Disney's Pete's Dragon

Finishing low in Eurovision is meant as a compliment. That's my assumption anyway.

 

The track listing for the soundtrack album on Amazon lists a cover of "Candle on the Water" by Okkervil River, whoever that is.

 

Not exactly.

 

If they wanted to do a bad Eurovision-inspired song, they should have just done a cover of Brazzle Dazzle Day. It's blandly upbeat and has some unintelligible words and a message so gosh darn inoffensive that it's sure to rise above any potential political tensions between voting countries. I can almost picture the kindly grannies and bearded ladies that they'd get to perform it

 

Ah yes 'Brazzle Dazzle Day'

"Flying through the air you don't need wings on / Climb right up and feel the thrill it brings on"

When "Candle on the Water" is the highlight of your score, you're in trouble.

Remember "I swear I saw a dragon" Oy vey!

Or "Passamaquoddy" ?

You can hear the producers during pre-production 'we need another 'Mary Poopins' how hard can it be? We need some animation, some quirky characters, a kid and some great songs -- Can you guys write a Sherman Brothers nonsense song like 'Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious'?

Somebody whispers 'why don't we just call The Sherman Brothers'

In case you can't tell, I think "Pete's Dragon" is a real turkey.

It's part 'Doctor Dolittle' part 'Popeye' and part 'Lost Horizon' - one of the worst musicals ever!

 

I've still never seen the original. Sounds like I shouldn't be in any particular rush.

 

The "I love you too" song is cringeworthy. Heck the whole movie is cringeworthy.

 

In all fairness, I believe Candle on the Water won an Oscar for Best Song, so apparently there was a general lack of great music that year. I agree that it's not the greatest song ever written, but it works.

That sequence is one of the most cringeworthy parts of any Disney movie ever. It's just painful to watch. Maybe it's the live action/animation combination, but there's something about the look on the kids face during those scenes in particular that really makes me wonder about him

Another song with Eurovision-level bland lyrics is "There's Room for Everyone in the World, If Everyone Makes Some Room". The title sort of gives everything away, and there's not much else to it. It's just bland, inoffensive, and upbeat

I know that "Bill of Sale" gets a bad reputation for being over the top, but I think it's the best song in the film. It summarizes the conflict well, has a fun tune, and the countermelody that Helen Reddy sings does a good job of balancing everything out. But those trampoline antics are a little bit much

 

COTW was nominated for an Oscar but lost to...wait for it...You Light Up My Life.

 

Ha! Of course it did.

 

aka "if I hear that song one more freakin time I'm gonna Van Gogh myself so freakin fast..."

Lordy that song bit the big one.

 

LP has posted their review (without spoilers, though the general plot is discussed broadly):
Movie Review: Pete's Dragon (2016) - LaughingPlace.com

In summary, it sounds like it's good but has very little in common with the original film other than a feral boy named Pete with a dragon. So why not just make an all new movie?

 

It looks like its getting pretty good reviews overall.

My memory of the original film is not the film itself but Elliott in the MSEP.

 

Just goes ta show ya - success of a movie is tough to predict.

 

Cinemasins did a Everything Wrong video for the original

 

Funny - because it is a terrible movie

 

OMG. I just watched that Everything Wrong thing. I had no idea the movie was that bad.

There are some good actors in that cast. And yet they're ALL overreacting and mugging like they got paid extra by the amount of the whites of their eyes they show. Gotta blame the director when it's that widespread.

And the songs! Just heard snippets but awful, awful, awful.

 

Dabob2 - you really need to seek it out and force yourself to watch it.

 

I still haven't seen Boatniks. And that's shorter

 

You've got to see it! Robert Morse, Phil Silvers, Stephanie Powers, Norman Fell, Wally Cox, Don Ameche, Joe E. Ross, Al Lewis - it's star-studded! And really awful!