There's a lot to like about this movie, which we all watched together on Roxy's 41st birthday. The early 20th-century New England setting (Passamaquoddy!), the young boy Pete, who looks a lot like my son Sebastian; his resistance to his abusive adopted parents, and positive relationship with Nora; and the traveling healer/huckster/magician Dr. Terminus. The songs definitely added to the show, but were not particularly memorable. Maybe the show's greatest interest--ironically, given the live action remake--is its rare genre of mixed live-action and animated motion picture: beyond Pete's Dragon, the only other examples I can think are the much more famous Mary Poppins and Roger Rabbit. Here the animation is used to great effect because at first glance it suggests that Eliot the dragon isn't real, merely Pete's fantasy, his imaginary friend whom no one else can see: but we soon learn that everyone else can see the physical effects of Pete's actions. It invites us to put faith in children's imaginations, and movies which encourage them.
Review of Pete's Dragon
