There are very few Disney movies that I do not like. All of the recent live-action remakes have truly been a home run for me and I’ve loved all of them. I will say, I was mildly concerned about Pete’s Dragon though. I had heard that it really didn’t match up to the earlier movie at all and while I ADORE Bryce Dallas Howard, I just wasn’t sold.
Even from the trailers, I wasn’t 100% sold. That said, I should never have doubted the Disney magic would come in full force. I absolutely loved the movie.
There is a bit of a sad start. Pete loses his parent in a car accident and ends up in the forest, alone. At only 5 years old, he is alone in the forest surrounded by wolves. Having just lost his parents, Elliot appears and the bond begins.
Watching the bond between Elliot and Pete, how Pete creates a little family with Elliot is just beautiful and fun.
When Pete sees Grace (Byrce Dallas Howard) in the forest, he is curious and you can see that despite his connection with Elliot, he truly misses human interaction too. As a ranger, Grace is all about saving the forest. But her fiance, Jack (Wes Bentley) and his brother Gavin (Kyle Urban) are loggers. And they are more interested in cutting down what they can for their business.
Of course, that is what brings all of them together though. Jack has a daughter who spies Pete in the forest and tracks him down.
Can you imagine the culture shock of human interaction after not seeing anyone in years? Oakes Fegley does a phenomenal job of portraying that culture shock and adjusting.
I don’t want to give you any spoilers, so go see the movie this Friday — 8/12. See for yourself this beautiful, magical story of reconnecting and putting family back together after a loss. You will love every minute of it!
This was such an amazing movie! It was so much fun to share with my children yesterday 😀