Disney is following up the monster smash ‘The Jungle Book’ with another remake of one of their classic movies, ‘Pete’s Dragon’ which will (hopefully) light up theaters during the Dog Days of Summer. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, once again playing opposite a giant CGI reptile, but unlike the savage monsters in ‘Jurassic World’, Elliot the Dragon appears benevolent.
The new film has a wondrous fantasy feel while still being grounded in the real world. Howard plays Grace, a park ranger who discovers Pete (Oakes Fegley), a wild child that has been living in the wilderness, apparently on his own. But Pete has a protector, as Grace, her father (Robert Redford) and others discover.
A reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. “Pete’s Dragon” stars Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”), Oakes Fegley (“This is Where I Leave You”), Wes Bentley (“The Hunger Games”), Karl Urban (“Star Trek”), Oona Laurence (“Southpaw”), Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (“Cedar Rapids”) and Oscar® winner Robert Redford (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”). The film, which is directed by David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”), is written by Lowery & Toby Halbrooks based on a screenplay by Malcolm Marmorstein and produced by Jim Whitaker (“The Finest Hours,” “Friday Night Lights”), with Barrie M. Osborne (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Great Gatsby”) serving as executive producer.
Sean Marshall played Pete in Disney’s original film in 1977.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliot. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliot seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon. Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.
The original version of ‘Pete’s Dragon’ was released by Disney in 1977 and was a rare mixture of live action and animation. The new one… is kind of the same thing, but animation has come a long way since then! Though slightly cartoon-y with his paunch belly, Elliot looks pretty realistic!
You can watch the new trailer for the film here:
You can also check out some new still photos from the film here:
‘Pete’s Dragon’ was directed by David Lowery, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Toby Halbrooks and stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Karl Urban, Wes Bentley, Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jim McLarty and Robert Redford. It hits theaters on August 12, 2016.
Are you a fan of the original film? Are you excited about the remake?
Jax's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes.
