Sunday,Feb. 21st, I took out an old copy of Pete's Dragon, that i have on VHS and decided to watch it. It had been a few years since I'd looked at it.
I watched it in the company of my significant other, who being a few years younger, had not yet seen it. Well, not only did she like it but I was reminded why I liked it in the first place. For a few of my so called 'grown up years, I'd dismissed it a great deal as 'not Disney's best work'. I also didn't have a nice word for Sean Marshall's (Pete's) singing voice. (I'd roll my eyes during the 'I Love You Too' song.
Now this past Sunday also, was the Disneyland 60th anniversary show on ABC, in which a preview trailer of the NEW 'Pete's Dragon was shown. I had no idea that a 'new' version of this childhood favorite was coming out soon or was even being made.
What I can tell anyone who is thinking of going to see the new version is, as I always say about remakes, see the original version first.
Sure, it was made in 1977 and the special effects aren't the same as what we're used to today....but that's what they had to work with then and what movie goers were used to then as well. Yes, that includes 'green-screen'effects.
More importantly, what makes Pete's Dragon engaging is that it 'is' so very simple and child-like in most of it's telling. There's a few things said & done by adults in the film that are not up to today's Politically Correct do's & don't's, where kids films are concerned.
They're a product of the time it was made and by a different generation, so it's best to just consider the era they're from.
The film over the years has been called things from kiddie-fair, to overly sentimental to emotionally disturbing. None of which are fair labels, nor are they grounded in anything but certain scenes taken out of context.
I would say that maybe, since it's a movie with a dragon, people then possibly expected Elliot to do more fantastic things than he actually did. He's a funny character with a funny way of talking and uses 'some' of his magic. I'm sure it was expected he'd use that magic on a greater scale.
Anyhow,the story is this. Pete's an orphaned boy between 10 & 12 who is 'purchased' by the despicable 'Gogan' family, who are dirty, filthy and lazy and use Pete as child slave labor back home. They even have a 'bill of sale'.
Pete's been befriended by Elliot, a usually invisible but sometimes seen, green Dragon (with little wings) that's helped him escape from the Gogans.
He and Pete have come upon the quiet seaside town of Passamaquoddy, Maine. (Circa 1910s) Where in no time at all, Elliot makes the possibility of Pete living (and hiding out) there almost impossible.
Enter Nora (Singer Helen Reddy) and 'Lampie' (Mickey Rooney), who operate the local lighthouse. (It's never made clear if they're co-workers or Father & daughter).
Lampie is a drinker & former sailor, who actually sees Elliot and is frightened like crazy. Nora (and the boys at the bar) doubt him completely.
Soon, because of Elliot's antics, it seems the town (except for Nora) is against Pete. Nora takes him in and thinks that Elliot is just something Pete made up.
As the story goes on, there's other baddies to worry about besides the Gogans. Doc Terminus a snake-oil (fake medicine) salesman and his shill Hoagie arrive also. not just to take money from the townspeople but, when finding out about Elliot, want to get hold of him to use his parts in the things they sell.
How will all of this turn out? Watch and see.
In the meantime, I can tell you the songs here are pretty good. Reddy's 'Candle On The Water' is a great number, so much so it w released as a single for radio in1978. All of her numbers are good, as before this she'd had many top selling records. "Brazzle Dazle Day' is also an unforgettable & very catchy number sung by her, Roony & Marshall, as the paint the lighthouse.
The Gogan's "Bill Of Sale' song is as grungy as they are. not note perfect but they're not perfect either, so it's fitting. Other songs by other characters are sung , 'in character'. To be fair to Pete, Marshall is actually a good singer but is singing as a regular boy like Pete could only be able too.
So, I feel it was meant to happen that I ended up watching the original the same day as that special. Meaning, I may just go see the new version but it's still good to know that the original's always there.
Not just to give an idea of what the new version may be like or how it'll be different ..but also, if someone may just like something from a time that was simpler and more easy going.
9 out of 10 from me, only one off for,again, some questionable dialog and actions from the grown ups in the film. (END)
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