"We will be here four days in total. Our location manager searched and searched and this house was available for us to use," he said.
"It's about logistics and aesthetics. It's one thing having the perfect house but you also need a place to park your vehicles, here we have parking half a mile up the road. It's also only a 10-15 minute drive from Rotorua.
"[Being here] is like a little slice of heaven. We've just been in the forest with the mud and dust," Mr Lipschultz said.
The movie will wrap up in the North Island this week before it re-locates to the small South Island town of Tapanui. They had previously spent five weeks in Wellington.
Ngongotaha locals were excited to be able to see their town on the big screen. Businesses and nearby residents were told beforehand of the filming with a stop-go sign in place around the house.
Kalah Bar co-owner Janina Khan said there was excitement in the town with school children walking down to visit the area.
"I think it's pretty cool seeing the amount of people down there. I think they've been doing everything quite low key," she said.
"But I will definitely serve Robert Redford a handle of good old Waikato if ever he comes in. They should all come to this wedding here [today] if they want. I'll put them on the main table."
Ngongotaha Early Learning Centre teacher Olivia Bootten and her sons were watching the crew at work yesterday. She has been seeing all the action from the centre across the road from the house.
"I think it's cool and exciting that they chose a small house in small Ngongotaha," she said.
"It's a big buzz for us and the kids all love it. We knew it was coming a while back as the man who owns the home came across the road and told us but I'm shocked just how many people there is and the work that goes on.
"We've been looking out the window for days and it's amazing how everybody is so busy."
Pete's Dragon is set for release in August next year.
