History Film / PetesDragon1977

* HappilyEverAfter: Naturally, being a Disney movie. Elliot is HappilyAdopted, the bad guys got the humiliation they deserve, and the only dark spot (Elliot needing to leave) is because Elliot has to go help another kid in need, with the unspoken guarantee that the other kid will find happiness.

* DastardlyWhiplash: Dr. Terminus, more or less. He's certainly got the looks and no problem kidnapping a kid to get why he wants.

%%* CorruptHick: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nmV_QZxbuU Gogan family]].

%%* CrowdSong: "I Saw a Dragon".

%%* DastardlyWhiplash: Dr. Terminus, more or less.%%"More or less"?
* DeadpanSnarker: Dr. Terminus, usually when dealing with Hoagy.%%How?

%%* TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily: The Gogan clan.

%%* HappilyAdopted: Pete by the end.
%%* HappilyEverAfter: Naturally, being a Disney movie.

%%* MobileKiosk: Doctor Terminus' "Landship".
%%* MusicalChores: "Brazzle Dazzle Day".

%%* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Elliot.
* ObviouslyEvil: The Gogans.

%%* PapaWolf: Elliot to Pete.

%%* RuleOfThree: The mayor's cigar breaks in two.%%Three times? Or what?

* ObivouslyEvil: The Gogans.

* {{Crunchtastic}}: The big EarWorm song, "Brazzle Dazzle Day"; in fact, the movie's TagLine was "Brazzle Dazzle Brilliance!"

** Elliot also has pink hair. Which makes him an [[HilariousInHindsight invisible pink-haired dragon]].

* BerserkButton: The Gogans to Elliot, especially if they threaten Pete.
** In fact, anyone who threatens or even so much as kicks Pete is his Berserk Button.

* ButNowIMustGo[=/=]BittersweetEnding: Elliot leaves Pete at the end specifically because another kid needs his help and Pete now has a family. It's his M.O.; he shows up when a kid needs him, and when they don't need him anymore, he moves on to the next one.

* ChekhovsSkill: Many dragons breathe fire, of course, but Elliot's ability [[spoiler:turns out to be the one thing that can relight the lighthouse lamp in the climax.]]

* CorruptHick: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nmV_QZxbuU Gogan family]].

* CrowdSong: "I Saw a Dragon".

* DastardlyWhiplash: Dr. Terminus, more or less.
* DeadpanSnarker: Again Dr. Terminus, usually when dealing with Hoagy.

* EasyAmnesia: [[spoiler:It turns out Nora's fiance Paul was in a shipwreck and suffered amnesia. When he returns to her at the end, he says he regained his memory when he fell out of a bed - an "accident" which was obviously Elliot's doing.]]
* TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily: The Gogan clan.
* FantasticMedicinalBodilyProduct: "Every Little Piece" is a whole song about the many uses of various parts of a dragon.

* HappilyAdopted: Pete by the end.
* HappilyEverAfter: Naturally, being a Disney movie
* HardToLightFire: [[spoiler:The climactic scene has Elliot trying to light up the lighthouse's lamp with his flame breath... and it is the only moment on the whole film when he has a hard time using said ability. Could be justified in that his body is shown to be really crammed and twisted into that little lighthouse staircase, and he's having trouble drawing in enough breath to really cut loose.]]

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Elliot.
* ItMakesSenseInContext: Dr. Terminus's "Landship," a sailboat on wheels.

* ListSong: "Passamaquoddy," Doc Terminus's cheerful recitation of the New England towns he's visited and illnesses he's cured ... a recitation that comes to a stammering halt when he tries to pronounce his current stop. Also, "Every Little Piece" has Terminus and Hoagy talking excitedly about many parts of a dragon's anatomy and how they could be used on fanciful remedies (and thus how they intend to gut Elliot into absolutely nothing and make a buck out of it).

* MediumBlending: Live-action and animation.
* MobileKiosk: Doctor Terminus' "Landship".
* MusicalChores: "Brazzle Dazzle Day".

* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Elliot.

* PapaWolf: Elliot to Pete.
* PlotDrivenBreakdown: The climactic storm [[spoiler:extinguishes the lighthouse's lamp]] just as [[spoiler:a ship - carrying Nora's fiance, among others - is approaching, risking a wreck]]. Nora and Lampie can't [[spoiler:relight it]], so it's left to Elliot to do the job [[spoiler:with his fire breath. He does, and in the process, Nora sees him for the first time.]]

-->'''Hoagie:''' ''NOOOOOOOOOO!!!''\\
'''Terminus:''' ''[[GetOut GET OUUUTT!!!!]]''
* RuleOfThree: The mayor's cigar breaks in two.

** The aforementioned mayor's cigar.

* ShutUpHannibal: Nora does this ''repeatedly'' during the Gogan's second VillainSong; unfortunately, they ''won't'' shut up, requiring Elliot to deliver a far-more ''unsubtle'' one that capsizes their boat.
** He delivers a ''much'' more threatening one in the climax, incinerating their bill of sale when they try to threaten him with it, sending them fleeing out of town.

-->'''Mayor:''' Gentlemen, I propose to say,...Passamaquoddy's a beautiful community...where the sun always rises and the sun always sets. It's a place of serenity and security, where the unexpected never happens. ''[Elliot kicks the eggman for kicking Pete, causing him to stumble towards the mayor]'' It seems to say, "Welcome!" ''[splattered with eggs]'' You-You absolute oaf. You-You idiot! ''[throws the egg baskets away]''

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: What Dr. Terminus wants to do to Elliot.

* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Pink Hair]]: One of Terminus' toxins gave a person pink hair.

%%* ABoyAndHisX: Pete (boy) and Elliot (dragon). %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%

* ABoyAndHisX: Pete (boy) and Elliot (dragon).

** Dr. Terminus inability to correctly pronounce Passamaquoddy.

* HardToLightFire: [[spoiler:The climactic scene has Elliot trying to light up the lighthouse's lamp with his flame breath... and it is the only moment on the whole film when he has a hard time using up said ability.]]

Pete soon bonds with Nora and Lampie, and even tells Elliot about Nora's lost-at-sea fiance in hopes the dragon can find him. Alas, SnakeOilSalesman Doctor Terminus, played by Jim Dale, arrives in town and learns from his lackey Hoagy (whom Lampie takes to the cave to prove his claim) about Elliot. The parts of a dragon supposedly can be compounded into all kinds of medicines, so Terminus seeks to capture Elliot. Then the Gogans arrive, and the two evil parties meet and combine their forces. It all comes to a head on a stormy night that will be rife with rescues.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Elliot's physical appearance and mannerisms were based on the actor Wallace Beery.

* GentleGiant: Elliot.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Elliot's physical appearance and mannerisms were based on actor, Wallace Beery.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/petes_dragon_4067.jpg]]

* ListSong: "Passamaquoddy," Doc Terminus's cheerful recitation of the New England towns he's visited and illnesses he's cured ... a recitation that comes to a stammering halt when he tries to pronounce his current stop. Also, "Every Little Piece" has Terminus and Hoagy talking excitedly about many parts of a dragon's anatomy and how it could be used on fanciful remedies (and thus how they intend to gut Elliot into absolutely nothing and make a buck out of it).

* ListSong: "Passamaquoddy," Doc Terminus's cheerful recitation of the New England towns he's visited and illnesses he's cured ... a recitation that comes to a stammering halt when he tries to pronounce his current stop.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: The back cover of the 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray lists the runtime as 88 minutes, instead of 128 minutes.

No one here believes in dragons, of course, and because Elliot's usually invisible, his faithfully following Pete around causes a lot of problems for the kid - which are sometimes exacerbated when Elliot tries to protect him from unjust punishment. Still, Pete is taken in by Nora, a lighthouse keeper's daughter (her dad, Lampie, is the one person in town who has seen Elliot, but no one believes him), and Elliot hides out in a nearby cave.

Pete soon bonds with Nora and Lampie, and even tells Elliot about Nora's lost-at-sea fiance in hopes the dragon can find him. Alas, SnakeOilSalesman Doctor Terminus, played by Jim Dale, arrives in town and learns from his lackey Hoagy (whom Lampie takes to the cave to prove his claim) about Elliot. The parts of a dragon can be compounded into all kinds of medicines, so Terminus seeks to capture Elliot. Then the Gogans arrive, and the two evil parties meet and combine their forces. It all comes to a head on a stormy night that will be rife with rescues.

* ButNowIMustGo[=/=]BittersweetEnding: Elliot leaves Pete at the end specifically because another kid needs his help.

* ChekhovsSkill: Many dragons breathe fire, of course, but Elliot's ability [[spoiler: turns out to be the one thing that can relight the lighthouse lamp in the climax.]]

* CowboyBeBopAtHisComputer: The back cover of the 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray lists the runtime as 88 minutes, instead of 128 minutes.

-->'''Doc:''' "The existence of a dragon would have an impact of gigantic proportions. Mythology and legend would become history and science. ''(to himself)'' One would make a quick buck with it."

* HappilyEverAfter
* HeartwarmingOrphan

* KarmaHoudini: What comeuppance does the Gogan clan get for everything they've done? Aside from a lot of public humiliation, not much. The only "punishment" they got, if you can call it that, is going through all this trouble to get Pete back and having to go home empty handed. And the brothers will have to "pick up the slack" on the chores now that they don't have Pete anymore to do most (if not all) of the work. Even that seems doubtful, since according to both of their songs they were going to kill him anyway.

* MedicineShow
* MediumBlending

* RousingSpeech: "Hoagy. We are all on this earth for a purpose, and the time for your purpose is now. I know that inside this pale, frail, pathetic shell of a man... there is a Vesuvius ready to erupt. Now, I've known you, man and beast, since, since you were nothing. But now, Hoagy, now, you're still nothing, but you could be something! You can be a somebody. A legend, Hoagy. A legend in your own lifetime, not a joke! The moment's here, Hoagy. Grab it. Grab it! Today the jester. Tomorrow the king!"

* WouldHurtAChild: The Gogans who sing about torturing and killing Pete in the beginning of the movie.