Disney's snappy, scary remake of 'Pete's Dragon' soars
Here's the terrific kids fantasy adventure that Steven Spielberg intended to make when he directed “The BFG.”
Sure, Spielberg's tale of English giants arrived in theaters immaculately crafted with photo-realistically rendered visuals, but the experience felt hollow, flat and slow.
David Lowery's “Pete's Dragon” lets our imaginations soar with a BFFGD (big friendly fire-breathing giant dragon) resembling a winged canine covered with green, 1970s super-shag carpet.
Every scene snaps and crackles with so much popping energy that we can easily set aside the story's inherent silly parts and be swept along in a vintage formula Walt Disney family movie that works.
It works so well, the dad could have been played by former Disney regular Dean Jones, and its title could easily be “That Darn Dragon” or “Follow That Dragon.” (A character actually shouts, “Follow that dragon!”)
“Pete's Dragon” updates Disney's 1977 original movie, a live-action musical in which the dragon looks like a frumpy cartoon character from a “Scooby-Doo” episode, when he could be seen.
Lowery deftly directs this sequel as a serious dramatic kids adventure laced with humor. It opens with a terrible, ingeniously constructed slow-motion car crash involving a mom, dad and a little boy named Pete, just learning how to read words from his new book, “Elliott Gets Lost.”
In the deep forest of the Pacific Northwest (actually shot in New Zealand), frightened Pete walks away from the crash site, runs into a menacing wolf-pack, and gets saved by a giant dragon capable of turning as transparent as the Cheshire cat.
We discover that Elliott (as Pete names his new friend) has been separated from his family, making him and Pete both orphans. Six years pass.
Pete (now an amazingly lithe and energized young actor named Oakes Fegley) encounters his first human in years, a forest ranger named Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard).
But he's more fascinated by young Natalie (Oona Laurence), daughter of Grace's fiance Jack (Wes Bentley).
As Grace and Natalie introduce a curious Pete to civilization, poor Elliott becomes heartbroken that he can't find his friend. Elliott's heart breaks even more when thinks Pete has found new, better friends with the humans.
Pete tells everyone about Elliott, but only Natalie's grandfather (a wizened Robert Redford) believes him. Years ago, he also encountered the “Millhaven Dragon.”
The Elliott/Pete relationship serves as the movie's dramatic fulcrum, and it works because indie filmmaker Lowery treats the story like a classic boy-and-his-dog narrative.
Karl Urban, on shore leave from the rebooted “Star Trek” series, plays the closest thing to a villain, Jack's brother Gavin, determined to hunt down and capture the dragon, thereby setting off the obligatory car chases.
Unlike many recent Disney productions, parts of “Pete's Dragon” provide real scares. (Lowery reportedly watched the terrifying horror tale “The Witch” for inspiration.)
Others provoke intense excitement. And others simply, magically, soar.
“Pete's Dragon”
★ ★ ★
Starring: Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Karl Urban, Wes Bentley, Oona Laurence
Directed by: David Lowery
Other: A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG. 100 minutes