10 Best Dragons In Film & TV
9. Puff - Puff, The Magic Dragon
Puff The Magic Dragon is a strange one. He featured in a 1978 short which has continued to be popular down the years through reruns, VHS and DVD releases, and is based on a song by Peter, Paul and Mary.
The group have always claimed that the song was an innocent jaunt about growing up, but the urban legends continue to swirl. References to paper, mist and the assumption that dragon means draggin’ have seen it labelled a psychedelic drug ballad, much to Peter, Paul and Mary’s chagrin.
It’s almost impossible to discuss Puff The Magic Dragon without the song coming up, but away from that the TV short is a cult classic.
It’s a hugely imaginative tale, one with a fairly simplistic and childlike tone which has stood the test of time. Jackie, a shy boy with selective mutism, is greeted in his room by Puff, who uses ordinary things in his room to take him on an adventure.
The fairytale adventure helps Jackie discover his inner bravery, and with it he becomes a more confident boy. Puff returns him to his room and slips away unseen, leaving Jackie much happier than he found him.