Pete’s Dragon (2016)

The Dragon, The Forest, And My Memory Going “Good Luck, Buddy”

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Okay, this one is gonna be a quicker review because for the life of me, I cannot fully remember this film.

What I do remember is that the movie is about a boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley), who lives in the forest with a dragon named Elliott. Elliott is basically Pete’s best friend, protector, and giant green emotional support dragon. They live out in the forest together, away from the world, until Pete eventually gets discovered and taken in by people from the nearby town.

From what I remember, Pete ends up being cared for by Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is a forest ranger, and Jack (Wes Bentley). Also, Robert Redford is in this movie as Mr. Meacham, and yes, that is the guy who played Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So my brain just goes, “Oh look, Hydra Grandpa found a dragon.”

The problem is, once people find out Elliott is real, not everyone wants to leave him alone. Some people see a magical dragon and go, “Wow, wonder, beauty, friendship,” while others go, “What if we capture it?” because apparently humans see one miracle and immediately become a government clipboard.

So Pete has to protect Elliott, Elliott has to stay free, and the movie becomes this sweet little story about friendship, family, and letting go.

Character Rundown

Pete (Oakes Fegley) is the main kid, and from what I remember, he was good. He had to carry a lot of the emotional side of the movie because he’s this kid who grew up in the forest with a dragon and doesn’t really belong to the normal world at first.

Elliott is the dragon, and honestly, from what I remember, the visuals on him were good. He’s not some scary dragon. He’s more like a giant green forest puppy with wings. He’s meant to be lovable, protective, and emotional, and I remember the movie doing a good job making him feel like an actual character instead of just CGI floating around.

Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the forest ranger who finds Pete and tries to help him. She brings a lot of warmth to the movie, and she works as the adult character who actually cares about Pete instead of immediately treating Elliott like some monster problem.

Jack (Wes Bentley) is also part of that family side of the movie, and from what I remember, he was solid. I don’t remember a ton about him, but he fit the story.

Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) is the older character who believes in the legend of the dragon. Again, this is the same actor who played Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so it’s funny seeing him here in a much softer Disney role instead of being Captain America’s government nightmare.

Gavin (Karl Urban) is also in this movie, which I somehow forgot until recently. Karl Urban plays Jack’s brother, and he’s one of the people who gets involved with trying to capture Elliott. And honestly, Karl Urban being in this movie is kind of wild because now when I think of him, I think of The Boys, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and now suddenly he’s in the forest yelling about a dragon. The man really is a chameleon actor.

Pacing / Episode Flow

From what I remember, the pacing was pretty good. It wasn’t some loud, nonstop action movie. It was more gentle, quiet, and emotional.

This is one of those Disney remakes that actually feels more like it’s trying to have a mood instead of just throwing nostalgia keys in your face and jingling them like, “Remember this? Remember this? Remember this?”

The movie takes its time with Pete and Elliott’s bond, then moves into Pete being discovered, then the town finding out about Elliott, then the whole conflict of people wanting to capture him. It’s simple, but from what I remember, it worked.

Pros

The cast was good. That’s one of the biggest things I remember. Nobody felt painfully miscast, and the movie had a pretty strong group of actors.

The visuals were also good, especially Elliott. He could’ve easily looked terrible or too fake, but from what I remember, he actually worked. He had personality. He had emotion. He looked like something a kid would actually love and believe in.

I also liked the forest setting. The movie has this soft, outdoorsy, almost magical feeling to it. It’s not trying to be the biggest Disney remake ever. It feels smaller, calmer, and more personal.

And even though I never saw the original Pete’s Dragon, I still remember enjoying this version. So clearly the movie worked enough on its own for someone like me, who had no attachment to the original.

Cons

My biggest issue is honestly that I can’t fully remember the movie.

That doesn’t automatically mean the movie is bad, but it does mean it didn’t stick in my brain as strongly as some other Disney remakes or fantasy films. I remember the basic story, I remember liking it, I remember Elliott, and I remember the emotional vibe, but I can’t sit here and pretend I remember every single scene.

I’m also kind of afraid to rewatch it because there’s always that danger where you revisit something you remember liking and then your brain goes, “Oh no. We were wrong.” And I don’t want that. I want to keep my nice little memory of this movie safely preserved in the forest where Elliott can guard it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Pete’s Dragon is one of those live-action Disney remakes that I remember enjoying, even if I don’t remember every detail.

It’s sweet, emotional, visually good, and has a strong cast. It doesn’t feel like one of the more annoying remakes where Disney is just copying the original scene-for-scene while removing the charm. This one actually feels like it has its own identity.

No, I never saw the original Pete’s Dragon, so I can’t compare the two. But as its own movie, I remember this being a good one.

I do recommend it. It’s on Disney Plus, along with most of these live-action remakes. Minus Cinderella for some reason, because apparently Disney Plus woke up one day and said, “No glass slipper for you.”

Rating

I’m giving Pete’s Dragon a solid 8/10.

Spoiler Warning

This is the spoiler section, so if you haven’t seen Pete’s Dragon and want to go in fresh, stop here.

Spoilers

From what I remember, Pete lives in the forest with Elliott after losing his parents. Elliott becomes his protector and best friend, and the two of them basically survive together in the woods like this weird little found family.

Eventually, Pete gets discovered by Grace and the others, and he gets pulled into the human world. He’s taken in by Grace and Jack, and even though they care about him, Pete still misses Elliott because Elliott is his family too.

Then people start learning that Elliott is real, and that’s where everything goes sideways. Because of course it does. You can’t have a magical dragon peacefully existing in the woods without someone deciding, “We should capture this thing.” Gavin (Karl Urban) gets wrapped up in that side of the story, and Elliott ends up being hunted and trapped.

Pete doesn’t want Elliott to be captured or treated like some dangerous monster. He knows Elliott isn’t evil. Elliott is his friend. So the movie becomes about saving him and proving that Elliott deserves to be free.

Eventually, Elliott is released, Pete finds a new family, and the dragon gets to fly away and live freely. It’s bittersweet because Pete and Elliott can’t stay together the same way forever, but it’s also happy because neither of them is alone anymore.

And that’s basically what I remember: boy lives with dragon, boy gets adopted, people try to capture dragon, dragon is saved, dragon is free.

Simple? Yes.

But from what I remember, it worked.