Review of Pete's Dragon (1977) by David C — 01 Jan 2014

A throwaway Disney film, "Pete's Dragon" is distinguished only by strong performances from its adult cast. Helen Reddy brings a sly intensity to her performance, elevating it above what is actually written.

Shelley Winters and Jim Dale are entertaining in way over-the-top roles, and Mickey Rooney gives an enjoyable performance as a Disnified alcoholic. Unfortunately, not much good can be said for any other element of the movie.

The songs are not only boring, but go on twice as long as they should, since almost all of them have interludes. Surprisingly few of them have anything to do with the matters at hand, and could easily have been rejects from other musicals.

For example, the love song Pete sings to his dragon at the beginning manages to be both generic and awkward, sounding exactly like something that would appear in the middle of a musical romance. The animation was probably nothing to write home about even in 1977, and its integration into the live action is far less seamless than what had come before in "Mary Poppins" (1964, mind you!) and what would come again in the future.