Let's Go Round Again

As discussed in previous posts we live in an age where the Superhero and Reboot genres are king. Now of course not all of these types of movie are successful (you know which movies I'm talking about) but those that are a hit do brisk enough business to encourage the continuing production of these films with seemingly no end in sight.

One company in particular has their fingers in both pies, I am of course referring to the media juggernaut that is Disney who have so far this year taken $5.85 billion dollars at the global box-office, a figure that does not take into account the takings of Dr Strange or of course the forthcoming Rogue One.

As I have yet to see Dr Strange (I know this means I should turn in my geek card but you'll have to prise it from my cold dead hands) this review relates to the latest of the dreaded remake/reboots which in this case is Disneys return to the world of a boy and his big green friend by way of Pete's Dragon.

Disney right now seem to have a desire to reimagine as many of their animated back catalogue into live action movies as possible. We have already seen the likes of Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty (sort of) and Jungle Book among others and there are many others in the works including The Little Mermaid, Dumbo and Mulan. Now I could discuss in length the pros and cons of this remake policy but I think I have made it clear in previous reviews that I personally am not a fan of remakes as in my opinion it smacks of lazy film making, especially as nobody is clamouring for these projects to take place so really whats the point?

That aside however lets take a look at the new version of Pete's Dragon which was originally a 1977 live action/animation hybrid which starred the likes of Shelly Winters, Jim Dale and Mickey Rooney and told the story of a young boy named Pete who flees his evil foster parents and has a series of adventures with an animated dragon named Elliott who at first he can only see but eventually reveals himself to the local populace which causes the expected furore, all leading to the inevitable happy ending where Elliott leaves Pete with good people whilst he goes off to help other needy children.

The new Pete's Dragon begins with a typical heartstring tearing moment when 5 year old Pete is involved in a car accident that kills his parents. It's an opening that if my wifes tears are anything to go by does exactly what it is supposed to although it did little for me but then I am a cold hearted son of a bitch. Pete then has to run away from a pack of wolves that conveniently turn up and is saved by the dragon which he will eventually come to call Elliott after the dog in the book he was reading when the accident happened.

This brings me to my first point of contention, the look of the dragon which many love although I'm not really sure what to make of it. Now as a traditionalist I will also prefer the original versions of things although here I am prepared to concede that the 1977 dragon is far too cartoony to be replicated in the modern age but the big green furry creature Disney deliver here just doesn't feel dragony enough for my tastes. Not that I am expecting the likes of the creatures in Game of Thrones to come bounding out of the forest to scoop up the young orphan but somewhere in the middle ground would have been preferable for my personal tastes.

Jumping forward 6 years we reconnect with Pete who is living in the woods looking very much like Mowgli along with his buddy Elliott who we are shown has the ability to make himself invisible which is handy just in case anybody should come stumbling along. Away from the dynamic duo we meet Robert Redford who is playing the crazy old fella who claims to have seen a dragon back in the day, his daughter Grace played by Bryce Dallas Howard (who for me is very hit and miss with her performances but is perfectly watchable here), her partner Jack played by Wes Bentley and the villain of the piece Gavin who is played by Karl Urban.

Jack and Gavin work for a company who are logging in the forest which gives us the perfect opportunity for Jacks daughter Natalie to discover Pete and bring him to everybodies attention despite him avoiding detection for the last 6 years. Now the insinuation here is that he deliberately revealed himself to Natalie although this is not clear and doesn't really make much sense but lets move on shall we.

Pete ends up with Grace, Jack and Natalie for the night whilst Gavin and co go hunting in the woods for a mysterious beastie because thats what real men do. Elliott remains hidden from them until Gavin uncovers the cave the dragon and boy have been living in, a discovery that does not sit well with big green who scares the crap out the hunting party who leg it like the big girls blouses they truly are (I of course would have stayed and fronted up to the creature).

Eventually Grace, her dad, Natalie and Pete return to the forest and find Elliott just moments before Gavin and his buddies show up and hit the dragon with enough tranquilisers to knock him out cold. They tie him up and take him to the saw mill of all places and try to decide what to do with their prize but their plans are thwarted by crazy old Redford and those pesky kids. This leads to a chase which ends with Elliott taking matters into his own hands (claws??) by reigning fire down upon their candy asses although not killing anyone of course, this is Disney afterall.

In the end Elliott saves Jack and Grace, everyone realises just how great the dragon is and how it should be left alone and Pete leaves the forest to go and live with Grace and Jack. As for Elliott he somehow finds a bunch of other dragons just floating around and so he leaves to live with them because you know even dragons need a happy ending.

So that was Pete's Dragon 2016 style and whilst it did have my wife wet around the eyes on several occasions (I also know other people who have seen it and cried) but it left me once again wondering why. Why did anyone think that the public were crying out for this slightly obscure 40 year old film to be remade? It cost $65 million to make and barely broke even at the boxoffice which proves that there was not really an audience for it outside of Disneyphiles and it does nothing for the career progression of Howard and co. Now with that said the young man who plays Pete (Oakes Fegley) is great here and is certainly one to watch along with many other fine young actors and actresses that are smashing it right now (take a look at Stranger Things for further proof of this point).

Yes this film is perfectly serviceable but if you have a burning desire to watch Pete's Dragon then search out the original which I'm sure you can pick up cheap at any good reputable blu ray seller, and even if it isn't available right now (it is on Amazon for £3) then it will most definately be packaged in a boxset with the version which gets it's release in a weeks time.

So all that is left is to give the new Pete's Dragon a score which after careful consideration I think should be a 6 out of 10 which I believe reflects the okness of this film but sums up just how unnecessary it really is.

Now I'm off to watch Passamashloddy on youtube and wonder just where all the songs went in translation.