Puff the Magic Dragon

This is an adorable half hour special that radiates charm and intelligence. Burgess Meredith is the voice of Puff, the Magic Dragon, and he was a perfect choice for the role. Able to give an air of command or whimsy, he makes Puff come alive.

The story is pure fantasy; to give Jackie self-confidence, Puff encourages him to imagine a world where he can make a difference. Jackie and Puff sail away to the land of the Sneezes, where the inhabitants are giant noses, who have perpetual colds and are always irritable and feel awful. Jackie comes up with the idea to make it rain chicken soup, to get them well. When it works, Jackie feels better, too.

If you can find this, any child will love it. My own kids watched it over and over for years, and still remember it fondly. It's a gentle and well-done children's classic.

This animation is suitable for all kids even for little one. Firstly, the plot has great idea, that you should come up with your fears despite how old are you. Secondly, the animation os good, it looks very soft and kindly. So, it's good animation.

When I was little, I watched it every time I was sad and afterwards I would be happy. Now that I'm a teenager, I still have the temptation to watch it even though my social status would be wrecked. The animator had a good sense of humor that makes even the toughest goth laugh.. I should know because I'm one of them. If you haven't watched it, you're missing out on funny jokes and cute designs..

Jackie Draper is a boy who has psychological problems and does not speak. A group of doctors examine him but offer no solutions. When Jackie goes to bed, he is visited by the title dragon, who does not care for being the aggressive stereotype, and who decides to help Jackie with his problems by giving him confidence. Puff makes a paper cut-out of Jackie, calling him Jackie Paper, as the real Jackie cannot join him in the fantasy world Puff takes him to.

The story is only a half-hour, but Puff does succeed in making Jackie feel confident at last, even to the point where Jackie is able to solve Puff's problem when he falls into despair. Good and charming for little children, without being soppy.

This is one of those films that for maybe only a sliver of time was iconic and absolutely unforgettable. It came out when I was four years old, my mother loved the song, as so many people did. This film was the very essence of my childhood imagination and joy, also my sorrows, as this was the generation where many kids experienced the relatively new increase in divorce and fractured families, as my family did. This film deals with change and growing up - and I for one was greatly enriched and strengthened all my life because of it. It is beautifully done and still stands up fairly well, especially as a snapshot in time and history with ideas and lessons that are timeless for any child or adult. Some others like this (if you can find it) The Electric Grandmother, based on the story I Sing The Body Electric by Ray Bradbury (also a Twilight Zone episode), The Velveteen Rabbit etc were of a time when it seemed such shorts were created to inspire and educate, to bring beauty and music and imagination to kids. We have great films like this today, of course, but it seems these were more rare to find in the days before VCRs, Cable, the Internet etc.