Caleb Thornton
Advertising and Distribution Manager
Photo by Gstatic
Most everyone knows those stories where a tragedy happens and a young child or two are left behind to fend for themselves until some hero or heroine “saves” them by providing for their basic needs, plus some friendship or love. Likewise, most are familiar with The Jungle Book and Tarzan, where a youngin’ is raised by “wild” animals who turn out to be fairly decent at the task.
Pete’s Dragon is a cliché but a damn good cliché. The kid, Pete (Oakes Fegley), ends up lost and alone in the vast expanse of forest and wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The children of the area had long since heard the story from Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) who claimed to have seen a large creature unlike any other in those woods. Spoiler alert: Pete finds the dragon; or rather, the dragon finds Pete.
Search parties gave up after time to find missing Pete and hardly anybody believed the story of the dragon. But while the world moved on, Pete and his dragon, who he names Elliot, grow a strong, codependent bond. In fact, no one sees the two of them until deforestation takes place and a child of one of the workers sees Pete staring at her from up in the trees.
In short, the girl’s family takes Pete in as an effort of good deed and while he’s away from Elliot, the dragon is spotted, feared and hunted. Elliot becomes angry and fights back to a degree the humans in the story are not prepared for. It is not until the last 10 or 15 minutes when viewers will know for sure whether or not Elliot survives, if the humans are safe from a pissed off dragon and if Pete will have a proper home.
I watched this film at the West Warren Theatre in Wichita. My friend and I arrived early, but it was not long before the once empty seats surrounding us were filled with both adults without children and adults with children. It was almost crowded actually with people eager to watch this kiddie movie.
Even before seeing the amazing setting and the gorgeous, green dragon, my hopes for the film were relatively high. This is mostly because I am a sucker for most things Disney, and honestly, the movie did not disappoint me. I will unashamedly admit I cried both sad and happy tears.
I was extremely impressed with the acting, particularly that of Fegley, who could not have been more adorable, and Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who played the woman constantly on Pete and Elliot’s side. Although I did not care for his character, Gavin (Karl Urban), portrayed an excellent d-bag and kept viewers on their toes in both anger and anxiety.
I might even fight some people at Walmart to buy myself a copy, because it deserves an eight and a half out of 10 fireballs.
I do not want to seem bossy, but everyone who enjoys movies created by Disney should take the time to watch this, whether it be at home or on the big screen. It’s worth it.
