PETE’S DRAGON
Rs. 599/-
Directed by: David Lowery Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban
The summer holidays have begun and what better way to keep the kids occupied, than to bring home a collection of Disney films. In the next few weeks we have some great children’s film lined up. This week we begin with a delightful remake of Disney’s 1977 classic ‘Pete’s Dragon’, that today’s kids have probably never heard of and yesterday’s kids have long since forgotten. Though the storyline is a bit different from the original, which was mostly animated, the updated version is all live action, with loads of computer animation.
The film opens with 5-year-old Pete (Levi Alexander) on a car ride with his parents who are moving to a new home deep in the forest. All of a sudden a deer darts out in front of the car, resulting in a car crash that kills Pete’s parents. Soon hyenas surround the orphaned boy, but soon a large, friendly and furry green dragon named Elliot comes to his rescue. We jump ahead six years and find that Pete (Oakes Fegley) has grown up into a Mowgli of sorts, jumping all over the place and has survived on the kindness of his one and only friend, the dragon.
One day Pete stumbles on a wood logger’s team who threaten the wilderness and their home. Natalie (Oona Laurence) the young daughter of a foreman, spots Pete and chases him up a tree. When Natalie accidentally falls, her screams attract her father, Jack (Wes Bentley), and his girlfriend, park ranger Grace Meacham (Bryce Dallas Howard). The team finds Pete and takes him to hospital. Finding himself in a strange place, he escapes and tries to run back into the forest, only to be caught by Grace who assures him that she will take him to the forest the next day. From this point onward, it's a grand old big adventure.
‘Pete's Dragon’ is everything a kid’s movie should be: educating about friendship, love, family and also very entertaining with great music too.
— Verus Ferreira