Pete's Dragon (1977)

An orphan boy and his magical dragon come to town with his abusive adoptive parents in pursuit.

Director:

Don Chaffey

Writers:

Malcolm Marmorstein (screenplay), Seton I. Miller (story),

Stars:

Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helen Reddy	...	Nora
Jim Dale	...	Dr. Terminus
Mickey Rooney	...	Lampie
Red Buttons	...	Hoagy
Shelley Winters	...	Lena Gogan
Sean Marshall	...	Pete
Jane Kean	...	Miss Taylor
Jim Backus	...	The Mayor
Charles Tyner	...	Merle
Gary Morgan	...	Grover
Jeff Conaway	...	Willie
Cal Bartlett	...	Paul
Charlie Callas	...	Elliott (voice)
Walter Barnes	...	Captain
Al Checco	...	Fisherman #1

Storyline

In New England in the early 20th century, Pete is a nine-year-old orphan escaping from his brutal adoptive parents, the Gogans, with his only friend, a cartoon dragon named Elliott. Pete and Elliott successfully escape to Passamaquoddy, Maine, and live with Nora, a lighthouse keeper, and her father, Lampie. Elliott is sought for medicinal purposes by the corrupt Doctor Terminus.

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Plot Keywords:

dragon | orphan | lighthouse | lighthouse keeper | maine | 

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Taglines:

His name is Elliott. He's 20 feet high, 40 feet long. He can become invisible at the drop of a hat, or spew red hot flames. In fact, there's only one way to bring this awesome beast under control... rub his tummy.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pete y Elliot el Dragon

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the original design concepts for Elliott depict him having six legs and not walking upright.

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Goofs

During the song 'Every Little Piece': Doc sings 'Crowns!', then Hoagy sings 'Sous!' The subtitles say Hoagy's line as 'shoes'. This is obviously incorrect, they are singing about money and the sou is an old French coin or a small amount of money.

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Quotes

Pete: I can't sell you Elliot. I don't own him.
Hoagy: Well what did you do, rent him?
Dr. Terminus: Well who owns him?
Pete: No one, I guess. He just sort of goes to those who need him.
Dr. Terminus: *I* need him! Look deliver Elliot to me and the fiver is yours plus a special growth formula that's guaranteed to bring on puberty about a year early... and that's better than a dragon, eh?

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Candle on the Water"
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
Sung by Helen Reddy

User Reviews

One of the best underrated live-action Disney films

"Pete's Dragon" is an enchanting Disney tale that combines live-action and animation. The dragon is the only animated character, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a perfect combination of live-action and animation. This is definitely one of the best live-action movies produced by Disney. One of my favorites. It's cute and charming.

It looks dated, but that's not a major flaw. Actually, that's part of its charm (which is timeless). There are plenty of beautiful vistas: a lighthouse, mountains, green places, the endless sea and more. Passamaquoddy is a strange name, but the village is nice.

The dragon Elliott is cute and lovable. He almost resembles Puff the Magic Dragon and has a funny way to communicate. His sounds are awesome. Elliott is a good and innocent dragon, but big and clumsy. Pete is a cute and lovable kid. I enjoy his friendship with the animated dragon.

There is a nice cast in the film. Sean Marshall is excellent as Pete - he is a very underrated former child actor. Helen Reddy is great as Nora. Mickey Rooney is funny as the silly but comical Lampie. Jim Dale is priceless as Doc Terminus. Red Buttons is very convincing as Doc Terminus's sidekick Hoagy. Shelley Winters plays well her role (the wicked Lena Gogan, the leader of the Gogans).

This is an underrated film. Yet, it's a nice old-fashioned one. And nostalgic too because it's a reminder of other times and also of my own childhood.

There are some cheesy moments, but nothing too serious or enough to ruin the movie. One of the few things I don't like about this movie is Pete's teacher. She is so mean, even more when she does that corporal punishment thing to Pete.

Hoagy is one of my favorite characters. I don't consider him a villain. He's not a bad guy, he's just a poor devil who chose the wrong friend. He is hilarious even in his name. I don't know why, but 'Hoagy' sounds funny to my ears. Classic humor is another solid point of this movie. Many of Doc Terminus's lines are funny, as well as the fact that he never says "Passamaquoddy" correctly.

About the songs, I like most of them very much. My personal favorites are "Brazzle Dazzle Day", "It's not easy", "Candle on the Water", "Boo Bop Bopbop Bop (I love you, too)", "There's Room for Everyone" and "Bill of Sale". These songs are great. Timeless classics.

This motion picture is one among many examples of great underrated films. Many times I get more surprised with a less popular and less appreciated film than with one of those films that most everybody loves. It doesn't always happen, but most of the universally loved films end up being overrated and turn out to be disappointing because we create too much expectations on them, while a not so known and valued movie I may not expect that much from it but turns out to be a pleasant surprise. That only makes me respect and admire these less valued movies even more.

This should definitely be on Top 250.