Pete's Dragon (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (30th Anniversary Edition)
• Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Full Screen Edition)
• The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)
• The Rescuers
• Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition)
• Puff the Magic Dragon
• 101 Dalmatians (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)
• The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition)
• Dumbo (Big Top Edition)

Whew. I was 5 and oh man did this movie scare and depressed me. Thank goodness my next movie was Star Wars. This was the first film I saw in the theater, and it totally freaked me out. Never saw it again the rest of my life and will NEVER let my children see it.

I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT, AND THE SPEED AND ACCURACY OF THE SHIPPING. THE SELLER OF THIS PRODUCT LISTED IT IN ALMOST NEW CONDITION AND I RECEIVED THE PRODUCT IN THAT EXACT CONDITION. I WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN KNOWN IT WAS USED IF THERE WERE STILL TAPE ON THE CASE.

Pete's Dragon (Disney Gold Classic Collection). Great movie, just like I remeber it as a kid.

The cast is flawless, and the movie is consistently engaging from beginning to end. The story follows the escape of an orphan, Pete, from his abusive adoptive "family," aided by the dragon who has arrived, seemingly from nowhere, to rescue him. Their cruelty IS offset by the two caring, capable adults, Lampie and Nora. If you or your child has extremely delicate sensibilities, you may want to preview this movie or bypass it altogether. In the same tradition as Lemony Snicket, Harry Potter, and the Roald Dahl books, 'Pete's Dragon' features cruel, uncaring parent figures and other adults with intent to harm. I'm not sure if it was legal in the early 1900s to purchase an orphan, but that's the premise here.

Morals and themes include standing up for others, accepting others' differences, making room for newcomers, and having faith in discouraging circumstances. Lampie is a drunk. (The invisible dragon stumbles through wet cement, obliviously takes down fences and other structures with his tail, etc., making Pete the bane of the town). Elliot is childlike, cheery, and bumbling (or so it seems); however, the sheer physical size and flaming breath that make him a formidable protector also make him a social handicap when Pete tries to blend in in the coastal town of Passamaquoddy. (My favorite scene is Nora putting herself between Pete and the Gogans, who have come to town in pursuit of their purchase, the "bill of sale" in hand).

(Compare them with some of the inane ballads in 'Pocahontas' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'). Two of the songs include graphic descriptions of physical violencethe Gogan family sing about beating Pete when they reclaim custody, and the evil Doctor Terminus and his sidekick sing about cutting up Elliot to make potions out of his partsthat could upset some very protective parents. The songs are NOT gratuitous, though, and serve to underscore the danger these characters are in. I can still sing them all. Woefully underrated, 'Pete's Dragon' surpasses many other Disney classics because the plotline and characters are completely original, and every single song (10 in all) is terrific.

Even the schoolteacher seems to hate kids.