I didn’t know that the Pete’s Dragon remake was going to be a thing until I saw the trailer at the movie theatre when I went to see Finding Dory. I have never seen the original one and I knew nothing about it (besides that it had a dragon in it). The trailer looked a little bit similar to the new Jungle Book remake that just came out a few months ago, so I was a bit worried. But did look pretty great and it made me super excited to watch the film.
I came back from vacations less than two weeks ago, and the movie was already out. So I went to see it. And oh boy, was I in for a surprise.
This remake is slightly different from the 1977 one. In this one, Pete is an orphan that lives in the forest with his friend Elliott, who happens to be a dragon. When the people of the town nearby find Pete, they obviously can’t let the 10 year old go back to the woods alone. So Pete and Elliott’s lives change completely.
I obviously was expecting to like it, and I knew it would be cute and all. But that movie moved me in a way that I hadn’t been moved for a long time. It reminds me of when I watched The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep when I was a kid. And it made me cry just the same.
Anyone who is planning to watch this movie should definitely bring tissues. I didn’t, and I regretted that a lot. With it’s great actors, amazing cinematography and plot, and a wonderful soundtrack, Pete’s Dragon is another movie that Disney can add to it’s growing list of remarkable remakes.
I don’t know why, but I literally spent the whole movie trying not to cry. I mean, as many Disney movies (Tarzan, Up, Finding Nemo, etc), this one starts with a heartbreaking scene. And even though there are many happy ones, I couldn’t stop myself from getting all emotional. Maybe it was the soundtrack, which was so amazing and the movie would have been a whole other thing if it was different. (Listen to this song, it's so good!). Or maybe it was the little boy and the dragon, whose relationship was so cute, it made me not want to see them apart ever.
Then movie can be a little too dark at moment (particularly at the beginning scene) and I don’t think it would be very appropriate for young children. To be honest, it might have been the reason I spent the whole time with tears in my eyes. It was extremely sad to imagine a kid going through all of that and then spending years with only a dragon as company (don’t get me wrong, the dragon is great! But it’s not enough for a kid to spend 6 years with!). I guess the director and screenwriters didn’t really think about what kind of audience they were going to get.
I have read some other reviews and I know that some people found it too cliché. I can see why they would think that, but I guess it didn’t really matter to me as much because it is a Disney movie (mostly for kids), and it was beautifully done. I can’t wait for the next remakes that are going to come out!
