Pete's Dragon

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Directed by: David Lowery
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A park ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard) discovers a young boy (Oakes Fegley) living in the woods with his pet dragon.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit I'm getting tired of the whole Disney live action remake thing. We're just getting the same movies made over and over and they're rarely better than the animated originals. With that for context, I have to say that Pete's Dragon flips that narrative on its head. This movie works, chiefly because it moves away from the source material. This is a film that takes the basic idea but charts its own path. It differentiates itself from the live action/animated film and that's a very good thing. Why would you make a film that's basically a rehash of an earlier film unless you're trying to make a cash grab? You need to do something different, to put your own spin on it. That's exactly what David Lowery does here, and this movie is significantly better for it.

I like the idea of a giant dragon living in the remote woods. What would that be like? The film does a good job of trying to show how this theoretically could be plausible. The dragon's camouflage ability was important. While still preposterous, this movie crafted the story in a way that we could almost believe. That's important when you're dealing with such a fantastic story. I liked the more grounded approach.

I thought Pete's story was surprisingly emotional. From the opening sequence, we feel for this little boy. The movie is really about family, about moving on past tragedy. I really appreciated these more emotional moments. We see Pete get somewhat adopted (not officially) by a family to replace the one he lost. We see Bryce Dallas Howard's character trying to reconnect with her father. This is really a story about families and that was one of the best elements of the film.

The visual effects are impressive. Elliot looks beautiful on screen. While some moments did feel too computer generated, for the most part, he feels like a seamless part of the visual tapestry of the film. He's depicted well enough so that he becomes part of the accepted reality of the story and not something that continually distracts or reminds us that what we're seeing isn't real.

While I enjoyed the film, it's probably a little bit too long. At 1 hour, 43 minutes, there was still too much meandering around. The story didn't feel as tightly focused as it could have been. There were multiple stretches when I had to fight to stay focused and engaged in the story. I would always be able to get back into it, though. There are some truly compelling sequences throughout the film, but I wish that it would have dragged in fewer spots.

Howard is good in the movie. I like her and feel like she has some real talent as an actress. A Disney movie like this isn't going to give you too many opportunities to shine, but she shows up and delivers a strong performance. I loved seeing Robert Redford here. He leverages his supporting role and has some great moments throughout the film. Wes Bentley was a good addition, although his character was a bit bland. I liked the idea of Karl Urban in an antagonistic role, but his character was too underdeveloped. Still, as a whole, the casting department did a good job and the actors' strong performances certainly help this film.

I didn't expect to enjoy Pete's Dragon as much as I did. Disney is really going overboard with these live action remakes. Fortunately, this movie proved there is a way you can do it right. You definitely need to chart your own path, but when you do, you get a solid, entertaining movie like this one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella