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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
"I Swear I Saw a Dragon!" Pete (Sean Marshall) is a poor orphan. He's been adopted by the mean Gogan family run by the matriarch Lena (Shelley Winters). The Gogans make him work from morning til night and beat him for the slightest thing. So, naturally, he runs away. Only this time he has help in the form of Elliot. Elliot is a dragon. And while he doesn't always think about what he's doing, he means well. And he really wants to help Pete. Pete and Elliot happen to find the town of Passamaquoddy on the coast of Maine.... more info
Heartwarming musical adventure! Pete's Dragon, originally released in 1977 along with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers is the heartwarming story of a lonely orphan boy named Pete and his large, invisible friend Elliott the dragon. Pete is mistreated by his evil adopting family, Lena, Merle, Willie and Grover Gogan and in his misfortunes, Pete talks to his closest friend, a dragon named Elliott who helps him run away from the Gogans and into a new life in the town of Passamaquoddy. After a few days of causing... more info
Timeless Most Amazon reviews label this film as being for the under 10's only and I have to disagree. My 64 year old father regularly sites this as one of his favourite films and it was also amongst my Grandfathers' too as he adored Helen Reddy. It's completely feel-good and is a film with a great heart. Your teenage children may outwardly brand this corny but I guarantee that inside they are dancing and sneekily wiping away a tear with the rest of the family by the end.
disney would be ashamed. i've seen some poor "disney" films in my time, but "pete's dragon" remains one of the worst; the plot is rambling, special effects are terrible, the songs are rubbish and the acting leaves a lot to be desired.
the quality of the "disney" films had been taking a turn for the worst since the early 60s, and it shows in this case.
the only highlight for me, is jim dale as the crooked doctor. he at least gives the film a boost with a reasonable performance, plus his rendition of a particular song... more info
![Pete s Dragon [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SVMTXERRL._SL160_.jpg)
