Pete's Dragon
PETE'S DRAGON (U)
D: Don Chaffey
Disney (Ron Miller & Jerome Courtland)
US 1977
127 mins
Fantasy/Animated
W: Malcolm Marmorstein, Seton I. Miller & S. S.
Field
DP: Frank Phillips
Ed: Gordon Brenner
Mus: Irwin Kostal; Al Kasha & Joel
Hirschhorn
Sean Marshall (Pete), Helen Reddy (Nora), Mickey Rooney
(Lampie), Jim Dale (Dr. Terminus), Red Buttons (Hoagy), Shelley Winters (Lena Gogan)
Disney studios spent the majority of the 1970's shying
away from their usual output of animated features to favour live action film, some of which blended both with varied success. 1971's Bedknobs & Broomsticks was quite well received, but
Pete's Dragon less so.
Taking the bare bones of the plot from 1950's Harvey, the
studio put a children's spin on the fantasy by having an imaginary dragon friend for the story's hero, rather than a rabbit.
Whilst the story is perfectly adequate for young children,
it's far less engaging for adults. The animation and special effects are well below the expected standard for a Disney production and the songs aren't particularly memorable. A rather average
piece of work.
5/10
