Product Description

From Land of the Lost producers, Sid & Marty Krofft, comes a family comedy filled with mirth, magic and music. After a bad day at school, Jimmy runs to the shore to play his flute, but he can’t believe his eyes when his ordinary flute comes to life! When a magical talking boat appears, he boards the ship only to discover that it has been sent by an evil witch named Witchiepoo to keep him prisoner and take his flute. It’s up to the fantastic dragon H.R. Pufnstuf and his comical companions, Cling and Clang, to come to the rescue in an adventure beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13670 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 2009-05-19
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great to see this movie in widescreen!
I will start by saying I grew up on H.R. Pufnstuf. And I saw this movie in a theatre when I was eight years old. So it's a big blast from the past for me.

The film is great. Not anything Oscar-worthy, but it's highly entertaining from start to finish. The music is really good, in a groovalicious sort of '60s way. Not generic, either. I still hum these melodies and sing the lyrics nearly 40 years after its release! The solid music score and songs are topped off by the outstanding "Different" sung by Mama Cass. What a great number! This is her one and only feature film as an actress, and at least she makes a memorable impression. She's genuinely funny as the gossipy, over-the-top, jealous Witch Hazel. And her scenes with Billie Hayes (Witchipoo) are the best in the movie. Then there's Jack Wild, who manages to be "sincere" in this crazy world of oversized puppets, painted flat sets, and piano-wire special effects.

As for the DVD---it's a very strong release. Picture quality is highly respectable for the most part, even if it's not a fully remastered print. The colors are vibrant and true, and the picture is clear even with some (expected) film grain throughout. And the 2.0 mono mix is strong. The music and dialogue sound rich and clear. The best part is that this DVD has been mastered in anamorphic widescreen (aka "enhanced for 16x9 TVs). I have not seen this movie in widescreen since I was eight. And it really feels like a movie now, rather than an expanded episode of the TV show.

Minor quibbles: There are times throughout the film where it goes out of sync. Only for certain shots or scenes, most notably during the big "Living Island" production number toward the very beginning. In that case, it's pretty distracting, but in other cases, it's only slightly questionable. I'm surprised this happens, since most of the film is in sync. I'm not sure why it loses sync only at random moments. I realize they used ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) for the costumed actors whose voices were replaced with dubbing, but I'm speaking about Jimmy, Witchipoo, etc. It's very strange. Fortunately, except for the one big production number, whenever it happens, it's not too terrible.

Other than that, it's a little surprising to see all the seams in the costumes, the wires used for flying shots, and the uneven lines and seams in all the makeup. Things I never noticed before. But because it's blown up on a big screen on DVD now, they are suddenly noticeable.

Bottom line: I recommend this movie and this DVD for anyone who has seen it before, and anyone who has ever loved Pufnstuf or the Krofft Saturday morning TV shows. You're in for a real treat!

Extras: There are some forced trailers at the beginning, including the hilarious new trailer for the film version of "Land of the Lost" starring Will Farrell. And there is also a vintage trailer for "Pufnstuf" the movie. That's it. But having the movie in widescreen after all these years is reason enough to shell out the (very reasonable) expense!

Pufnstuf Is Stuffed With Fun
The movie that was inspired by the Sid and Marty Krofft television series is now released on DVD. Jack Wild stars as Jimmy, a downtrodden British boy who is kicked out of band practice and rushes off. Along the way he notices the transformation of his real regular flute, to the talking flute with a diamond skin condition named Freddie. After shortly( and I mean shortly) becoming good friends, Jimmy and Freddie Flute board a talking ship that takes them for an eventful ride. Billie Hayes plays Witchiepoo, a lackluster but enthusiastic witch who yearns to capture Freddie and become witch of the year at the next convention of witches. But in order to become witch of the year officially, she needs to impress the Boss Witch who is played by the ever delightful Martha Raye. But the forces of good and happiness, led by the golden dragon known as H.R Pufnstuf, want to make sure that Jimmy and Freddie stay safe. But Witchiepoo just can't keep her mouth shut, and brags to her so called friend Witch Hazel, played by the late and extremely great Mama Cass Elliot, that Freddie Flute is within her grasp. This leads to Boss Witch bringing the witches convention to Living Island(the place where Pufnstuf and his courageous crew reside). Will Jimmy, Freddie, and Pufnstuf overcome Witchiepoo and drive the witches off? Buy this DVD and find out for yourself.

A great family movie.

The DVD is heavily cropped
Near the start of the film, when Jimmy is walking the white picket fence, the top and bottom of the lamppost are missing. They were always there before. When he runs through the gate at school, the roof of the building is cut off as is much of the foreground. It's this way throughout the entire film. There should be a warning on this that it has been modified to remove much of the original image. It's really a shame to dishonor such a terrific movie this way.