Pete's Dragon (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
by Don Chaffey
from Walt Disney Video
Disney loved to mix live action with animation (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), but this 1977 effort falls on its face. The turn-of-the-century story concerns an orphaned boy whose only friend is a cartoon monster. While the latter is entertainingly rendered, the rest of the film strains to be enchanting and the cast overreaches in a big way. Not for anybody over the age of ten. --Tom Keogh
Pete, a young orphan, runs away to a Maine fishing town with his best friend--a lovable, sometimes invisible dragon named Elliott! When they are taken in by a kind lighthouse keeper, Nora (Helen Reddy), and her father (Mickey Rooney), Elliott's prank playing lands them in big trouble. Then, when crooked salesmen try to capture Elliott for their own gain, Pete must attempt a daring rescue.
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
by Robert Butler
from Walt Disney Video
There's magic in the memories as great Disney moments are captured right here for you and your family to enjoy. A two-gun terror and his terrified twin brother turn an old cowtown upside down. A blazing, rip-roaring, riotous saga of brotherly competition in a winner-take-all battle for an inheritance. Jim Dale (PETE'S DRAGON, UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL) stars in a triple-header of a role, pulling all the stops out as he plays three different people: Old Jasper Bloodshy and his two sons.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Unidentified Flying Oddball
by Russ Mayberry
from Walt Disney Video
Mark Twain's wit was oft demonstrated in his short stories and novels, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court certainly qualifies as one of his most popular. The tale's so well-liked that various renditions--including a musical comedy, an animated Bugs Bunny version, and two kid pics--have been turned into films and telefilms (many of which should be considered "inspired by" instead of straight translations). This Disney film takes the basics of Twain's charmer and turns it into the story of a scientist whose twin-looking humanoid will be the first to try out a faster-than-the-speed-of-light rocket ship. When the humanoid becomes afraid, the scientist climbs on board to comfort it and the ship accidentally rockets off--and into King Arthur's Camelot. Dennis Dugan, an underrated comic actor (best remembered as Richie Brockelman introduced on The Rockford Files), is the likable lead, as well as his robotic alter ego. Ron Moody is a wickedly creepy Merlin, Kenneth More is an elegant, if older, King Arthur, and English actress Sheila White (Oliver!) is a sweet Alisande. Despite its 1979 production date, the film has a surprisingly timeless look. Certainly, the low-budget technology can't compare to today's CGI miracles, but this film is more about ingenuity and resourcefulness, and it gets those messages across well. --N.F. Mendoza
There's magic in the memories as great Disney moments are captured right here for you and your family to enjoy! Space-age technology is pitted against medieval superstition and treachery in this wild and wacky comedy/fantasy. Astronaut Tom Trimble (Dennis Dugan) and his robot companion are unexpectedly hurled backward in time during a routine space flight ... and end up prisoners at the Court of King Arthur in sixth-century England! Adding to Tom's plight is his discovery of a sinister plot to overthrow the King, with the outcome resting on the flash-and-dazzle of the equipment at hand -- from the 20th century!
Unidentified Flying Oddball
by Russ Mayberry
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Mark Twain's wit was oft demonstrated in his short stories and novels, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court certainly qualifies as one of his most popular. The tale's so well-liked that various renditions--including a musical comedy, an animated Bugs Bunny version, and two kid pics--have been turned into films and telefilms (many of which should be considered "inspired by" instead of straight translations). This Disney film takes the basics of Twain's charmer and turns it into the story of a scientist whose twin-looking humanoid will be the first to try out a faster-than-the-speed-of-light rocket ship. When the humanoid becomes afraid, the scientist climbs on board to comfort it and the ship accidentally rockets off--and into King Arthur's Camelot. Dennis Dugan, an underrated comic actor (best remembered as Richie Brockelman introduced on The Rockford Files), is the likable lead, as well as his robotic alter ego. Ron Moody is a wickedly creepy Merlin, Kenneth More is an elegant, if older, King Arthur, and English actress Sheila White (Oliver!) is a sweet Alisande. Despite its 1979 production date, the film has a surprisingly timeless look. Certainly, the low-budget technology can't compare to today's CGI miracles, but this film is more about ingenuity and resourcefulness, and it gets those messages across well. --N.F. Mendoza
The Big Job
from Televista
Starring Sidney James, Sylvia Sims, Dick Emery, Joan Sims, Lance Percival, Jim Dale, Deryck Guyler, Edina Ronay, Reginald Beckwith, Michael Ward, Brian Rawlinson, David Horne, Frank Forsyth, Frank Thornton and Wanda Ventham. The stars of the ingenious CA
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