Pete's Dragon Soars (Roars)

I grew up with the 1977 Pete's Dragon and no matter what cinemasins thinks I hold nothing but the utmost respect for that movie; Pete's Dragon and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on VHS got me through some unbearably hot summer days. Nostalgia and a love for children who are one with the woods (Jungle Book, Tarzan, another movie with a grimy little boy in a loin cloth) had me very eager for a Pete's Dragon reboot with a large enough budget to snag Robert Redford.

How much de paying you?

Let me tell you up front so that we don't begin this review on false pretenses that I started crying in the opening scene then continued to cry pretty steadily (to David's chagrin) for the remainder of the film. I feel that this led me to bond in a maternal way with the film and you, reader, should be aware of that. This also leads to the point that this movie is in no way a comedy. These past years have been filled with emotionally charged films geared towards children such as Inside Out and Zootopia, but they all also have comedic elements while Pete's Dragon is fun but isn't filled with quips that recent films have grown heavy with. Pete's Dragon is a drama. It's the story of a boy who has no one. Pete is raised by a dragon, dope when you are 10, heart breaking when you are 22, and after an unfortunate run in with his own kind he is brought to terms with what he needs and what growing up means.

Pete's Dragon is cinematic. While the story is a bit on the nose at times for the benefit of it's tiny people audience the shots are mature and beautiful. The movie does well at capturing both how big and how personal the story is. The opening shot is an expansive look at the woods where Pete and his Dragon live. The woods are striking and thick and dark, not the welcoming Hundred Acre woods. The film then moves to a close look at Pete. The shot is close and softly lit, sun shining in the windows of the car his family is traveling in. The movie set itself up as being the story of a small bright boy in a large complicated grownup world. When Pete enters this forest he finds the light.

One of the stand out elements of Pete's Dragon is how it manages to keep a simple story simple. The movie doesn't let itself get bogged down by information outside of what keeps Pete's particular narrative moving. The characters in this movie have complex relationships, which the movie doesn't over explain. The characters all clearly have lives outside of what is happening in this moment in time but the movie only lets the audience in on what is essential. This tactic creates a host of very human characters.

The only character that I could have had more humanized was the dragon himself (henceforth refereed to by Elliot). The dragon from the 1977 version had its own clickity click language with which he would communicate with Pete.

Love.

This version of Elliot fell prey to the same the craze that caught Pixar's The Good Dinosaur-- dog love. Elliot the dragon had a similar feel to the puppy-like prehistoric human in The Good Dinosaur. All the stereotypes of a dog thrown onto another entity to easily convince the audience that it is lovable. Elliot is charming in his fuzzy canine ways but I am unconvinced 1) that his fur wouldn't be disgustingly matted 2) That he raised a human person. I think out of respect for Pete, Elliot should have been a little less green great dane.

Pete's Dragon defies expectations. It set up all the cliches and then neatly avoided everyone. It even knocked over one or two.

#Elizabeth #PetesDragon #RobertRedford