'Pete's Dragon' - Movie Review

Petes DragonUA AdventurefantasyDirector David LoweryCast Bryce Dallas Howard Oakes Fegley Robert Redford Wes Bentley Karl Urban Oona LaurenceRatingPetes Dragon is David Loweryrsquos remake of the 1977 Walt Disney animated musical about a boy and his best friend a dragon who can turn invisible That original story has of course been reworked a bit by Lowery and Halbrooks for this newfangled reboot that prefers to go old school to tell its story and generate attachment thereofWatch the trailer of Petes DragonThe film opens with a car crash and the kid reading a book lsquoElliot gets Lostrsquo seated in the back who is the only survivor wanders further into the forest Soon enough he finds himself surrounded by wolves before a mammoth creature springs up from almost nowhere and scares them away The boy Pete Levi Alexander looks into the almost doglike eyes of the creature and asks heartbreakingly ldquoAre you going to eat me nowrdquo By then you are already hooked to this tenderly mounted subtly rendered fable about a young orphaned boy Pete Oakes Fegley who after his parents are killed in a car accident finds an unlikely caregiver in the form of a dragon living in a forest in the Pacific NorthwestYears later a lumbering business run by two brothers Jack amp Gavin Wes Bentley and Karl Urban renders insecure the forest range that was the romping ground of the little kid and his pet dragon A forest ranger Grace Bryce Dallas Howard whose father Robert Redford used to tell her stories about his encounter with the dragon which she thoroughly disbelieves suddenly encounters the little boy when her fianceacute daughter Natalie Oona Lawrence runs into the forest on a lark And then comes the discovery that he could not have been alive for so many years alone in the forest Gavin who is already into biting off more than he can chew has been cutting into the forest indiscriminately and on locating the hideout of the dragon decides to encash on his discovery by darting him unconscious and putting him in chains No prizes for guessing what follows nextDespite the predictability this is a film that has its heart in the right place Itrsquos made with a certain innocence and charm that distinguished Steven Spielbergrsquos earlier work ET especially Loweryrsquos treatment in fact references many of the best films made with children in mind of the rsquo80s and quite cannily makes the story happen around that period too The book that Pete was reading happened to be about a lost puppy and promptly names the dragon Elliot The allusion to the book being Petersquos favourite is clear enough and so is Petersquos guileless acceptance of the love and protection showered on him by the gentle though fearsome dragon whose fury gets unleashed only when he is vexed beyond measure The natural sounds from the forest are a joy to hearThe rhythm of Pete and Elliotrsquos bonding is dealt with beautifully They are shown as communicating and the idyllic wonder of that is thrown asunder only when an adult starts polluting the forest with his greed Thatrsquos what makes it wrenching Lowery doesnrsquot pump up the volume or the hysteria Instead he very sedately fine tunes the sounds and imagery in such fashion as to make you feel transported into Pete and Elliotrsquos home turf So when Gavinrsquos violation gets the enraged dragon to breathe fire you feel just as incensed The sequence where Gavin and his team attack the Dragon with darts and render him helpless you actually feel your heart in your mouth and when the rescue mission is pulled off in lsquoFree Willyrsquo fashion you just cheer the conspirators on hoping that Elliot will get back to his haunt and the little boy could maybe have a family at lastThis film in fact has the power to affect you more than most of the madeforchildren movies in the recent past Elliotrsquos design work is excellent Therersquos a giant furry dog feel to him that increases believability and attachment The attention to details is what makes this film stand out as an experience You actually feel the emotional codependence between the young boy and his pet dragon and that stays with you all through the movie Even the unhurried editing mellow folk encrusted background score from Daniel Hart and welcoming cinematography from Bojan Bazelli allows for greater contemplation and immersionWith its old school storytelling charm uncluttered plotting magical CGI and restrained performances this film comes as fantastically alive as is possible for a fantasy to get