goolizap Pete's Dragon was my favorite Disney movie when I was growing up, but I hadn't watched it since I was little. Recently, I've revisited many films I loved as a child only to be disappointed by them. So naturally, I was afraid the same was going to happen to the one I loved the most.The film is about a boy, Pete, who has escaped with his dragon, Elliot, from his abusive foster family. The two of them come to the town of Passamaquoddy, where they meet a lighthouse owner, Nora (Helen Reddy) and her father, played by Mickey Rooney.As far as the music goes, the songs are some of Disney's best. It's hard to point out highlights, since all of them are so memorable. My favorite might be the film's first song, "The Happiest Home in These Hills," which is as memorable of an opening as could be. They say that in most films, the part you remember the least is the beginning. But in Pete's Dragon, it's one of the best scenes. The choreography and the creepiness of Pete's orphan family chasing him through the swampy forest is still ingrained in my head all these years later and sets the tone for the rest of the film.But the dark tone shifts a lot throughout and we end up getting more of a campy musical feel the rest of the way out. But at least that's what it wants to be.Elliot, the dragon, is as adorable as any Disney character. He brightens up the screen whenever he's on it. In fact, the biggest problem is probably the fact that he only gets 22 minutes of total screen time in a movie that's 134 minutes.It's still better than the original plan, which was to have him absent in the movie altogether. Instead, remaining in Pete's imagination only. What we get is better than nothing.Most films back then aren't without their issues, and neither is Pete's Dragon. It has its fair share of plot holes. It doesn't make much sense why Pete waits almost the entire movie to show Elliot to Nora. He has no reason to hide him from her. But if you throw in nostalgia, these things don't really matter as much.It's a fun movie. Kids will enjoy it, and it's completely tolerable for adults.Twizard Rating: 92

gavin6942 An orphan boy and his magical dragon come to town with his abusive adoptive parents in pursuit.Mickey Rooney never disappoints, but this film leaves something to be desired. The animation is cheesy, the story runs a bit too long, the romance with the lost sailor seems unnecessary. Most of the songs are pretty awful (though the ones sung by the snake oil salesman are alright).Maybe in the 1970s this was very entertaining, but today it was rather blah. Exactly why is unclear, as many other 70s (or older) films have held up quite well. One key reason may be just that the boy playing Pete was not very likable.

mark.waltz This takes you back to the era of invisible friends, kids who talked to Martians through their lunch boxes, and pure imagination where we had to create our own games rather than turn on a switch or pick up a remote control. Yes, this is typical Disney silliness, but there's a lot to enjoy in it in spite of all that goody-goody happiness.Sean Marshall is Pete, the troublesome adolescent who is truly lonely and finds a friend in an animated dragon who sings, although not very well. He's run away from his foster family (Ma Shelley Winters has the bill of sale to prove it), and ends up living with the eccentric Mickey Rooney and his sweet daughter (Helen Reddy). One of the top singers of the 1970's, Reddy was a very charming actress, and her solo, "Candle on the Water", is one of the sweetest movie songs ever written. When Marshall, Rooney and Reddy break down and declare, "It's a Brazzle, Dazzle Day!", you're back in movie musical heaven, reminding you that Rooney was once the Sean Marshall of his era, singing and dancing with Judy Garland and conducting an orchestra where the members and their instruments were pieces of fruit or a huge slice of cake.Jim Dale takes over the villainy here as the carny man who wants to get his hands on Pete, and when he joins up with the over-the-top Winters and her brood, it's a mud-flying moment of fun with Elliott the Dragon being just as mischievous as Pete when confronting his new best friend's foes. Other professionals like Red Buttons and Jim Backus add to the fun here, with a musical score that threatens to top both "Mary Poppins" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" in originality and some spot on choreography that may have you applauding.This was Disney's last live action/partially animated musical, a bit past their golden era, but showing that they were concerned about the state of film as America transfered from one turbulent era into another. Some critics might call it dated, and it even may be slightly similar in theme to "Finian's Rainbow" (a dragon instead of a leprechaun), but it's still a ton of fun and filled with magical entertainment that pretty much everybody can enjoy.

mike48128 What a surprise! Much better than I remembered it. Great songs and cast with great performances by Red Buttons and Mickey Rooney. Shelly Winters plays a wonderfully-horrible villain with "blackout" teeth. A simple story about a magical dragon that only Pete can see (at first) and clever dragon mechanical effects: Pete riding Elliott, toasting apples, dragon footprints, his "outline" on the schoolhouse wall, thrashing around inside a whale-sized net. The dragon animation by Don Bluth is fanciful, which is good because this is a children's' movie. Some technical glitches, as the "yellowscreen" (sodium vapor) process renders Elliott the Dragon somewhat prone to minor color-"timing" shifts. But this is not something that kids care about anyway. Some of the songs are way too long or are there just too many songs? When shown on "broadcast" TV it was often abridged. Like "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" it attempted to become the next "Mary Poppins" and we will have to see how that works out when its upcoming sequel appears. My two favorite segments are Helen Reddy rolling around on exploding beer barrels (ridiculously fun!) in the town pub, and the "Professor's 3-part musical "rant" "using every little piece" of Elliott the Dragon in potions and powders Although "Candle on the Water" is the Oscar-nominated song, Red Buttons and Mickey Rooney round out a great cast I bet your kids start humming "Brazzle-Dazzle Day" as the movie ends! Remade in 2016 with a friendly, furry, green (CGI) dragon.