Elliot, der Drache

This updated version wasn't quite what I was expecting, though surprisingly good. The dominant theme is friendship and family and they explore this through a rather subtle tension. Pete loves Elliot, but he also needs a family (which he finds in surrogate form through Bryce Dallas-Howard, her fiancé and his young daughter).

The threat feels shoehorned in, as Karl Urban's inexplicably vengeful logger decides to hunt down the dragon and do...well, he hasn't really thought that one through. It's a weak plot device that sells the story a little short, but is ultimately forgivable. I had a sizeable lump in my throat at several points in the film, and I'm not one for sentimentality. Director Lowery handles the emotion well, particularly through an inspired folksy soundtrack.

There are distinct shades of ET here, as a boy comes to terms with the impossibility of a critical friendship. Not a lot really happens in this movie, but what you get is well paced and thoughtful.

Well worth a watch.

5 year old Pete is in a car accident that killed his parents. He is saved by a magical dragon named Elliot. Six years later, a crew of lumberjacks is closing in on their home. Pete is taken with Natalie. She's the young daughter of forest ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) and lumber company owner Jack (Wes Bentley). Grace has been told many times about a dragon by her father Meacham (Robert Redford). Grace and Natalie find the young boy Pete in the woods and take him in. Meanwhile, Jack's brother Gavin (Karl Urban) goes hunting for the mysterious creature in the forest.

I like the story, the characters, and the dragon. I can't help but think that the movie could be much better. It could improve with less money and holding back on showing the dragon. There is a natural questioning of Elliot as a figment of Pete's imagination that is missing from the audience. By showing the dragon from the start, Elliot is never in doubt. Heck, the dragon is often invisible. It would be more logical for it to be almost entirely invisible and the audience can wonder whether it's real, imagined, or a projection of Pete's imagination. The reveal would be infinitely more powerful. I like Bryce and the kids. Karl Urban is a little too broad. Robert Redford is odd in his role. He's too big of a movie star. The role should go to an elderly character actor from the retirement home. I have no problem with the look of Elliot but it would be more compelling to reveal him much later in the movie.

I watched the original movie when I was kid, and my brothers and I still consider it one of our fav children movies ever. You can imagine my excitement and also my apprehension when I learned that this film was being filmed.

This is a very enjoyable family film that has lovely moments of tenderness, wonderful special effects (the design of Elliot, flying scenes, etc.), it has fun and plenty of action, and Redford and Howard are good in their roles and seem to believe in magic because I thought they were the best thing in the film.

However, the movie lack the most important thing to me -- magic. All the characters keep speaking about magic, but the actors playing them don't believe in magic, the film does not create magic, so it feels a lovely fantasy film not a magic children's film. I didn't feel it in my heart. And that being the case, the film is not memorable to me.

I haven't seen the original yet, but this is a real family movie. And yes some may be surprised by the fact that the voice of the Crypt Keeper (Tales from the Crypt) is "speaking" the Dragon, but that would mean you are not familiar with the versatility of the guy behind the voice and also his body of work (no pun intended).

But apart from the good effects and some good family story, you also have some heavyweights in front of the camera. Redford alone is amazing, but he gets support (literally) by everybody else. A story with highs and lows and while it is predictable, it is also exactly what family entertainment should be. Nothing more but certainly nothing less

Having never seen the original Pete's Dragon I had no idea what the story was except that it evidently involved someone called Pete and a dragon! From the first few moments I was drawn in and captivated throughout. The dragon itself was wonderful - quite unlike other on screen imaginings. He was expressive and I loved that he didn't "talk"....something that immediately ruins any suspension of belief - think Dragonslayer's Sean Connery voiced incarnation!!! Please! The film took me through intrigue, joy, pathos, anger, heartbreak and laughter - not necessarily in that order. I cried an awful lot! Great film and if it doesn't touch you then you have no soul.