Pete's Dragon

1977 would see yet another hybrid put out by the Disney Corporation. Pete’s Dragon was an entirely live action musical, save for the animated dragon, Elliot, who would often disappear. The first Disney film to be recorded with Dolby Stereo, it was directed by Don Chaffey and Don Bluth and starred Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, and Mickey Rooney. “Candle on the Water” was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to “You Light Up My Life.”

In the early 20^th century, the orphan Pete (Sean Marshall) is on the run from the Gogans (Shelley Winters, Charles Tyner, Gary Morgan, and Jeff Conaway), a backwoods family that bought him as a slave. His only friend is Elliot, a friendly dragon that doesn’t speak, but can fly, breathe fire, and turn invisible. He’s always looking out for Pete and the two make their way to Passamaquoddy, Maine.

No one believes in dragons, usually because Elliot is invisible, which causes problems for Pete. Pete is taken in by Nora (Reddy), the daughter of lighthouse keeper, Lampie (Rooney). Elliot hides out in a nearby cave.

Pete tells Elliot about Nora’s fiancé who is lost at sea, hoping he can find him But Doctor Terminus (Dale) arrives and his lackey, Hoagy (Red Buttons), learns about Elliot. Terminus realizes the medicines that can be used by dragon compounds and seeks to capture him. Then the Gogans arrive in town and the two combine their forces. Everything comes together one stormy night and the townspeople learn that Elliot is real.

This movie is a complete mess.

Remember when I said in my review of Mary Poppins that the animated sequence was unnecessary? It’s even more so with this film. Constantly, you’re seeing the effects of what Elliot has done. Fence posts are destroyed, footprints in cement, two holes in the schoolhouse, and the townsfolk even drop a net over him at one point. The first shot you see in the film is Pete riding on an invisible Elliot in the woods. The only time Elliot should have shown up in the movie is during the action at the end, when everyone finally believes Pete.

The songs, while catchy, overstay their welcome to the point that the original focus of the songs are lost and people are singing just because this is a musical. The only exception is “Candle on the Water.” Also, most of the acting just isn’t very good. The only two characters who are acted well are Nora and Terminus, mostly because Reddy is able to pull off a strong willed woman quite well and Dale seems to realize how corny this movie is and just goes to town on going so over the top that the character seems like a realistic snake oil salesman.  I expected better from Mickey Rooney, but then look at what he was given.

Something also must be said about this film’s pacing, which is so slow that it’s just hard to get through. I feel like this film could have been about a half hour to 45 minutes shorter.

It was thanks to Pete’s Dragon (and Popeye’s failure three years later) that Disney didn’t put out another live action musical until Newsies in 1992 and was the main reason Don Bluth left the company. This film just isn’t that good and shows how out of touch the company was in the 70s, because what would you rather see? A musical about a boy and his semi-invisible animated dragon? Or Star Wars?

Final Call: Not completely terrible, but not at all good. It’s been a while since a film crossed the Edge of Dissatisfaction. #27.