Pete’s Dragon (1977)

It’s a brazzle dazzle day! True, it’s the end of this nice little stretch of movies people have actually heard of, but I’ve been looking forward to this one!

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No, that wasn’t sarcasm. My mom loves this movie. I know it’s corny, but it’s fun-corny, and there are few things that can’t be helped by making them a musical. Not quite none (see: Family Band), but songs are always a point in a movie’s favor. It helps that I liked Don Chaffey’s other directorial outings, Greyfriars Bobby and The Three Lives of Thomasina. Writer Malcom Marmorstein’s name is less familiar, as this is his first of two Disney movies, but he was best known for over 80 episodes of Dark Shadows, which I also watched frequently with my mom as a kid. Explains a lot, huh?

Once again, production on this movie started well before it hit screens. Waaaay back in the 50’s, Disney purchased the rights to an unpublished short story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field called Pete’s Dragon and the USA (Forever After). The plan was to adapt this into a two part serial for the Disneyland TV series starring Kevin Corcoran as the lead and oh my god can you even imagine? The climax where Elliot gets tied down would just be twenty minutes of THAT’S MY DRAGON THAT’S MY DRAGON!!! Noooo thank you. Fortunately for my eardrums and yours, the serial wasn’t quite working out so Walt shelved it. It briefly went back into production in 1968, but still wasn’t quite ready for the screen. Then, in 1975, producer Jerome Courtland of “singing the Old Yeller theme song” fame dusted it off because Walt’s trash bin is running out of crunched up scraps of discarded ideas and by god we have to put something out.

Reactions to this movie were and are decidedly mixed. The acting and singing were praised, and it didn’t escape peoples’ notice that there was more energy and just plain fun in Pete’s Dragon than there were in a lot of Disney’s output of this era. It even got nominated for two Academy Awards, one for musical scoring and one for Best Original Song for Candle on the Water. But big family musicals had long since fallen out of fashion by 1977, and people saw in this a transparent attempt to recapture the magic of Mary Poppins. An attempt that failed miserably, might I add. It was just too long, with too many songs that ground the already thin plot to a halt and a strong theme of alcoholism that was deemed inappropriate for children. In a box office landscape dominated by Star Wars, poor Pete’s Dragon didn’t have a chance. Even now, it only has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was still good enough to get a remake in 2016 which I haven’t seen. Yet. But even though film critic brain knows those reviews aren’t exactly wrong, nostalgia brain is stronger. Usually.

STORY

This movie has one of the most buck wild openings I have ever seen. We get a split second of our lead, Pete, floating over the ground on the back of his invisible dragon Elliott. Then a pack of extras from the set of The Hills Have Eyes (also released in 1977) jumpscare the audience, growling and leering as they search the dark, scary woods for Pete. These fine folk are the Gogans, Pete’s abusive foster family. The parents, Lena and Merle, sweetly make false promises to treat Pete better, while their sons Grover and Willie gleefully and graphically imagine all the awful ways they’re going to punish him for running away. So, we’re starting our film with a comedic number about horrific child abuse. And I don’t even think it doesn’t work. They get their comeuppance quickly when Elliott smacks them around into a mud puddle, the rare effective use of slapstick that softens the blow of… you know, opening your kids’ movie with horrific child abuse. Pete hunkers down in a tree hollow as the Gogans wander off, leaving him to sleep secure in the knowledge that Elliott is around to protect him.

Apparently that tree hollow is magic because overnight, it teleports Pete to a bright, cheerful apple orchard. It’s not even just a lighting change, either, the trees look completely different. Maybe it’s a Snow White situation, where fear makes the forest look scarier than they are. I don’t know. But they’re in an apple orchard now. We get our first real look at Elliott, now very visible and very animated. Pete settles in on his belly for a breakfast of apples and the special effects guys take some time to show off as Pete showers Elliott with praise. It’s very sweet and quickly establishes the relationship between these two characters in a very heartwarming way. Their frolicking brings Pete to a sign pointing them towards the nearby town of Passamaquoddy, which seems like as good a place as any to ditch the Gogans. The only problem is they’re probably not very dragon-friendly, so Elliott has to go invisible again. And he takes forever about it.

After spending so long on insisting Elliott stay out of sight, Pete sure does blow it immediately. Of course, most of this is scolding him for his clumsiness. Elliott knocks a fence down, spooks a horse, and walks straight through wet cement, leaving giant lizard footprints in one of the coolest effects in the movie. And every time, Pete insists he didn’t do it, it was his invisible dragon. Good luck with that one. Things quickly escalate when Pete bumps into Miss Taylor, the stern and austere schoolteacher. She turns her nose up at him when she realizes this dirty street kid isn’t one of her students, and Elliott decides to get a little revenge by hanging her petticoat on a nail. Pete tries to free it, but he’s too late- the petticoat tears free, clean off her body to everyone’s horror, and it sure doesn’t look like an invisible dragon did it.

Worst of all, the mayor marches out, played by Jim Backus, aka Mr. Magoo and Thurston Howell III from Gilligan’s Island. He tempts fate by happily telling two other old white guys that Passamaquoddy is the most delightfully boring town in existence… only to have the guy who’s been wandering around with a rickety tower of fresh eggs for like six minutes finally crash into him and dump eggs all over him. Egg Guy blames Pete for knocking him over, and the victims of the fence, concrete, and horse incidents chime in. Concrete Guy is especially weird because last I checked small children didn’t have giant three toed lizard feet. But logic doesn’t matter to an angry mob and Pete is forced to hide behind a pile of egg crates. Elliott turns visible again, laughing until Pete scolds him for ruining their goodwill with the town pretty much immediately.

You know what really gets the whole family hype? Sad alcoholics. So here comes one now. Lampie stumbles out of the local tavern and slurs a hello to the strange little boy and his weird-looking friend. His friend has clearly been drinking so much because he looks almost green. Not to mention his face is all messed up. He almost looks like a… dragon!!! Lampie freaks out and runs screaming back into the tavern, trying to warn everyone that he saw a dragon. Naturally, no one believes him. His daughter, Nora, bursts in to get her dad out of there, and the movie suddenly gets ten times better. Okay, first we have to get through a cringe moment where some of the random bar guys try to assault her but after that, the movie suddenly gets ten times better. Seriously, I love Nora. So much.

After a dance sequence that puts Portobello Road to shame and wastes a whole lot of beer, Nora gets her dad home to bed. She patiently listens as her dad rants about the dragon he saw and the boy he saw with it. She doesn’t believe a word of it but she doesn’t put down her father when he’s struggling. It’s very sweet. Nora’s the best. Once he’s settled in, she heads outside for a walk along the beach. She quickly realizes that part of Lampie’s story was true- there’s a boy running alone down the beach! A downtrodden Pete disappears into a seaside cave for shelter. Elliott does his best to cheer him up by playing a game of tic-tac-toe on his belly, but Pete’s having none of it. He’s too worried his only friend isn’t good for him. Awww. He quickly apologizes for his harsh words and Elliott brushes a tear from his eyes. The effect of the tear turning animated on his finger is actually really cool. Just then, Nora comes into the cave and warns Pete that this cave floods at high tide. When she hears he doesn’t have a home or a family to go back to, she invites him home for dinner.

Over a meal of chowder, Pete explains that he’s on the run from his abusers. Nora’s reaction when he nonchalantly tells her about his beatings is heartbreaking. She doesn’t say it (yet), but you can see her vow that this will never happen as long as she has something to say about it. But for now, she can do her part by giving Pete somewhere safe to spend the night. As he follows Nora up to the guest room, Pete repays her kindness by asking invasive questions. She’s a woman, so she must be a wife and mother, right? Ugh. Male writers sometimes. But Nora’s not a wife or a mother. Her fiance, Paul, disappeared at sea almost a year ago. All she has left is a large photo of him and his glorious 70s mustache. Pete cheerfully chirps that his dragon can bring him back, and that’s when Nora realizes he’s the kid who freaked her father out so badly.

But because Nora is awesome, she plays along and asks Pete all about his dragon. She thinks Elliott is a trauma response, an imaginary friend Pete thought up to help him through his rough times. And she’s not about to take that from this kid who’s been through so much. She’s a real one. Their connection grows right from the start, and even though the instant mother-son relationship makes the rest of the movie kind of predictable, I love it. Lampie loves it less. He wakes up the next morning, sees Pete, and starts screaming bloody murder about the dragon again. Nora calms him down, and Lampie decides he’ll go down to the tavern and show everyone the dragon, now that Pete’s here to prove he’s real. Well, the last thing Nora wants is for either of them to go anywhere near that tavern. A traumatized little boy having an imaginary friend is one thing, but her dad is fragile. Better to leave Elliott alone and ease Pete into his new life.

Pete’s troubles look like they’re over, but the town’s troubles have only just begun. A quack doctor named Doc Terminus and his assistant Hoagy careen into town on their awesome ship-wagon-thing. And guys did I say the movie got ten times better when Nora showed up? The movie gets twenty times better when Terminus and Hoagy show up. They feel like they’re from a completely different movie, but man, I want to watch that movie. They’re delightful. They left an impression on the townsfolk, too, though maybe not a good one. Terminus tries his best to smooth things over with his showman act, but they see right through it. Mostly because he can’t pronounce Passamaquoddy. But their tune changes and they all trust him when he miraculously cures a deaf old lady and a disabled old man… though no one notices that both of these people look remarkably like Hoagy. Weird.

Nora comes home from buying Pete a fancy new suit. He’s so excited he can’t wait to show Elliott, but Lampie won’t have the dragon anywhere near the lighthouse. So Pete decides to go down to Elliott’s cave, but before he goes he needs permission to bring Paul’s picture down so Elliott can go find him. Nora hesitates, but really, what harm can it do? He scampers off, and Nora thanks her father for humoring Pete’s fantasies about the dragon. Lampie swears it’s real, and Nora tries to ground him in reality. He shoots back that it’s not very realistic of her to keep believing that Paul will come back after a year missing. He doesn’t mean it, but it sting enough that Nora has to step outside. Gazing out from the lighthouse balcony, Nora promises the empty ocean that she’ll always be here waiting to guide Paul home like a candle on the water. Back in the cave, Elliott has a nice warm fire waiting for Pete’s return. He applauds Pete’s fancy new clothes, happy that his friend is happier than he’s ever been in his life. And because Pete is so happy, he wants to thank Nora by giving her the thing she wants most. Elliott commits Paul’s photo to memory and heads off to start the search.

Terminus sets up shop in the tavern. Business is booming with suckers lining up to buy his phony remedies, but the second the customers leave his true colors show. He’s sick and tired of these backwater idiots and he can’t wait to get out of here with their ill-gotten gains. As if proving how awful the people of Passamaquoddy are, Lampie drunkenly crashes into their table, slurring that he’s seen a dragon. Terminus humors him at first, and I swear I’m not misinterpreting the line about seeing them in the city in brightly colored clothes when I say he describes drag queens. This is the era of the glam rock movement where messing with gender became mainstream (ish) after all, and while I am 100% here for it, the joke went over my head the first time I watched this for this blog, let alone as a child. But when Lampie starts babbling about real dragons, Terminus brushes him off. Hoagy, however, is intrigued.

After a few drinks for luck… and then a few more… and a few more, Hoagy and Lampie stagger down the beach to the cave. The original cut of this scene was twenty minutes of the two comedians ad libbing and trying to one-up each other. Apparently it was very funny, but the directors decided this movie already had too much padding and got them to cut it down to two minutes. Thank you, Don Chaffey. When the two sloppy drunks finally make it to the cave mouth, Elliott overhears them babbling about the horrible monster that lives inside. He gets scared and follows close behind them with his hand on Hoagy’s shoulder like a Scooby Doo episode. Hoagy scream, and Elliott jumps a foot in the air suddenly terrified of his own shadow. It’s a cliché, having Elliott thinking he’s the scary monster, but it’s still pretty funny. Lampie and Hoagie try to make friends with Elliott, not realizing that’s way easier than they’re making it out to be. To try to soften him up, Hoagy offers the fire-breathing dragon a drink from his flask. This turns out to be a bad move. And when Hoagy races back to Terminus’s tent, Terminus still doesn’t believe him.

Pete tries his best to impress an unflappable Nora with his academic prowess. She’s not having it. No matter how smart he is, he has to go to school. Along the way, they run into Pete’s classmates. He doesn’t realize that they’re making fun of him when they ask him questions about Elliott, and he answers in complete earnest. Down at the docks, the local fishermen drag in a bunch of empty nets. Now, believing in dragons is just ridiculous, but believing that Pete, a small child, could scare all the fish away is completely logical so they start yelling for him to leave town. Nora intervenes, and shoehorns the kids into the worst song in the entire movie, chanting about how there’s room for everyone and dancing some incredibly uninspired choreography. The acceptance message is good, but it just doesn’t fit here. Not to mention this would be the fifth subplot which is just unreasonable.

All these kids are supposed to be in school, not forming human towers on random ship pieces scattered around town. Miss Taylor isn’t happy that they’re all late, and she’s even less happy to see the boy she still thinks tore off her petticoat. There’s some wonderful back and forth between her and Nora where Miss Taylor tries to stall by asking for Pete’s records and Nora coming up with wilder and wilder stories for why he doesn’t have them. Nora’s face in this scene is as priceless as her very period inappropriate blue eyeshadow. I love her. Eventually, Miss Taylor lets Pete into the classroom. But this quickly goes south for poor Pete when the bell randomly starts ringing. Pete rushes out to stop it, but for some reason Miss Taylor thinks he’s responsible even though he was in the classroom right in front of her when it started. Pete insists it’s his invisible dragon so Miss Taylor beats him with a ruler and sticks a dunce cap on his head, because it’s the 70s and corporal punishment is still a thing. Elliott doesn’t like that after all Pete’s been through and smashes through the schoolhouse wall Kool-Aid Man style to save him.

Terminus and Hoagy run out to investigate all the commotion. The dragon-shaped hole in the school finally convinces Terminus that Hoagy was telling the truth about the dragon they saw. They hurry back into the tent, and Terminus pulls out a dusty old tome that outlines the various uses for dragon parts. The villains start scheming to hack Elliott up and use every little piece to brew up real cures and make millions of dollars. And this part opens up massive plot holes. Terminus is an established shyster, so what’s this about real cures? Where did this book come from? Why does he have this book? Are dragons common knowledge in other places he’s swindled? Is this book actually fake? Why does he shush Hoagy and then, ten seconds later, run out onto the stage in front of his caravan screaming “MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!” at the top of his voice? But you know what? I don’t even care. I love a good villain song, and this is a very fun one even if it doesn’t make sense.

The bad guys run down to the lighthouse to try to convince Pete to sell Elliott for five dollars and a potion to bring on puberty two years early. Because that’s something anybody would want. Not. Pete declines because Elliott’s not a thing that can be bought. He’s a living creature. And that hits hard when you realize that Pete was bought by the Gogans for $50 plus legal fees, like he was nothing. Poor baby doesn’t want the same thing to happen to his friend. Nora, highly disturbed by this grown man feeding Pete’s delusion, chases Terminus off. When he dismisses her in her own home (rude), Pete takes matters into his own hands and sends them running down the beach to see a dragon that’s not there. They finish the job together with a blast from the foghorn.

This has the side effect of bringing Lampie running out thinking there’s fog, but there’s not. Well, while he’s here, he might as well help his daughter and their ward paint the lighthouse. He shows Pete how to paint, which involves moving the brush up and down even though the boards of the lighthouse are horizontal. Also, Pete isn’t touching the wall with his brush (which is dry), he’s just flinging his arm around. Good job, directors. But at least he’s happy. In fact, he grins that this the happiest he’s ever been in his whole life. And if this makes him happy, have Nora and Lampie got news for him. They’re officially adopting him! He has a real family! Pete gives his new mom a big hug, and she declares that this day is such a good one it can only be called a Brazzle Dazzle Day. They all clean the lighthouse together and Pete discovers that chores can be fun if not done under duress.

It’s been an hour and a half since we’ve seen the Gogans, so we should probably bring them back. So here they come to ruin everything, rattling through town on a rickety wagon and still on the hunt for Pete. They describe him as a kid who’s always talking to an invisible dragon, and the hush that falls over the crowd tells them exactly what they need to know. Hoagy races back to the tent to warn Terminus that they’re not the only ones looking to profit off the dragon, and Terminus rushes out in the middle of some insane dental surgery that would make the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors blush. But the Gogans only want Pete, and they find him pretty quickly. Poor Pete is casually catching lobsters with his new family when he hears Lena Gogan shrieking at him. His whole demeanor changes and he shrinks into Nora’s side. Nora stands her ground to protect her baby even as the two Gogan sons lick their chops eager to “hold” her. Ew. The Gogans announce that they have a Bill of Sale and Nora can’t stop them taking their property back, though Nora is having exactly none of it. In the end, Elliott torpedoes through the water to save Pete and launches the Gogans into the air.

Cut to the Gogans shivering and sniffling in the tavern, doing their best to warm up with some strong drinks. After all, they’re not used to being doused in water. They even say they haven’t had a bath since May (ew). Doc Terminus sidles in to try to convince the Gogans to let him have the dragon. Naturally, they all burst out laughing, but hey, whatever helps them catch Pete. Terminus tells them his plans to breed Elliott and I just have to ask… with what?! But the pact is sealed, and Terminus hurries outside to recruit the towns’ fishermen to rid the town of the dragon scaring away all the fish. That night, in a raging storm, the whole town comes together to put Terminus’s plan into action.

Elliott knocks on Pete’s bedroom window to make sure Pete’s okay after the day’s events. And he has some good news! He found Paul! But Nora and Lampie aren’t happy when Pete runs upstairs to tell them. To them, this is going too far. And if he’s going to twist the knife like that, it’s time for Pete to set his imaginary friend aside. He doesn’t need to hold onto his trauma anymore now that he has a loving home. But as Pete heads outside to help get the lighthouse ready to help a ship stuck in the storm, Terminus rushes in. He breathlessly tells Pete that Elliott is wreaking havoc in town and he has to come calm him down right away. Pete falls for it hook, line, and sinker, right up until they get to the boathouse. By then it’s too late. Lena Gogan leaps out of a closet and seizes him by the hair, because if there’s one thing the Gogans are good at it’s jumpscares. But Terminus won’t let them kill him yet. He has to bait Elliot. And for that to work, Hoagy needs to go get it. Hoagy protests, but Terminus does his best to give him an absolutely glorious pep talk. It doesn’t work, but Terminus throws him out of the cave anyway.

When a trembling Hoagy makes it down to the cave, Elliott has a little fun with the villain’s terror. But when Hoagy stammers out that the Gogans captured Pete, Elliott gets angry for real. And that’s even more terrifying. He hauls Hoagy by the back of his shirt and charges out to save his friend. Pete screams that it’s a trap, but Lena covers his mouth and Elliott doesn’t hear. So nets and tarps fall onto Elliott, and every jaw in the boathouse drops. He’s real! You can see his shape writhing under all those traps! It’s an incredible effect, easily the best in the movie. This also has the effect of making it easier for Terminus to aim his gigantic harpoon cannon at him.

Meanwhile, the Gogans tie Pete into a sack and haul him out of the boathouse. Elliott thrashes until he breaks his bonds and knocks aside anyone who stands between him and his friend. The Gogans try to run away in their wagon, but Elliott can fly so he’s faster, and he easily pulls the sack off the wagon. This is the only time in the movie where Elliott says anything resembling a real word, saying Pete’s name to make sure he’s okay. Lena Gogan tries to reason with Elliott, brandishing her Bill of Sale that proves Pete is her property. Elliott don’t care and torches it. Poof. No more Bill of Sale. One more threatening puff of smoke sends all four Gogans reeling into a barrel of tar while Pete and Elliott laugh. That’s one humiliation too many and they exit the movie, chasing after their runaway wagon because even their mule hates them.

Well, that’s one set of villains down, but what about the other? Terminus is still trying to shoot the harpoon cannon, which has an absurdly long fuse apparently. He’s so focused on failing to aim the thing at Elliott that he doesn’t notice the rope twisted around his ankle until it’s too late. The harpoon cannon fires, launching Terminus up and over the town with a Goofy yell. He’s left dangling upside down from a lightpost, hoisted by his own petard. Hoagy leaps into his arms to try to free him from his cape. But Terminus still isn’t done trying to make a buck off of Elliott. He desperately tries to haggle with Elliott for disposable pieces like fingernail clippings and shed hairs, which honestly should probably have been Plan A. Why kill him when you could have a renewable source of those dragon parts? But it’s too late. Elliott not only refuses, but shoves the wagon into the ocean. And for good measure, he notices that the storm is about to knock a telegraph pole onto the Mayor’s head. He gasps and pushes it back into place, and the whole town realizes he’s really real.

Back at the lighthouse, the ship from earlier is getting closer and closer to the rocks. And who should be on it but Paul? He and the Gorton’s Fisherman have teamed up to get back to Passamaquoddy, following the light to get to safety. But a tsunami sized wave smashes through the lighthouse window and douses the light. Lampie tries and fails to get the wick lit, so Nora blasts the foghorn as a last ditch effort to signal the ship. Elliott flies Pete back to the lighthouse, but he can’t hover in this wind, so he drops Pete off at the bottom and tries to follow him up the stairs. Pete scrambles in and tells them Elliott can light the lamp. This is no time for his imagination, but a very visible dragon head peers into the window. Nora is stunned that Pete was telling the truth the whole time. It takes Elliott a few tries, because he’s so smooshed in the stairs, but eventually he gets his fire breath going and relights the lamp. Paul and the Gorton’s Fisherman are saved! Nora is so happy that she kisses Elliott right on the mouth, flustering him so much he disappears.

The next morning, all the townsfolk are best buds with Elliott. I guess they’ve forgotten that most of them are the same people who tried to help kill him last night. But all the fish are back, so all is well. Even better, Paul steps on shore to handshakes and back slaps from his fellow fishermen. As he politely smiles at his admirers, he scans the crowd for the one person he really wants to see. Nora spots him and leaps into his arms to be spun around like a Disney Princess before he kisses her. And his story is absolutely bananas. He tells her he was shipwrecked and lost his memory until some invisible force pushed him out of bed and made him hit his head again and remember. In a movie without an invisible dragon, that would sound a whole lot like a cover-up to me. But here we are.

Now the new family is complete, ready for a whole lifetime of Brazzle Dazzle Days. Elliott calls Pete back to their apple orchard. Pete is happier than he’s ever been in his life, and raring to go for some time with the dragon that made it all possible. But Elliott has sad news. He has to leave. Forever. Pete immediately thinks it’s his fault, because this poor kid can never have good things, but Elliott quickly assures him that’s not it at all. But he has a family now, and there’s another kid who needs Elliott to save them. Pete and Elliott tearfully say their goodbyes, and considering Pete’s acting hasn’t been top notch this entire movie he absolutely nails it here. Staring into a bright light to look like he’s talking to an invisible dragon probably helped the tears form. Elliott takes to the sky to play guardian angel to a new kid, while Pete, Nora, Lampie, and Paul wave goodbye.

Okay, it’s not a perfect movie. But you know what? It’s a fun movie! I can forgive a lot of writing sins if I have fun watching the final film. I do think a faithful remake (ie, one that doesn’t change literally everything) could make some changes to make the script tighter, and several of the musical numbers go on way too long. But the characters are likable, the good songs are very good, and the plot is just the right amount of nuts to keep a smile on my face. One thing I will say is I feel like putting this story on film does it a bit of a disservice. This thing was made to be on the stage, and the fact that Disney Theatrical hasn’t picked up on that is a crime. Maybe after Bedknobs and Broomsticks finally gets off the ground. Make Elliott a puppet and I think we’ve got something here.

CHARACTERS

Pete is another obnoxiously cute Disney kid. Unlike Penny in Rescuers, he manages to just barely avoid being sickly sweet to the point of nausea through some surprisingly subtle writing. I mean, the writing in this movie is very hit or miss, but Pete refusing to sell Elliott is a beautiful moment. You can tell a lot of his cheerfulness is a front for the horrors he’s been through under the Gogans, and it makes him a very easy character to root for. Casting for Pete came down to Sean Marshall or Shane Sinutko, the kid from the Shaggy DA. They ended up with Sean Marshall, which I think was a better choice even though Shaggy DA wasn’t exactly Shane Sinutko’s fault. Sean Marshall is just adorable, and his lack of practice at acting or singing actually adds to the charm. He voiced the Boy in the Christmas short Small One shortly after this, but didn’t do much more acting. Instead, he became a championship pole vaulter, which he attributed at least partially to the ballet training he went through for this film. There’s an excellent interview with him that I quoted a few times here.

Elliott was originally not going to be seen at all. It was going to be left ambiguous as to whether he actually existed or not, and only effects like his footprints in the concrete were going to be seen. At some point, the legendary Ken Anderson, noted that the movie is called Pete’s Dragon, so audiences would be expecting a dragon. So the execs decided we would see Elliott at the very end. Then he got some more screentime. Then a little more. In the end, Anderson’s final contribution to the studio was making it possible to give us twenty-two minutes of Elliott’s adorable animated self on screen. And I really can’t imagine this movie without his adorable bumbling little self. He’s so cute and huggable! Naturally, that’s all by design. He’s inspired by Asian dragons, because in those cultures dragons are usually forces of good, unlike Western dragons which are usually monsters to be slain. They also took design cues from actor Wallace Beery and a name from other actor Elliott Gould, a close friend of Anderson’s. His voice was provided by comedian Charlie Callas, who was known for adding random gibberish to his act.

Nora is the best female lead we’ve had in a really long time. I mean a really long time. She’s motherly without it being her entire personality, she’s sassy, she has no patience for the nonsense of the men around her, and she’s willing to go to bat for her kid. It’s awesome. Her relationship with Pete is the heart of the film right from the start and she absolutely sells it. And her outfits are everything. Every single one of them, even the ones that are completely out of time like the glorious bellbottoms in Brazzle Dazzle Day. The recently departed Helen Reddy got a lot of flack for her acting in this movie, so much that she didn’t do much acting afterwards. You can tell from some of her line deliveries that she was a pop singer (best known for I Am Woman) and not an actress, but I think she did fine. She was almost played by another recently departed Australian pop singer,Olivia Newton John, but she was unavailable. Which, not to speak ill of the dead, but I’m really glad I only have to talk about Grease once in this review. Hate that movie.

Lampie is actually a really sad character. I think what they’re aiming for is a silly funny drunk, but the portrayal is surprisingly realistic. His alcoholism comes off as a debilitating disease, putting strain on his caretaker Nora, causing him to lose the respect of the town, and showing some really uncomfortable scenes of him staggering through town. They never quite commit to painting it as a tragedy, but they come very close. The scene of Nora helping Lampie bike back to the lighthouse is silently heartbreaking. All of this is thanks to the great Mickey Rooney, one of the most prolific actors in the history of film. This man got his start in 1927, before the advent of sound, and kept acting all the way up until his death in 2014!! We’ll be hearing from him again pretty soon, but I mostly know him as Santa Claus in several Rankin Bass shorts.

The Gogans are complicated. I’ve said before that I think there’s something icky and classist about portraying people from severely impoverished and undereducated regions of the United States as the butt of jokes, or as violent and deranged. The Gogans are both. And obviously, child abuse is not something to joke about. But you know what? As villains, I actually really love to hate these guys. Pete’s so likeable that it makes you hate them, but they’re so buffoonish and constantly humiliated that it mitigates the horror of what they’re actually saying. You still want them to escape, but the child abuse thing never gets to be too much. I do still think they shouldn’t be the first characters we see, but other than that they’re handled quite well.

Two of the Gogans aren’t particularly famous. Charles Tyner, who plays the father, Merle, was a character actor with minor appearances in films like Planes Trains and Automobiles and Cool Hand Luke. Gary Morgan, as the older son Grover, wasn’t really an actor at all, but a stuntman, appearing as an extra in action films like Logan’s Run and The Mask of Zorro. Then you have Willie, the younger son, played by Jeff Conaway aka Kenickie in Grease (hisssss). Last but not least, we have Shelley Winters, whose IMDB page is almost as long as Mickey Rooney’s beginning in 1943 and going until her death in 2006. Highlights include The Diary of Anne Frank, A Place in the Sun, and The Poseidon Adventure. You’d never know it looking at her grotesque makeup as Lena Gogan, but she was actually a bombshell in the 40s and 50s!

Dr. Terminus is one of the best live action Disney villains of all time, there I said it. Up there with Barbossa, and the MCP, and Judge Doom. Not quite up to the Sandersons, but definitely high. The entire movie comes to life the second he comes onscreen, because he is just devouring every inch of scenery put in front of him and it is glorious. One of the things that’s made the late 60s and early 70s such a slog is that I haven’t really felt like a lot of the actors has wanted to be there. Not the case here. Jim Dale heard that he was going to be in a live action/animation hybrid and decided then and there that he was going to be the cartoon character. Cynics might call it cheesy, but man, I love that kind of energy in my villains. It helps that I grew up with Jim Dale as the narrator for the Harry Potter books and video games, as well as the narrator of the massively underrated show Pushing Daisies. So yeah, I am a Jim Dale fan.

Hoagy is a man named after a sandwich. It’s very silly, but you know what? It works in this movie. It’s also nice to see a Disney villain sidekick be his own character, rather than just the main guy’s stooge. I think Hoagy might actually get more screentime than Terminus. A lot of it is a pretty tiresome stumbling drunk schtick, and it’s a little weird that he gets so few comedic bits to himself considering Red Buttons was a well known stand up comedian. But the fact remains that he has agency and a personality of his own, which is cool. That makes it even more fun to see Terminus and Hoagy interact- this isn’t just a bad guy and his punching bag, they’re two fleshed out characters playing off each other. And it is magical.

MUSIC

Irwin Kostal previously scored Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. His work here sounds very similar. Unfortunately, that means that nothing past the opening overture of all the songs really sticks out. I do really enjoy the piece that plays as Pete walks through Passamaquoddy the first time, with its little flute flourishes synced with the characters’ skipping.

Happily, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn’s songs fare much better for the most part. They previously won an Oscar for The Morning After from The Poseidon Adventure and We May Never Love Like This Again from Towering Inferno, so they’re clearly talented. I feel like Disney’s execs insisted on making them try their hardest to be the Sherman Brothers. Some of the songs sound like they’re imitating their work, notably the patter songs and the two nonsense songs. But other songs show their originality, and even the rehashes are entertaining. Except for one.

Also the soundtrack album is completely out of order and half of most of the songs is missing and it’s really annoying.

The Happiest Home In These Hills should absolutely not be the opening number, but it’s still a fun song in an awful “crosses the line twice” kind of way. I’ve already said that I like that they establish why Pete is on his own and why he can’t go back to where he came from, without making the abuse too scary or intense for a family movie. The cheerful bluegrass beat creates an ironic contrast with the horrific lyrics that makes for a very unique villain song. Just… maybe not first.

Boo Bop Bop Bop Bop (I Love You Too) should be the opening number, in my opinion. Establish Pete’s relationship with his dragon, show that Pete needs protection and get us connected with our lead before you introduce us to the characters we’re supposed to hate. As a song, it’s a little saccharine with lyrics that are weirdly romantic considering it’s a nine year old kid dueting with a cartoon dragon. But I get what they’re going for, and it is lovely to watch the affection between these two when contrasted with the violence and hatred from the last song.

I Saw a Dragon is a quarter of an okay song. It introduces us to Lampie as the crazy old alcoholic no one really respects and his responsible, no-nonsense daughter. Cool. Same space in the story as the last two songs, I can roll with it. Maybe the lyrics aren’t the most inventive, maybe it doesn’t really showcase Mickey Rooney’s talents as a song and dance man. But it’s fine. But after that quarter, it just keeps going. And going. And going. It’s worse than Portobello Road in my opinion, because not only is the dance break completely disconnected from what’s happening, we have Nora going from straight up being assaulted and dragged into some guy’s lap on screen to happily dancing with everyone else out of absolutely nowhere. It’s a yikes moment.

It’s Not Easy is what I Love You Too was aiming to be, and it’s much more successful. Nora and Pete forge their connection during the song, as opposed to Pete and Elliott in its predecessor who have known each other a while, but I like that. You can feel their affection building, even though Nora doesn’t quite believe Pete’s crazy stories her pity and determination to look after him are palpable. And little Pete is just so happy someone’s being nice to him! We also live in a world where there’s a ska cover of this song by Reel Big Fish.

Passamaquoddy introduces us to yet another character. It’s kind of the same song as With a Flair from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but the addition of Hoagy’s acts adds another level of comedy that I really enjoy. Also, I love David Tomlinson, but I LOVE Jim Dale. So, what I’m really trying to say is it takes that older song and improves on it and it’s great. Yeah, I said the imposter song is better than the Sherman Brothers song. What about it?

Candle on the Water is the one thing people remember from this movie, aside from Elliott’s design. This is our Oscar nominee, our big showcase for the pop singer in our cast. In fact, this was originally going to be the only song in the movie, but the studio liked it so much they decided to make the film a full on musical. And it is a gorgeous ballad. It’s bittersweet, sad while still being hopeful. Helen Reddy’s voice gets a chance to shine, and it’s really nice to have a good-aligned song in an alto range. I just wish the staging was a little more interesting than one long, slow zoom.

There’s Room For Everyone is the worst song in the film and it’s not even particularly close. The lead in doesn’t make sense, so it feels forced from the jump, and then it just keeps on going with this cheesy, corny, after-school special message that doesn’t really have anything to do with anything else that’s happening. Also, it’s a song about tolerance with all white kids, which is doubly strange when you realize there are families of color in the Passamaquoddy crowd scene. We also get another interminable dance sequence, made all the worse by the fact that the choreography isn’t great and a lot of the kids are visibly out of sync. Several cuts of this film remove a few of the songs, but never this one. In what universe is Candle on the Water more disposable than this?

Every Little Piece is my favorite song in the movie. Yes, I know it’s weird and violent and disturbing because they’re all excited about vivisecting our cute little cartoon character, but come on, if you’ve followed me this long you know how I love my villain songs! And this is an incredibly catchy one, made all the better by Jim Dale just chowing down on the scenery. Watch his facial expressions, they’re hilarious. Once again, this song strikes a nice balance between horror and comedy, which is nice to see. There’s an alternate version with a slower, minor key melody, but I like the final version better. Also watch for the moment where Red Buttons starts singing Jim Dale’s part and stops himself, it made me laugh.

Brazzle Dazzle Day is another nonsense song about making cleaning fun, like the love child of Spoonful of Sugar and Supercali. It’s probably the most derivative song in the movie, but you know what? I like it! It’s so upbeat and cheerful, and easily the most bearable of the three dance numbers. Pete and his newfound family are just so happy to have finally found each other, it’s infectious.

Bill of Sale is as weird a note to end on as the Gogan’s other song is to begin on. But this time, you have Nora defending Pete. This song alone is why I love Nora so much. She’s not letting anyone mess with her or her kid, and it’s wonderful. I do wish she got a swing in before Elliott saved the day, especially after all three Gogan men threatened to assault her. But that’s a nitpick. Musically, the juxtaposition between the Gogans’ off-key yowling and Helen Reddy’s beautiful counterpoint makes for a really interesting listen.

ARTISTRY

The set designers did a stellar job making southern California indistinguishable from Maine. The only hints are the sun setting in the east, which I honestly didn’t notice but that’s what it says on IMDB. Beautiful matte paintings create the same dreamlike feel as Mary Poppins, combined with inventive sets that make Passamaquody feel simultaneously like a fantasy come to life and a place where real people live. I love the random ship pieces throughout the town that become play equipment, and the pop of color that is Terminus’s tent smack in the middle of town. The lighthouse is gorgeous, too, a practical set built to scale on Point Buchon Trail in Los Osos, California. The Coast Guard had to actually give Disney permission to film because the light was so bright it might endanger passing ships. It was going to be moved to one of the theme parks (sources vary on which one) after filming, but it had deteriorated so badly that this became impossible.

On the animated side of things, this was the first film featuring animation to not feature any of the Nine Old Men. Instead, we have Don Bluth as the animation director, and you can tell. Seriously, look at Singe, then look at Elliott. Other than the very different faces, their body shapes are exactly the same. His character animation is brilliant, with lots of old fashioned squash and stretch and not a Xerox machine in sight. He insisted on Elliott being hand-inked to help him better blend in with the backgrounds. Bluth was actually offered co-directing credit by Don Chaffey but the studio heads said no because there wasn’t enough animation. This is after he was told to make 900 feet of animation on a $1.8 million budget, which they then doubled to 1800 feet of animation on the same budget in the same time constraint. He, John Pomeroy, and Gary Goldman worked tons of overtime to get it done, but were not only reprimanded for going over budget, but told that they wouldn’t be paid overtime but given an hour of time off for every hour of overtime they worked. I’m starting to see why he left, aren’t you?

THEME PARK INFLUENCE

The Main Street Electrical Parade has dazzled Main Street USA on both coasts with its presence for many, many, many years. And towards the end of the parade, Pete rides in the back of a huge Elliott float, making audiences everywhere go “who’s that?”. Okay, I’m being facetious because I don’t like the Electrical Parade (I worked it for a year when I first moved to Florida and… well, be nice to Cast Members, kids). But Elliott is probably better known as that one float in the Electrical Parade than for the actual movie. But it’s not uncommon for Disney to market their most recent movies with an appearance in the parks, which was the case here when the Electrical Parade debuted all those years ago. In fact, for the first two years of the parade’s existence, Sean Marshall actually rode on the float, reprising his role as Pete!

More obscure, Trader Sam’s bar at the Polynesian Village Resort in Walt Disney World and at the Disneyland Hotel both contain references to Lampie. In Disneyland, there’s a letter to Sam describing the horrible dragon that no one believes he saw. In Walt Disney World, there’s a little figurine on a shelf. I’m not entirely sure it’s Lampie, but that’s what the wiki says. Until recently, Doc Terminus’s wagon made an appearance as part of the set dressing at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Sadly, it became a casualty when they began clearing land for the now-cancelled Reflections resort. Terminus himself also made an appearance in face character form at a one-night only event in Disney’s California Adventure, and I’m hopeful he’ll come back someday because ohmygod. But for now, all that’s left of him is a bottle of his fake medicine in the queue for WDW’s Jungle Cruise.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is such a weird movie, you guys. I know it’s got its problems, but it’s also got a charm that’s been sorely lacking these past couple movies. Watching it again was such a breath of fresh air. The songs and characters are so delightful to watch that it makes up for the thin plot and bloated length. For the first time in a while, we have a live action Disney film with energy and life! I’ve learned my lesson about hoping that we’ve turned a corner, but maybe… maybe this time… things will get better?

Oh, and Disney Theatrical? Call me.

Favorite scene: I try not to use musical numbers because that feels like cheating somehow, so I’m going to give it to Terminus giving Hoagy his dramatic pep talk before he goes to bring Elliott to the boathouse. “I’ve known you since you were nothing, and now… you’re still nothing!”

Final rating: 7/10. It’s not perfect, but it’s delightful anyway!