Pete's Dragon (2016)

I think that what really allows the original film from 1977 to remain present in the public's consciousness is the idea of an imaginary friend being real. Also, kids who saw the movie in the 70's are now grown up and remember the film because it appealed to them at a young age. When I revisited "Pete's Dragon" in preparation for its remake, it wasn't the film I remembered and the 2016 version was only a little better. Just as 1977 film was boring and had plot problems, the 2016 remake felt too cliché and fell short of achieving its full potential. The best thing that this new "Pete's Dragon" has going for it is that it retains the same charm and spirit that was experienced back in the 1970's. Effective steps were taken to create originality and while it will entertain a lot of people, I just couldn't connect with it personally because I have seen this kind of movie before a lot.

What the Disney studio did is took the original premise, changed the time period, threw out the songs and altered the plot to resemble "E.T." That is ironic considering both movies have characters named Elliot but in this case, Elliot is the one in need of saving. While "Pete's Dragon" also took inspiration from other well-known stories such as "Tarzan", "The Jungle Book" and "The NeverEnding Story", its apparent resemblance to Steven Spielberg's iconic 1982 film makes it hard for me to fully enjoy it. It is possible for a film to effectively borrow from other movies to create something special. "Inception" is one example and the original "Star Wars" film is another. George Lucas was able to use aspects from many famous movies but to create the needed originality, he applied them to the timeless story pattern of "The Hero's Journey". "Pete's Dragon" fails to feel original enough for me on a personal level just like "Avatar". The plotline that entailed a little boy trying to protect and rescue his fantastic friend from adults who don't understand felt too familiar. I think what I was hoping for with "Pete's Dragon" was the plotline that was advertized to me. The trailers used footage of Elliot very sparingly and it gave the impression that Elliot's reveal would be saved until the end of the movie like on "The Desolation of Smaug". It was important for Pete and Elliot's relationship to have a strong foundation so I can't say that all the scenes we have of them together before Pete is discovered were pointless. The element from the original film that needed to be carried over was the relationship between a young boy and his protective dragon. Because of the great acting from Oakes Fegley, we can accept the bond between the two characters. To have a computer generated Elliot in this remake was a no-brainer and this allowed the filmmakers to do a bit of redesigning. I think that the idea of Elliot as a dog is a good idea but the consequence is that Elliot reminds me too much of a Luck Dragon. I enjoyed the "Tarzan and Jane" moment between Pete and Natalie. Considering the kind of story that the filmmakers were telling, the character of Natalie is the best new element introduced in this remake. Having a girl the same age as Pete find him in the forest and bond with him also creates plausibility as well as a reason for Pete to leave the forest for a while. Another modification from the 1977 film is that Pete becomes a contemporary Mowgli. It was nice there was an origin story as to how Pete ended up in the forest and cared for by Elliot. It makes Pete's integration back into society plausible because Pete still has memories from when he was five years old. He knows how to read, talk and knows what happened to his parents. Jack should have had more screen time and interaction with the other main characters. He felt out of place in the movie as a result. Although the film is set over 30 years in the past, the 1983 setting feels more modern than when other films portray the decade of the 80's. The movie felt like it was set in the present day but in a town that preserved a simpler and cherished way of life. I liked that.

This was the best performance I have seen from Bryce Dallas Howard since "The Help". I didn't care for her in "Jurassic World" so it looks like whenever she plays a good character, she is able to deliver. John Kassir, who is best known for playing the Crypt Keeper by the way, provides the vocals for Elliot. Barrie M. Osborne acts as the executive producer and he has been involved in many hit movies in the past such as "The Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy ("Pete's Dragon" was also shot in New Zealand). Before seeing this movie, I wondered if it would have any similarities to the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise. I was worried that such a connection would ruin my enjoyment experience. It turned out that "Pete's Dragon" followed the story pattern of an even more famous movie and so I felt this remake was cliché. Despite what I think, this movie will entertain those who aren't so picky or familiar with movies. The movie retains from its source material what is most important: a strong relationship between a child and his dragon protector. This remake had potential, especially with some of the decisions that were made, but it fell short in my opinion. Director David Lowery and co-writer Toby Halbrooks will next handle another Disney classic being given the live action treatment: "Peter Pan". That 1953 film is very sentimental to me so Lowery and Halbrooks will really have their work cut out for them. The silver lining is that the source material is better than it was for "Pete's Dragon".

3 Stars