First Trailer for Disney's PETE'S DRAGON Remake

There are several reasons to be excited for Disney's remake of their 1977 children's movie that featured a hand drawn dragon. Naturally, this time the animation of the dragon will be a little more computer generated, but this is the least of the reasons to be excited about why this remake even exists. In fact, that this remake only looks to re-animate the dragon in more "realistic" fashion while potentially failing to fill it with as much heart as the hand drawn '77 version is probably one of the bigger marks against it. Instead, what gives hope for this re-imagining of sorts is the director at the helm and the assurance that his mystical tone and visual flair are very much intact in this first trailer. Coming off of indie darling Ain't Them Bodies Saints it seems something of a daring choice for Disney to go with David Lowery on this big budget, special effects summer blockbuster. Still, I appreciate it and feel that Lowery would not have come on to the project if he didn't feel he could do something special with it. While I liked his previous effort fine enough as a whole, his eye for striking visuals is indisputable and he managed the pacing and mood of the film in a way that a seasoned filmmaker would. Because of this, I can't help but anticipate what type of feeling he will bring to this newest incarnation of this story about a boy and his dragon. Also of note, and I don't know if it's been taken from somewhere else, is the soundtrack that plays in the trailer. If it's a glimpse of the films score it absolutely compliments the visual tone and if not, then it's still a perfectly cut trailer. Pete's Dragon stars Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Oona Laurence and opens on August 12th, 2016.



Synopsis: A reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, 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”) 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 story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field and produced by Jim Whitaker, p.g.a. (“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. 

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 Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott 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.