Review: ‘Pete’s Dragon’ is rare remake that is actually better than the original

Posted on August 19, 2016

By MARK VIOLA

I like to complain about all of the remakes Hollywood keeps giving us. This year alone we’re getting remakes of such classics as “Ben-Hur” and “The Magnificent Seven”–which admittedly was itself a remake of the Japanese film “Seven Samurai.”

Another film receiving a remake this year is “Pete’s Dragon,” Disney’s 1977 live-action/animation hybrid musical about a young orphan named Pete and his dragon friend Elliot. I saw this movie as a kid and remember liking it. But admittedly I was also a young kid at the time, and it’s been 25 or so years since I saw it. Thus, I was thinking about re-watching the movie in the lead up to the release of the remake, so I tracked down an original trailer on Youtube. And I was surprised just how badly this film has aged, at least in my mind.

So I skipped the reviewing and went straight into the remake, and it really doesn’t matter, because the new film is its own beast, with only Pete, Elliot and the most basic framework for a few of the other characters making the leap. It also cuts out the musical numbers and moves the action from Maine to the Pacific Northwest.

And I have to say, with the exception of some story issues, this is a solid and enjoyable family film that should entertain both children and adults. While this is not going to a be classic remembered years from now, I will say “Pete’s Dragon” is one of those rare remakes that is actually better than the original.

The story focuses on a boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley, “Person of Interest”), who finds himself alone in the woods at a very young age, when he meets a dragon he names Elliot. In this movie’s world, there are legends of dragons living in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, although no one has ever seen one, except for an older man named Meacham who loves to tell stories (Robert Redford, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”).

His daughter is Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard, “Jurassic World”), a forester who one day comes across Pete, who by now has been living alone with Elliot for six years and is quite wild. Along with her fiance Jack (Wes Bentley, “The Hunger Games”) and his daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence, “Bad Moms”), Grace brings Pete home, trying to help him adjust once again to civilization even though all he wants to do is get back to Elliot.

Meanwhile, Jack’s brother Gavin (Karl Urban, “Star Trek Beyond”) catches a glimpse of Elliot and develops a plan to capture him to make money for their struggling logging company.

I will say the story does not unfold like I was expecting, which does lead to some pacing problems in the middle portion of the movie, when Pete is being introduced to Grace and the others and Elliot has little or nothing to do. The biggest problem for me, however, is that there are several moments when characters make decisions that make no sense. Without getting into spoilers, one character makes what would seem to be a very outlandish claim–unless you happen to know you’re in a movie called “Pete’s Dragon”–and gets unreasonably upset when the other person doesn’t immediately believe him. It’s obvious that these decisions had to be made in order for the plot to unfold as designed, but it doesn’t feel natural at all and one of my storytelling pet peeves.

That being said, however, “Pete’s Dragon” still is a lot of fun, with interesting characters, solid acting and a steady hand at the helm from relatively unknown director David Lowery, who makes the most of the beautiful landscapes provided by the Pacific Northwest. This is a quite pretty film in addition to be an enjoyable one.

The movie is rated PG for action, peril and brief language.

 

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