Trivia:
Despite the fact that this a remake of the original 1977 film, director David Lowery described his version of Pete's Dragon is to be more of a "re-invention", rather than a straight-up remake. His ambition for the film was to distinguish itself from the 1977 film as much as possible and also that he wanted to reinvent the "the core story of a venerable Disney family film". Lowery even watched the following films: The Black Stallion (1979), Yume to kyôki no ôkoku (2013), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), and The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015), for artistic and visual inspiration. See more »
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User Review
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Rating: 9/10
Aah, where to begin. I was five years old when the original came out
and it was the first ever film I saw on the big screen. For that
experience alone I'll treasure the "old" 'Pete's Dragon' forever.
Now to the "new" film. I'm not normally into family movies, but because
I hold such a deep love for the original, I just couldn't resist to go
to a pre-screening of this remake. If they didn't honor the original,
at the very least I could voice my opinion afterwards on the internet.
I needn't have worried. This new 'Pete's Dragon' is about as far away
from a cheap cash grab as it could be.
Unlike the original, the new film starts on a somber note (think the
beginning of The Jungle Book, Tarzan or Bambi) in that a little boy is
orphaned by an accident and left alone in the woods. But just like the
best fairy tales, I feel a good story often needs some darker themes:
for without those, the joyous moments wouldn't feel as intense and
rewarding. And this is very true here, for what follows is a tale of
friendship, adventure, magic and wonder like I hadn't seen since those
wonderful Spielberg films in the eighties.
The story is sentimental - but never cheesy - and that is one of its
greatest strengths: it dares to have a heart but it's not the kind of
over-sugary tripe we so often get from big studios. The film's biggest
asset, though, is easily Elliot. I had feared (because I had seen a
trailer) that Elliot would be a cringe-worthy CGI creature of the worst
kind, but the trailers really did the special effects wizards a bad
service: the dragon design is perhaps the most beautiful (and I'm not
ashamed to say it: cute) I've ever seen.
It blends perfectly with the natural surroundings (gorgeous New Zealand
forests) and while this particular dragon has more traits of a playful,
over-sized dog than of a dinosaur, it looks so realistic you believe
you can touch and feel Elliot's fur (the 3-d works great for this
film), and his face is so expressive you forget you're watching a CGI
character.
All in all, this really is a film I can whole heartedly recommend to
people of all ages, but if you have kids, watch it as soon as possible,
you won't regret it. It's a throwback to a different era when Disney
made the best quality family films (which were so good they are still
immensely popular today), utterly devoid of the now so common cynicism
and full of heart, joy and wonder. 9 stars out of 10.
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