Last week we dropped the poster for Disney’s live action remake (reboot?) of the 1977 classic Pete’s Dragon. No sooner had the poster hit the Internets then the trailer flew onto our screens I won’t go into the details of how I know the Pete’s Dragon writer/director David Lowery a little bit, that info and my angle on it is in the post about the poster. So, let’s talk about the trailer.
First off, I love it. I’m not just saying that because I know Lowery but I will add that since I know him, that trailer solidifies what I said previously about him having a real knack for the dark, whimsical and fantastical feelings of being an imaginative little kid. This trailer perfectly captures that as I hoped (oh fine, knew) it would. All that being said…
I’m not so sure about the angle of Pete as this feral child who’s been living not-quite-alone in the woods for six years. I do like the fact this is more of an updated version of the story in that it appears to be in more modern times than the original which apparently took place in some creepy-ass village in England. That being said, I really can’t think of a feral child story done well since what, Tarzan? And even those more updated version have been crappy.
Still, this is an excellent teaser. We get to see the known stars in Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford as well as young Pete played by Oakes Fegley (Karl Urban and Wes Bentley are also starring). We also get another glimpse at the dragon and it looks simply wonderful. I remain excited for the film and braced for the backlash from nostalgia freaks who have a bad memory of the original which really hasn’t aged well.
