Pete’s Dragon – a movie for “children of all ages”.

Director David Lowery, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Oakes Fegley,  Karl Urban and Robert Redford.

Director David Lowery said of this film, “I didn’t want the film to feel contemporary”.  Pete’s Dragon is a remake of the 1977 Disney version.  Still Disney and with a huge cuddly green monster of a dragon filling the starring role, this may appeal to the little “jungle boy” in all of us but the story is not without its dark side of how Pete ended up living in a huge forest or how the dragon came to be kidnapped but ultimately set free. Dragons’ reputations  in stories are a little chequered – in this case, as you may imagine, Elliott the dragon is a warm, loveable magician of a beast who takes Pete to fly on his back and later Pete’s new friend and others.  He can make himself disappear but this seems sporadic as he does get captured at one point.  The escapist timeless element of the story is engrossing and as ever Disney is immaculate and totally professional in portraying the dragon and the forest scenes making one wish to actually see a film about the making and animating of Elliott and the story!

Caring people who find Pete are enlivened by the role Robert Redford plays in playing a feisty old father and grandfather who claims he personally has seen dragons in his life, and is not averse to doing his utmost to help Elliott when he is in need.

As action goes, Hollywood has to come up with some pretty unbelievable stunts to keep us glued to the screen and you can look out for one such stunt towards the end of the story when all is nearly lost and there is some expansive footage of imminent danger.  The nature of the story is that good guys come first and therefore you may imagine that though Elliott has been hunted and hounded by some reassuringly down to earth actors playing  forest diggers who get their total comeuppance, all remain ultimately unscathed as the credits roll and Pete finds happy refuge.

You can take your children or your grandchildren, nieces, neighbours or nephews and I feel sure you won’t regret it.  It’s always good to find an excuse to see cuddly magical monsters weaving their artful magic on the world – and to wonder – are there dragons now and certainly – since they feature so much in our lives – were they also much more prevalent in the past?

Enjoy