First, the Recap:
Perhaps there is still a little magic left in the world. First an unwilling participant in an unforeseen accident, then a witness to its devastating aftermath, a young boy, Pete (Oakes Fegley), disappeared into the heavily wooded recesses of the Pacific Northwest, only to find his adventures are just beginning upon meeting one of the region’s atypical residents, a dragon, whom Pete names Elliott after a favorite childhood story. Surviving those initial 6 years, Pete’s idyllic, playful life detours when encountering civilization in the form of park ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), her husband, Jack (Wes Bentley), daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence), and father, Meacham (Robert Redford). Once revealing Elliott’s existence, others in the community, including Jack’s woodcutter brother Gavin (Karl Urban), have their own designs for the benign but protective creature.
Worth Seeing: YES
Let’s just say it straight up–the Mouse House does it AGAIN and provides a visually amazing, heartstring-pulling, live-action-based version of the 1977 animated classic, delivering it in style as only Mickey & Co can. Keeping a strong, character-centered narrative as the driving force and therefore not allowing the picturesque cinematography and awesome effects to engulf the viewer’s attention, director/co-writer David Lowery’s new adaptation soars like Elliott and draws you in from start to finish. Relative newcomer Fegley nails it as Pete, all the ensemble support cast here is perfect for their roles, and I dare anyone who’s truly invested in the story NOT to completely fall in love with the endearing dragon with a heart of gold. Disney keeps illustrating their movie mastery in these new live-action versions of their properties, and this film only adds to the success now and that is yet to come!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
