Howard, daughter of director Ron Howard, is joined by Robert Redford in the film that tells the fairy tale of a young orphan named Pete whose best friend is a dragon named Elliot.
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A new trailer for “Pete’s Dragon” debuted on Tuesday. So far Pete’s Dragon looks like a great family film, which is not what I expected when I heard they were making this.
This seems to be the highlighted idea at the center of the latest in Disney’s ongoing litany of live-action reboots of old properties. Instead, the new Pete’s Dragon stars Oakes Fegley as a kid (that’s Pete) who was forced to survive in the forest, kind of like a supernatural Mowgli, only with fewer CGI jungle cats and more, well, CGI dragons.
Robert Redford stars as Mr Meacham – a small town wood carver who delights local children with tales of an enormous dragon who lives in the near woods. From the above trailer, it looks like it’s going to be a heartbreaker.
With Elliott, of course – the titular dragon who took a liking to Pete but who proves terrifying to outsiders.
The movie is set in the ’70s or ’80s, and the emotional tone and sweeping visuals give “Pete’s Dragon” a decidedly Spielberg-ian feeling, which is not a bad thing at all. The dragon, named Elliott, also feels like a composite character, with elements of the legendary flying reptiles of Eragon, Lord of the Rings and Avatar (namely, a close friendship with a boy and the all-important power of invisibility).
Elliott will land his fluffy wings in theaters on August 12th.
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The almost two-and-a-half minute trailer shows a forest ranger named Grace portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard taking in Pete (Oakes Fegley), a 10-year-old boy whose best friend happens to be a dragon named Elliot.
