Whenever we go to my parents’ house, my kids ask to watch Pete’s Dragon. This last weekend was Easter weekend and we went to my parents’ house once again. After having fun at parks, a brunch at church, and some shopping, my kids were ready for some down time. They requested Pete’s Dragon, one of the lesser known movies from Disney.
The Story: Pete’s Dragon starts off with orphan Pete wandering around talking to his dragon, Elliot. He is escaping from the Gogan family, who has enslaved him. They are grimy, dirty hillbillies.
Elliot has helped Pete escape the Gogans and is there to protect him. He wanders into a village named Passamaquoddy. Elliot, who can turn invisible whenever he wants, destroys fences, gets the mayor thoroughly soaked with his own drink, attaches a school teacher’s slip on a nail, and more mayhem. Since the townspeople cannot see Eliot, Pete is blamed for all the destruction.
In Passamaquoddy, there is a lighthouse. It’s owners, Nora (Helen Reddy) and Lampy (Mickey Rooney) take Pete in. Even after they’ve known Pete for a while, they doubt Elliot’s existence, and assume he’s part of Pete’s imagination.
The Gogans eventually catch up with Pete and try to get him back with the aid of a scheming medicine man (Jim Dale) and his assistant (Red Buttons).
At the end of the movie, Nora’s fiance, who has been missing for years, is brought back safely to Passamaquoddy thanks to Elliot guiding him home. Paul joins Nora, Lampy, and Pete to make a family. Elliot moves on to help other children who need help.
Other Neat Info: If you know anything about Helen Reddy, then you can guess that she not only graces the movie by acting, but with her beautiful singing voice. Her rendition of “Candle on the Water” was Emmy nominated. The lyrics are catchy. My kids sing their favorite songs occasionally. The animation isn’t up to today’s standards, but are excellent considering that this movie came out in 1977.
Thoughts: As a mother with tweens and little children, I appreciate the clean language and the modest attire. Far too often, movies have girls with sleeveless shirts, belly buttons showing, and shorts/skirts that are too revealing. At the same time, boys’ pants are too tight, they use body humor and/or bad language frequent too many movies. You won’t have to worry about any of those issues in this very clean movie.
Pete’s Dragon also inspires imagination. How many boys are protected by a dragon after all?
