Because Disney had already booked the film’s premiere, Bluth and his team had to finish their job within an “impossible deadline”; animators were forced to work overtime, but no one got any additional pay, or even a thank you from the studio for the extra effort. Bluth was even “reprimanded” for going slightly over budget (while Disney executives “split $3 billion in bonuses”).
When Bluth left in ‘79, he claimed that his experience on Pete’s Dragon was the “beginning of him starting to think that Disney was no longer committed to quality in animation.” So, really, if it wasn’t for Pete’s Dragon, zero ‘80s kids would have developed chronic bedwetting problems after the trauma of seeing All Dogs Go To Heaven.
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Top Image: Disney