Review of Pete's Dragon (1977) by Ryan C — 26 Oct 2011

As a Disney animation enthusiast, not having seen this live-action/animation mix until now was my biggest sin (this and actually having seen a few of their direct-to-video sequelized offenders). Elliot the dragon is quite an endearing creation, but when he's not on the screen (and that happens too often), the whole film falls flat with no "real" star big enough to carry the thing.

Coreographer Onna White tries to infuse some of the energy that made "Oliver!" so memorable, but the mundane songs she has to work with (the sole exception being the poignant "Candle on the water") make matters hard.

It is technically accomplished, but it is another reminder of the sad time when Disney stopped making films for families and started making films for children. At least it gave us one of the coolest floats at Disney's Electrical Parade as one of its sole legacies.