2016 Summer Movie Season - Pete's Dragon: Review & Analysis

The Dragon of Millhaven!!!! Disney Delivers Top Notch Retelling of 1970s Classic!!!!

Review By Brandon Porter

A legendary tale of a boy and his larger than life best friend

Story Description

Deep in the forest of the Pacific Northwest, park ranger Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) wows children with the tale of a mythical dragon that lives in the Millhaven woods. While entertaining to kids, his daughter Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) is sticking to the idea that it's all just make believe. But life takes an unexpected turn when Grace finds a lost young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) in the woods while on patrol. With questions arising about how a child could survive alone for nearly half a decade, the clues lead to a magical and shocking discovery that sends Grace and her family on a magical adventure to try and safe guard a secret too massive to keep hidden.

Grace sits with Jack, Pete, and Natalie

Critical and Financial Analysis

The original film, Pete's Dragon, became a cult classic among a few good number of fans when it was released in 1977. 39 years later, Disney prepares to retell the story in the modern times. Critically, the film surprised many. Pete's Dragon earned an impressive 87% certified fresh rating on rotten tomatoes and an equally solid audience score of 81%. Critics praised it for keeping with the spirit of the original while giving it a visual facelift. The film however struggled at the box office earning a below average $21.5 million on opening weekend becoming quite similar to Disney's other live action adaptation The BFG which under performed at the box office but was well received by critics and audiences. Pete's Dragon may have won over moviegoers but the financial performance makes the film's lasting impact more of a whimper than a roar.

The best way to travel.

Film Review 

Pete's Dragon is a film I've heard much about but never really took interest in. With a remake announced, part of what I saw sparked my attention enough to give it a look. After seeing the film, I can conclude that the film is a pleasant surprise from start to finish. Pete's Dragon takes the formula of the classic film and gives it a solid modern day makeover that is rich, heartfelt, and full of life. The performances are solid across the board with Oakes Fegley delivering a terrific performance as Pete. Fegley show great strength in the role truly shining in more ways than one. The surrounding veterans of Bryce Dallas Howard, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Robert Redford offer solid balance making the film an all around engaging experience. But the true standout in it is Elliot the dragon. For a character who has no dialog, Elliot is full of personality. I could perfectly tell when he was happy, sad, curious, and frightened. Credit can go to the animation team and the performance capture effort truly bring this character to life visually and emotionally. The film's emotional backbone is also a strength that it displays. Several scenes, brought to life pristinely by the actors, will tug at your heartstrings and make you smile from ear to ear. In the long run, Pete's Dragon is a true embodiment of Disney magic delivering a keen sense of fun, emotion, heart, and joy becoming one of the summer's surprise gems. A truly perfect family film that will have you asking for a dragon as a best friend.

Rating and Final Thoughts

Disney delivers a standout modern adaptation of one its most beloved classics by infusing it with

heart and soul while keeping the essence of what made the first film special.

A friend in green, is a friend indeed