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Review: 'Pete's Dragon High Flying Edition' DVD

By Common Sense Media - Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:16pm PDT
9 Comments
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Offbeat live-action/animation mix with lots of drinking.

See four clips from the "Pete's Dragon" DVD at Yahoo! Kids

This Disney musical about a boy and his dragon centers on Pete, an orphan who has been sold to an abusive backwoods family. Pete is befriended by Elliott, a rotund, friendly, and often mischievous dragon. Together they run away to a small Maine town, where they meet Lampey the lighthouse keeper (Mickey Rooney) and his daughter Nora (Helen Reddy).

Of course the bad backwoods family comes looking for Pete, and there is another complex subplot involving a quack doctor (Jim Dale) and his often-drunk sidekick (Red Buttons) who have their own plans for Elliott. There is a disastrous first day of school for Pete (in which his hands are hit with a stick by his teacher), many mishaps involving the mayor, and some wet cement that gets mucked up over and over again.

The interaction of people and animation in "Pete's Dragon" is surprisingly good, but the movie itself falls rather flat. The biggest problem is the songs, which are utterly forgettable, which is not a great feature for a musical.

The story is a good one and there's a certain sweetness to the proceedings, but also a combination of predictability and noisy chaos that will make this better viewing for kids than for their parents. The message, about finding love and security in a crazy world, is a good one, and children will find this an entertaining and enjoyable viewing experience.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that several characters in this movie get quite drunk. There are some fight scenes (though they are mild) and a scene of a teacher hitting a student.

Families Can Talk About

Families can talk about what they'd do with a dragon of their own.

Discuss Pete's situation and how sometimes people have to find their real families.

Studio: Disney Director: Don Chaffey Cast: Mickey Rooney, Shelley Winters, Sean Marshall Genre: Family and Kids Run time: 128 minutes Theatrical release: 11/3/1977 DVD release: 8/18/2009 MPAA rating:

Reviewed by Sarah Wenk.

See more about "Pete's Dragon High Flying Edition" at Common Sense Media.

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Other Parents Say…

Showing 1-9 Comments of 9

Posted by memyselfandI Wed Sep 2, 2009 12:37pm PDT

Personally..."Pete's Dragon" is one of my favorite Disney Movies of all time. Whomever wrote this is obviously young and doesn't grasp the concept of the Disney magic. "Forgettable songs"...far from it!! I remembered every word to every song and I hadn't seen the movie in years!!! I do agree...the drinking is a little excessive..but given what kids are exposed to today on tv...it seems mild in comparison. I give the movie 2 thumbs up and your review two thumbs down.

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Posted by JenniferC Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:26pm PDT

I completely agree w/memyselfandi. Movie- 2 thumbs up. review-2 thumbs down!

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Posted by Jennifer Tue Sep 8, 2009 7:47pm PDT

Pete's dragon' is a wonderfull movie

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Posted by Lizzy Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:28am PDT

this is the best movie of all time!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted by bhdavis3 Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:47am PDT

This is one of the first movies I ever went to see and can remember who took me to see it, so of course it is the BEST movie of all times.

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Posted by Avi Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:47pm PDT

Nice One

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Posted by faye21taylor Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:01pm PDT

This is a great movie.

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Posted by Norma Sun Oct 4, 2009 6:45pm PDT

my oldest child watch this show and its even nicer now my twins love it too. two thumbs up also.

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Posted by crystle Wed Oct 7, 2009 8:33am PDT

omg!! i just gotta watch ths movie, u all sound crazy bout it and ths peer pressure wudn't stop today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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