Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon tells the story of a young orphan named Pete who runs away from the abusive family that took him in and heads for a fishing village on the Maine coast. His only companion is Elliott, a green dragon who can choose to be invisible to everyone else. Once in the town of Passamaquoddy, the pair are taken in by Nora, a lighthouse keeper's daughter, and her father Lampie. Elliott's taste for mischief soon causes trouble for his new friends, and matters grow worse when the scheming Dr. Terminus and his associate Hoagy set their sights on capturing the dragon for profit. Pete then has to attempt a rescue.

The film was directed by Don Chaffey, whose earlier work included Jason and the Argonauts and One Million Years B.C.; this was the third of the three features listed for him. Malcolm Marmorstein wrote the screenplay, and Ron Miller and Jerome Courtland produced it for Walt Disney Productions. Sean Marshall plays Pete, with Helen Reddy as Nora, Jim Dale as Dr. Terminus, Mickey Rooney as Lampie, Red Buttons as Hoagy and Shelley Winters as Lena Gogan.

Released in November 1977, the film runs 128 minutes and mixes animation with live action. It was made for about 10 million dollars. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.3 from roughly 26,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 from several hundred votes, while critics' reviews averaged a more moderate 5 out of 10, placing it behind the audience scores.