“Pete’s Dragon” — not a straight cartoon, but a live-action picture with an animated dragon — was released in 1977. That was in the middle of Disney’s awkward years, when the studio lost its storytelling magic.
If anybody out there has been clamoring for a remake of this film, they sure kept it a secret. Nevertheless, here it is.
Maybe the fact that the ‘77 “Pete’s Dragon” is no classic makes it fair game for a revamp. The new one is an offbeat underwhelmer with moments of quiet charm.
Like many Disney stories, the movie begins with parental death. Which leaves 5-year-old Pete (Oakes Fegley) on his own in a remote forest, where he spends six years growing up as a wild child.
Of course, it would be tough for a boy to survive those conditions. Unless he has a dragon.
Pete is discovered by a park ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard, getting on the heroic side after “Jurassic World”), her lumberman husband (Wes Bentley), and their daughter (Oona Laurence). Later they meet the dragon.
There’s a little action involving the lumberjack’s brother (Karl Urban), who wants to catch the dragon and get rich off it. But mostly the movie unfolds in a very, very low-key way.
Director David Lowery, who made the turgid “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” signals his intentions in a splendid section — it’s practically a symphonic movement — early in the film. Using very little dialogue, he shows Pete and the big green dragon as they go about their woodsy habits, a lyrical portrait of a peaceful life.
Trouble is, the film that follows doesn’t create much snap. And while the kids are fine, the adults are seriously dull, save for Urban’s rascally presence.
I have to register a few complaints about the dragon, too. His clumsiness is endearing, but otherwise he’s maybe a little too nice for his own good. Took a while to get used to the fur, but hey, apparently this is one of those hairy dragons (see also “The Neverending Story”).
Disney struck gold with its “Jungle Book” remake earlier this year; “Pete’s Dragon” is a different animal. Both films are about boys raised in the wild, but “Jungle Book” is big and aggressive where “Pete’s Dragon” is small and slow.
This movie’s dragon doesn’t talk in Bill Murray’s voice, either. A flying furry dragon is one thing, but let’s not be unrealistic.
“Pete’s Dragon” (2½ stars)
This remake of a 1977 Disney non-classic is quiet and slow, an offbeat approach that doesn’t really live up to its possibilities for wonder. It’s about a boy raised by a dragon in the woods, and his bumpy re-entry into human society. With Bryce Dallas Howard.
Rating: PG, for violence
Showing: Alderwood, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood Cinemas, Pacific Place, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Blue Fox, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor Plaza
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