Pete's Dragon facts for kids

Pete's Dragon
Directed by	Don Chaffey
Produced by	Jerome Courtland; Ron W. Miller
Screenplay by	Malcolm Marmorstein
Story by	S.S. Field; Seton Miller (short story)
Starring	Helen Reddy; Jim Dale; Mickey Rooney; Red Buttons; Shelley Winters; Sean Marshall
Music by	Joel Hirschhorn; Al Kasha (Songs); Irwin Kostal
Cinematography	Frank Phillips
Editing by	Gordon D. Brenner
Studio	Don Bluth Entertainment
Distributed by	Walt Disney Productions; Buena Vista Distribution Company, Inc.
Release date(s)	January 1, 1977
Running time	134 minutes
Country	United States; United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Money made	$36,000,000

Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical movie from Walt Disney Productions. It is a live-action movie but its title character, a dragon named Elliott, is animated. The story is about a young orphan named Pete who goes to the town of Passamaquoddy a small fishing community in Northeastern Maine. His only friend is a dragon named Elliott. Elliott is also his protector and can make himself invisible.

Cast

Charlie Callas (voice) as Elliott the dragon
Sean Marshall as Pete, an orphan boy whom the Gogans treat like a slave
Helen Reddy as Nora, Lampie's headstrong but kind daughter
Mickey Rooney as Lampie, Passamaquoddy's lighthouse keeper and Nora's father
Jim Dale as Dr. Terminus, a scheming quack
Red Buttons as Hoagy, Terminus' sidekick
Shelley Winters as Lena Gogan, the matriarch of the Gogans
Charles Tyner as Merle Gogan, Lena's husband
Gary Morgan and Jeff Conaway as Grover and Willie Gogan, Lena and Merle's adult sons
Cal Bartlett as Paul, Nora's fiancé
Walter Barnes as the Captain of the ship on which Paul returns home
Jane Kean as Miss Abbey Taylor, a mean schoolteacher
Jim Backus as the mayor of Passamaquoddy

Awards and honors

Academy Awards

Pete's Dragon was nominated for two Academy Awards:

Academy Award for Best Original Song - Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn for "Candle on the Water"
Academy Award for Original Song Score - Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn and Irwin Kostal

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Awards

The movie was nominated for four Saturn Awards:

Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor - Red Buttons
Saturn Award for Best Costume
Saturn Award for Best Special Effects

Golden Globes

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated Pete's Dragon for one Golden Globe Award:

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score - Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn

Release Dates

Country	Premiere
United States	3 November 1977
Argentina	8 December 1977
Brazil	23 January 1978
Australia	13 April 1978
Spain	28 August 1978
Sweden	23 September 1978
Netherlands	5 October 1978
Finland	6 October 1978
Denmark	13 October 1978
France	18 October 1978
Hong Kong	19 October 1978
Ireland	8 December 1978
West Germany	14 December 1978
Portugal	15 August 1980
Hungary	21 April 1994