Pete's Dragon (2016), PG, ★★★

Pete and his dog, I mean, dragon. 

Pete's Dragon was an original live-action film back in the 1970s that has the same plot in which a boy is being stuck in the woods for years but becomes friends with an animated dragon. And, I even looked at some clips. It looked like a very bad, corny movie with music and a noticeable soundstage in the background that went nowhere for me because of one-note slapstick and unmemorable songs. So, I thought to myself that this live-action adaptation has to be worth it, otherwise, I cannot possibly imagine this version being worse. This movie is a Disney live-action adaptation that highlights the fantasy genre with such gentle audacity that is welcoming for both adults and children.

After a tragic accident that killed Pete's parents (it's not surprising because it is Disney: they somehow like to kill one or both parents), Little Pete (Levi Alexander) enters into the woods alone in which a pack of wolves chasing him until they get scared off by a dragon. Pete asks if the dragon is going to eat him but when the dragon approaches him, the boy touches him and his fur turns grown while the dragon flies Pete away.

Pete (now played by Oakes Fegley) lives with Elliot, the name of the dragon, in the woods roaming around, flying and also sleeping in a cave. A group of lumberjacks led by Gavin (Karl Urban) are working in the woods, chopping down trees. Gavin's brother, Jack (Wes Bentley) along with his daughter, Natalie (Oona Laurence) and his fiancee, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) shows up on the scene, unhappy that Gavin is chopping up wood. Natalie sees Pete running in the woods and when both Natalie get an accident and Pete getting unconscious. Elliot gives out a low, groaning sound as Pete gets in danger and is being taken away as he wakes up in a hospital.

Wow! What are they gazing at?

This is old-fashioned family filmmaking that somehow takes its time to develop certain elements regarding Pete and his dragon in which they develop a bond. I felt that it is a bit slow to begin with because we already saw their development between Pete and his dragon and sort of lulls with a bit of a fluff but also some introductions to important characters that felt like deleted scenes. However, the pace picks up in which Pete is discovered and Eliot is left behind and worried about him as Pete is trying to attempt to be a part of the real world. It has certain elements from The Jungle Book but also, and this is a weird comparison, Room in which a child from a different world has to mentally develop into his own world with the same species like him. Pete has been familiar with the woods and Elliot for six years.

I thought Oakes Feakley did a good job with his character as he is emotionally and physically detached from the real world but is emotionally attached to the dragon as the mutual bond is noticeably good as the writers set up his character's situation real well. Oona Laurence is still impressive with her role in this movie and then also from her performance in Southpaw, a movie I did not fully enjoy. Bryce Dallas Howard has a nice and caring role in this movie and it is always great to see Robert Redford on-screen as both a character and a narrator. I felt that Wes Bentley and Karl Urban are great actors but they play one-note characters as a good guy or a bad guy respectively.

Director David Lowery, who made Ain't Them Bodies Saints, made a crisp and visual film that is again, old-fashioned like it is a natural 1970s film unlike the corny 1970s film. I thought it was respectful, more organized and more emotionally investing especially towards its characters, plus there's a good chance you will cry in a scene. I did not but it was emotional. I thought that the third act of the movie was a bit too conventional of a Hollywood climax and should have retreat to a more natural and realistic climax involving a dragon because Karl Urban's character is involved. Nevertheless, this is another well-made Disney adaptation that is on a roll because Disney knows how to improve or sustain their material well. The movie does not overdo its sweet charm unlike the other film but retreats to more of a natural landscape in which the audience can get more attached to the characters and the story.

***