Disney's 2016 Pete's Dragon hardly even warrants the term 'lose remake', its relationship to the 1977 film of the same name could best be described as a variation on a theme. Indeed the carry over elements from the first film are simply 1) an orphaned boy named Pete who befriends a good natured dragon name Elliott who can turn himself invisible and 2) a sympathetic female character who both leads Pete toward a more sustainable living situation and has an eccentric father who, to the amusement of locals, claims to have seen a dragon. This film also leaves behind the circa 1900 fishing village setting of its predecessor in favor of a lumber town in what appears to be the Pacific Northwest of the 1980's.
When his parents are killed in a car accident in the remote woods a five year old Pete is rescued and raised by a kind hearted Dragon he names Elliot. Around six year later a logging operation ran by brothers Wes Bentley and Karl Urban begins to encroach upon Pete (Oakes Fegley) and Elliot's isolated home, in course of the story Pete ends up being 'rescued' by Bentley's kind hearted fiancé, a forest ranger played endearing by Bryce Dallas Howard. Pete's unexplained wilderness survival for six years perplexes the adults, while the civilized world frightens Pete who attempts to run away back to Elliot who is searching for him as well.
What Pete's Dragon seeks to evoke is not so much the original movie as it is the family adventure films of my childhood, I don't think its an accident that Elliot is so reminiscent of Falcor from The Never Ending Story. This nostalgic trend, which can also be seen in movies like Super 8, or the Netflix series Stranger Things, is one I can whole heartily get behind. There is a sense of childhood wonder and discovery in the film, as well as a good natured Pixarian warmness. The movie is also not manically paced like most contemporary children's films, it's refreshing slow, though maybe too much so for some younger viewers. Fine performances all around, including that of Robert Redford, who remarkably just turned 80. The visual effects and look of the film are great and the soundtrack here is certainly worth praising, it boasts both a Williamsian type score and some pretty nice folk music. While this Pete's Dragon is not the odd yet charming original that the first movie was, it is a comfortingly timeless family film that can stake its own sentimental claim to the hearts of viewers. ***
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