positioned atmospherics. Dialogue, even as it's occasionally a touch too quiet, enjoys effortless clarity and prioritization from the front-center channel.

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Pete's Dragon contains a commentary track, a few featurettes, deleted scenes, and two music videos. A DVD copy of the film and a Disney digital copy voucher are included with purchase.

• Notes to Self: A Director's Diary (1080p, 7:31): Writer/Director David Lowery's thoughts from script creation to filming are layered atop clips from the film and behind-the-scenes images.
• Making Magic (1080p, 2:12): A brief look into creating a digital dragon, both as a character and as a digital creation.
• "Disappearing" Moments (1080p, 9:12): David Lowery hosts a collection of deleted, alternate, and extended scenes.
• Bloopers (1080p, 1:28): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Audio Commentary: Director & Co-Writer David Lowery, Co-Writer Toby Halbrooks, and Actors Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence deliver a playful, family-friendly track that's as funny as it is informative. From more intimate and smaller details to broader scope elements, from cast and performances to special effects, the track covers a good bit of ground that will entertain younger listeners while educating adults.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:12): "Nobody Knows" by The Lumineers.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:45): "Something Wild" by Lindsey Stirling Featuring Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.
• Welcome to New Zealand (1080p, 1:56): Cast and crew talk up filming in New Zealand.

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pete's Dragon may not wind up nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or any of the other major categories, but it's every bit as deserving as anything else to come out this year. It's a wonderful movie, composed and executed in a way that emphasizes its heart and soul rather than its cruder mechanics. It's uniquely simple, beautifully scored and supported by popular music. Touching, tender, graceful, and a joy to watch and feel, this is moviemaking as it should be, and usually isn't. Disney's Blu-ray release of Pete's Dragon features high quality video and audio. A nice little allotment of extra content is included. Pete's Dragon earns my highest recommendation.