I went into David Lowery’s Pete’s Dragon skeptical about
what it had to offer; little did I know that this frame of mind would be in
keeping with that of many in the movie itself.
This re-do of the 1977 Disney feature has very little in common with the
original in terms of tone and intent as the powers that be at the Mouse House
recommended Lowery, co-writer Toby Halbrooks and the cast not view the first
film so that they might be able to bring a fresh perspective to the
material. The filmmakers manage to do
that, yet ultimately they rely on too many familiar narrative tropes and
rhythms for the movie to be regarded as overly original.
In a prologue reminiscent of the early animated Disney
classics, five year-old Pete (an impressive Oakes Fegley) finds himself the
only survivor of a car crash in the wilds of Maine that kills his mother and
father. Wandering and desperate, he’s
befriended by a dragon – whom he names Elliott – and the two live in blissful
seclusion. However, six years later Pete is discovered by a group of loggers,
led by Gavin (Karl Urban), who aren’t supposed to be harvesting as deep in the
woods as they are, and kindly park ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard). They take the wild boy in and attempt to
figure out how he could have survived in the wilds for six years, all the while
Pete’s green furry friend is on the hunt for him so that he might return him
home.
There’s nary an original element in the story as Lowery and
Halbrooks freely borrow from The Jungle Book, E.T., The Velveteen Rabbit and many more. This is hardly a crime as
many of young viewers will be exposed to the key elements from these tales for
the first time here and will surely have the expected emotional response to
them. However, adults in the audience
will recognize them all too readily as well as the many stock characters
populating the story. Urban is given the
thankless role of the woefully predictable villain of the piece, while Howard
is provided little to work with as the nurturing mother figure. As her boyfriend, Wes Bentley barely registers,
yet Robert Redford brings a bit of magic as Grace’s father and teller of dragon
myths.
That said, there’s an undeniable sense of magic about the
film that comes off despite its hackneyed elements. The question of faith is at
the core of the movie as we’re reminded of the power of imagination and how the
innocence of children can convey a sense of hope that we are all sorely in need
of. All involved deliver this message
with conviction, which in the end proves that sincerity and belief have the
power to make old stories seem magical and trump cynicism.
This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2016.
