Pete’s Dragon Review: Charming Family Fun

Director: David Lowery

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Karl Urban, Robert Redford, Wes Bentley, Oona Laurence, Oakes Fegley, John Kassir, Isiah Whitlock Jr.,

Rating: PG

Running Time: 102 mins

Release Date: August 12th, 2016

PETE’S DRAGON follows in the footsteps of CINDERELLA and THE JUNGLE BOOK in that it continues Disney’s growing infatuation with remaking their animated classics into live action spectaculars. While you can’t accuse PETE’S DRAGON of being an unwarranted update (the 1977 original is a charming childhood classic, largely forgotten about now), the remake has assembled a talented cast and one particularly expressive dragon for a fun family adventure, even as it flies through a thin, stretched out plot.

Oakes Fegley stars as Pete, who after a horrible accident ends up stranded in the forest. After 6 years fending for himself, he’s stumbled upon by park ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard). While questioning him, they learn he wasn’t alone in the forest, instead accompanied by a friend called ‘Elliot’ and Elliot, as it turns out, is a dragon. We first glimpse Elliot within the films first opening minutes and it’s a relief that the film doesn’t play coy over the existence of the dragon. Instead Elliot becomes his own character, a beautifully rendered CGI creature, with Disney utilising wonderful special effects that allow him to become host to a whole assortment of facial expressions and reactions that help add personality to him.

The film is largely successful in thanks to Elliot’s relationship with everyone else around him, especially Pete. Oakes Fegley is more than capable of carrying the film on his own without the help of any of his more well known co-stars. The young actor is capable of being extremely expressive with his eyes alone, especially as we watch him react to a world he’s never really seen before. His interactions with Elliot impressively acted in that you forget, in reality, he is interacting with nothing.

That in itself is PETES DRAGON greatest achievement, creating something as magical and out of this world as Elliot the dragon but still finding the time to make him as real and humanistic as possible. When the rest of the cast first set their eyes on Elliot, it’s magical, particularly Robert Redford as Grace’s father, who shares a history with the dragon. Everyone’s acceptance of the existence of dragons goes a long way to continue the magical realism the film deploys and its decision to immediately let you know that Elliot does exist a relief as, much like Pete does, you bond with Elliot immediately. The relationship between Elliot and Pete drives the story all the way to its conclusion and when the film diverts from that, it suffers.

Divert it does, as Karl Urban plays the boisterous Gavin, here brought in to bring some kind of conflict into the proceedings. Obsessed with hunting and capturing the dragon, he alternates between comically inept and boring antagonist, as the film frantically tries to do something with him. Urban gives it his best but frustratingly the film doesn’t need an obnoxious character who’s trying to separate our two protagonists.

For the first two acts the film appears to be heading in a different direction, having Pete torn between the new loving family he’s been rescued by, the family he should really be with, and the one thing that kept him company for all those years he was alone in the forest. The third act arrives and the film seems lost at what to do with itself and flies in circles until its conclusion.

Fun for kids and adults alike, PETE’S DRAGON is family friendly fun and manages to soar high for the most part. The inclusion of an unnecessary and frantic antagonist means the film can’t sustain its flight for long but at its height, it’s magical.

Verdict

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