The magical remake of the classic Disney film, Pete’s Dragon, is sure to delight everyone in the family and even carries some themes that will go over your little one’s heads, but will strike you right in the heart. Directed by David Lowry, the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban and Oakes Fegley as Pete himself. With an all-star cast like this one, it’s no shock that the film is getting praise, from both the young and young at heart. The film follows the story of a young boy named Pete, whom after a horrible accident finds himself lost in the woods at 5 years old. But thanks to a gentle giant, Pete survives for 6 fun filled years in the woods with his best friend Elliot.
The story is more than one of friendship, it’s about acceptance and judging a “beast” by it’s cover. That beast is Elliot himself, a shy and quirky dragon that has been looking after Pete as much as Pete has looked after him. Together they have lived in the forest in peace, until a logging company comes a little too close to home. When Pete is taken by the humans, Elliot tries to find his friend while being hunted by loggers who want to own him and Pete fights desperately to find his way back to his friend. With help from Grace (Dallas Howard), it’s a fight to make sure Elliott stays safe and everyone ends up happy.
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The film is ripe with emotion, bringing tears to your eyes during various points of the film (it kicks off minutes into the film, just a warning) so you’ll need to bring tissues or you’ll be using your sleeve like I did. With strong themes of friendship, understanding and lessons to be learned, Pete’s Dragon has a lesson for both the parents, children and young at heart that find themselves at this film. The film is strong with accepting everyone for the way they are, which is a lesson that Disney seems to be picking up on from society and it seems they think we need to learn it all over again. On top of that, the topic of logging and deforestation that is happening all around the world is huge in the film. The only reason Pete is found is because loggers are cutting trees down in an area they aren’t supposed to be in.
As a film itself though, Pete’s Dragon is highly enjoyable and a magical adventure. The CGI that created Elliott is beautiful and makes him look so real that we could reach across the screen to rub his maw ourselves. Accompanied with a beautiful soundtrack, Pete’s Dragon is a film you won’t want to miss!
See the trailer below and be sure to catch the film this weekend, it will fill you day with magic and adventure.
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Studios
