Trailer
Wow, this trailer tells us nothing about the film. Now I do feel that trailers shouldn't spoil the film they're promoting but not only does this not spoil the film, it tells us nothing about the film. Trailer, couldn't you at least have given us a little story details. Instead all it does is list the cast and I love the way it ends with "And Elliot". It's a bit irritating that all this trailer does is just list off the cast expecting the audience to see it because of who's in it. It almost makes me think that Disney felt they had to rely on the cast of the film because they didn't think they had a good enough story. Also you'll notice that film had a lot of comedic actors from Mickey Rooney to Red Buttons.
The Plot
The plot of this film is a bit simple in that we follow the events of two friends, Pete, an orphan and Elliot, the dragon. Y'know I just realized something. The title of the film is misleading and actually goes against something that Pete says in the film. It comes from a conservation that he has with two of the villains, Dr. Terminus and his henchman, Hoagy who were trying to buy Elliot.
I can't sell you Elliot. I don't own him.
This line right there to me shows that the title is a bit misleading because Pete states that he does not own Elliot. Ah, well let's just move on to the meat of things. When the film opens we see Pete fleeing from his evil foster family, The Gogans and from there he and Elliot head to the fishing town of Passmaquoddy. This is where the story really picks up as this is where all of the action takes place and sadly, Elliot causes Pete to get into a lot of trouble and some of the townspeople start to blame Pete and here we meet Lampie and Nora, father and daughter who are kind hearted people that take in Pete and stand up for him when the rest of the town looks down upon him and they also protect him from The Gogans. I think my favorite example of Nora standing up for Pete has to come when the fishermen start to call Pete a jinx because of the fish moving and also how she stands up to the school teacher. A character that I absoultey hated. Oh, yeah let's not forget about Dr. Terminus and Hoagy. I gotta be honest, I think that these two could've been cut out of the movie personally. They were basically fraud doctors that Passmaquoddy had dealt with in the past and we even see when they make their introduction that the town was still upset by them because their potions, or meds whatever came with some side effects but either Terminus is a good salesman or Passmaquoddy is full of a lot of gullible people as they gave him a second chance. Really, he scorned you guys once and your going to fall for his tricks again. As stated, Terminus wants Elliot to use his body parts for his potions but like most other people he doesn't believe in Elliot at first but that changes after his partner, Hoagy sees him. The plot isn't bad but there are some things that could've been cut to make it better. Honestly, I think if the Gogans role had been expanded to be a bit more threatening towards Pete and cut out Terminus and Hoagy, I think the film would've been a bit better. Now I'm not saying that Terminus and Hoagy didn't serve any role but to be honest, it felt like they were from a different film.
Location
Passmaquoddy
Before I get too far into the character, I feel as though I need to talk about the town of Passmaquoddy. The town of Passmaquoddy was a small and quaint fishing town that they state had never faced any trouble until Pete and Elliot come along but I can't really buy that because of the whole thing with Dr. Terminus. I will say though that Passmaquoddy was very crucial to the film and it was rather cute.
Characters
Now there really aren't that many characters that are crucial to the story, so instead of the usual breakdown, it'll just be Main & Villains.
Main Characters
Pete played by Sean Marshall
Pete as a character could shift from being a likable kid character to being a bit annoying but it never went over the edge. I will say that I liked how the film opened with him escaping from The Gogans and y'know even this film is primarily about the relationship between Pete and Elliot, I don't think that is the best relationship. No, in my opinion the best relationship in the film is actually that between Pete and Nora. Nora serves as the loving mother figure that Pete needs in his life. I think Pete in my honest opinion is perhaps the least engaging character in the entire film. Not to say he was a bad character but I felt our other main characters such as Nora and Elliot overshadowed him.
Elliot voiced by Charlie Callas
Elliot was such a likable character. Sure, he was bit clumsy and caused some trouble for Pete but he didn't mean to. Elliot was so gosh darn lovable in my opinion. You couldn't help but feel for him and even though he was a bit clumsy, you knew that his heart was in the right place and I kinda had to chuckle at the whole town being scared of him, when Elliot wouldn't hurt anyone. He's really just a gentle giant. As I mentioned in my Top 6, a lot of the animation work on Elliot was done by Don Bluth and fun fact: the animators had to fight for Elliot to appear in the film as originally, we were never going to see him. In my opinion, while that would've played into the imaginary friend angle that I saw a little bit in the film with Elliot, it would've been weird seeing Pete talking to a Elliot that the audience couldn't see. Yes, I know that Elliot can turn invisible but at least we actually the ability to see him.
Nora played by Helen Reddy
Nora in my opinion was the most likable character in the entire film. I feel that she was the most sympathetic character and the loss of her love, Paul was handled quite well. As I said when talking about Pete, she served as Pete's protector and the mother figure that Pete needed in his life. At the same time though, I felt that Pete brought joy to Nora's life that was missing with her believing that Paul was dead. It also doesn't hurt that Nora had undoubtedly the best song in the film.
Lampie played by Mickey Rooney
Lampie, Nora's father was the comic relief of the film and honestly, they couldn't have chosen a better actor than Mickey Rooney for that role. He was so much fun as Lampie. He just felt so warm and inviting. It's odd though but there was one particular moment when he reminded me of Maurice from Beauty and The Beast. If you recall that film when Maurice went to the pub after escaping Beast and everyone thought he was crazy, I got that same feeling when Lampie went to the pub and told people about seeing Elliot. Now I do wish that had been expanded upon a tad because while Lampie was a fun character, that would've made him a little more enjoyable. All in all, though I liked him.
Music
Main Title
I will say I like the main title. It's very peaceful and alluring and like a lot of movies, has snippets of it's songs in it and it feels very Mary Poppins like. Not that's a bad thing, mind you. Probably one of the best pieces of music in this entire film as well.
The Happiest Home In These Hills
Okay, I gotta give this movie credit. Opening with a villain song is a nice touch and not something you see that often. I will also say that I feel this song gives great insight into The Gogans before they reappear and their nasty ways. It's just so much fun and perhaps one of my favorite songs from the movie.
Boo Bop Bop Bop Bop (I Love You, Too)
This song is one that at first I disliked but it has grown on me. It's really cute and shows us the relationship between Pete and Elliot quite well. Although, I feel there is another song that comes up later that shows how much Elliot means to Pete and while Elliot may not be the best singer, it's still really cute.
I Saw A Dragon
Yeah, this is another song that just stops the film but I'm willing to let it off the hook because it's so much fun and I think that works and again, it's Mickey Rooney that sells this song for me. It's a ton of fun and just plain silly.
It's Not Easy
Now in my opinion this is the better Pete song because it does a better job of letting us know how much Elliot means to him while also planting the seed for the relationship that was to blossom between Nora and Pete. Plus Helen Reddy is a much better singer than Elliot.
This song, good lord did it feel like this number would never end. Look, I'm not saying that Terminus didn't need a villain song but he had a much better one in the film. His introduction did not need to be a song and quite honestly, this along with Terminus and Hoagy feel like they belong in a different film. It just feels out of place here. Also the joke of him getting the town's name wrong isn't that funny and as I said in the plot, this town is way too gullible because they've dealt with this quack in the past yet they're willing to give another chance. Really?!?!
Candle On The Water
This is more like it. Such a beautiful song. About how Nora is not ready to give up on Paul and of course the Candle on The Water is the lighthouse and I take this song to mean as long as Nora's there, she'll be there trying to guide Paul back home (I'd almost like to see a movie about Paul). This is a sweet little number that is in my opinion the standout song of this film.
There's Room For Everyone
Another good song and I really like the message of this song being, it doesn't matter how big, nor how small. We should all be kind to everyone and not shun them just because of their size or because their different. A simple little song but it is so gorgeous in it's message.
Every Little Piece
Compared to Terminus' last song, this is a much better villain song as it actually gives us insight into what he's really like and it shows him to be a despicable person. Plus it's so much more fun in how over the top evil, it is.
This is another fine song. It's really cute but I've found that the songs that involve Helen Reddy tend to be the better songs and this one is just a good old fun song. That's having some fun with nonsensical words and I like those. I also take it as a song telling us that we should look on the bright side of life.
Bill of Sale
This song is just awesome and I think this is where Nora finally becomes the true mother that Pete needs and there is just something about characters dueling in song that is so cool. All I can say with this song is GO NORA!!! The Gogans are also a lot of fun in this song but Nora is the true highlight in my humble opinion. If I ever do a list Top 6 Surrogate Parents, Nora has a good chance of making the list.
I Saw A Dragon (Reprise)
This is a decent little reprise and good closing number. Not much to say about it really. Other than it does it's job and it works well enough.
Villains
The Gogans played by Shelly Winters, Charles Tyner, Gary Morgan, & Jeff Conway
The Gogans were the more entertaining villains in just how nasty they were to Pete and I saw many places that they were an example of abusive foster parents. That worked so well and I honestly think that they fit into Pete's story quite well and I also believe that they should've been the main villains. Part of me feels this way because the way the film introduces them is great and personally, they were the more entertaining villains. I just think if their roles had been expanded a bit more, they could've made for a great comedic threat. Sure, they're silly but the represent a fear, I imagine may be prevalent for orphaned children. Being the abusive foster parents that don't actually love the child.
Hoagy played by Red Buttons
Hoagy was really likable as a henchman and he served his role of being a bumbling henchman quite well. But to be honest, I can't recall all that much about him other than him sometimes being drunk.
Dr. Terminus played Jim Dale
Now I've made it no secret throughout this review that I don't like Dr. Terminus. I just don't think he's an enjoyable villain and just feels there. There really isn't all that much that stands out about him and I kept on feeling that Terminus was in the wrong movie. Terminus felt like a villain that would be more at home in a film such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. More than Pete's Dragon. I also think that Terminus could've been cut out of the film and the film could've told the same story or had more focus on Pete as an orphan and honestly, as I said prior The Gogans should've been the main villains. Terminus just felt like he came off the set of a different film and wandered into Passamaquaddy by accident. I don't know, I just don't like the guy.
My Final Thoughts
All in all, this is not a bad film but I do think that some of the songs could've been trimmed and Dr. Terminus served no real purpose other than the film thinking it needed a villain other than The Gogans, who were great villains to start with. Still, everyone delivers a fine performance in the film and Elliot is just go adorable. While not one of my favorite live action Disney films, it was still fun to watch. Join me, next time when I take a look at..
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