Pete's Dragon

Oakes Fegley is quite charming here as the eponymous orphan who has managed to survive, alone, in the forest following an accident that killed his parents. One day, this mini-Mowgli is spotted by park ranger "Grace" (Bryce Dallas Howard) who tries to introduce him to society - and school. How did he survive, though? Well he tells her all about "Elliott" - a dragon! Sceptical, well yes - but when she mentions this to her own father "Beacham" (Robert Redford) he seems to support the boy's story and on returning to the wilderness together, they encounter his not-so-imaginary friend. They have to be wary, though - there are some not so nice folks out there who want to capture "Elliott" and the kindly dragon is ill-equipped for conflict with the nasty logger "Gavin" (a distinctly out-of-sorts Karl Urban). This is a perfectly watchable feature that is well made, stays reasonably faithful to the original story - with a few obvious updates, but it is essentially a short story and stringing it out for 1¾ hours is just too much of a challenge. That said, it is a touching film about a boy's love, lonelines, kindness and imagination - and it's about growing up and learning to evolve as a person too. The visual effects are good, the narrative flows well with engaging performances and dialogue that allow the characters and imagery to immerse us in "Pete's" world. I enjoyed this.

Wholesome viewing. 'Pete’s Dragon' is a pleasant film. This remake brings a lot of feels thanks to its hearty narrative. The special effects are nice, as is the score - particularly towards the end. The cast isn't all-star but they all do good jobs. Oakes Fegley gives a sweet performance as Pete, though it's Bryce Dallas Howard who is probably the film's standout. I also enjoyed Robert Redford's role (Meacham) in this, though it would've been nice to have seen him utilised more - the same could be said for all bar Pete, in truth. There are some neat scenes in this, even if it is a film that does feel like it takes different elements from different films in parts - e.g. 'The Jungle Book' and 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'. A few of the characters aren't written to perfection, but not to the degree of it becoming an irritation. Touching. Worth a watch, for sure.

Disney's retelling efforts post-Maleficent continue to be worthwhile. Does what the original did only better, and though it's not a brilliant movie, it is well made for the most part, and I found myself quite endeared to the titular dragon. _Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go._