Pete's Dragon (1977)
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, and her father, 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.
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Such a frustrating disappointment
Best movie of this year hands down!
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
When it comes to being considered "agreeable" entertainment for children - 1977's "Pete's Dragon" made its first big mistake (and definitely not its last) by having an almost unendurable running time of 129 minutes.... Sheesh!Another real problem here was the animated (and clearly mentally-challenged) dragon named Elliot. I mean, he was such a babbling, incoherent, and clueless doofus that I found myself looking forward to the times when he wasn't on screen.Anyway - From an adult's perspective - "Pete's Dragon" had very little charm or appeal to it. This badly-staged Disney production had "Made-For-TV-Movie" written all over it.Yep. I should've known better than to have watched this silly nonsense.
Orphan boy Pete has only his giant cartoon dragon friend Elliott who can make himself invisible. He runs away from his foster hillbilly family Gogans who claims to own him. He arrives in the coastal town of Passamaquoddy, Maine. Elliott appears to drunken Lampie (Mickey Rooney). Nobody believes him including his daughter Nora who lives with him in the lighthouse. Nora takes in Pete while Elliott stays in the local caves. Dr. Terminus and his sidekick Hoagy (Red Buttons) come to town peddling their quark cures.There is a charm in 70's kiddie Disney which isn't really classic Disney. They often feel old fashion and childish. There may not be anything groundbreaking but it has an innocence about them like they're too naive to renew the genre. There are no great songs in this but it's nice music. I really love invisible Elliott wrecking havoc on the town. It's all very nice but strictly for a kiddie audience.
This film is one of the worst I have ever watched. It was made for child audiences, but some of the hints are ridiculously inappropriate for such ages and will have kids questioning. The songs are extremely irritating and long, occurring almost every few seconds. Overall extremely painful to watch, the only good parts are rare and with Elliot, but even then, it's not worth it.
Pete is a small boy running away from slavery with an abusive hillbilly family who have "bought" him. He falls in with an invisible dragon and a lighthouse keeper and his daughter, and assorted good and bad things happen.This Disney offering is one of the more forgotten live action movies despite the fact that it has quite a lot going for it. It is colourful, daft, has a good moral heart, some excellent villains, decent songs, and decent effects (both physical effects and traditional animation).The performances are all good, with Helen Reddy doing well in her only movie lead role, and young Sean Marshall's sincerity outweighing his winsome cuteness.This is still a good family film.