Pete's Dragon, a remake of the 1977 musical, is a charming, succinct story about a boy and his dragon. You know, because every little boy has a dragon for a pet.
Named Elliot, the large winged beast is forest green with the characteristics of a dog, only with a long neck. Only (well, for a while at least) seen by Pete, he is a myth in the small town told to children probably around a campfire. It is an amalgamation of different sources and what is birthed on screen is an ugly sort of creature that fails to strike the balance between cute and terrifying; looking dopey when either begging for affection or blowing its fire breath. I am not sure how much of it is CG, looks like most shots are completely digital, and looks fairly unconvincing despite its rather impressive rendering of hair, not unlike a Pixar creation. The actors do their best interacting with the computer concoction, with some close shots resembling an actual prop that they can physically touch. I wish that there were more like this.
He is the main problem with the film, the titular dragon, and most nefarious is his reveal, spoiler alert, but it is in the film's opening. We see the flying monster in full, removing any suspense as to what the dragon will look like. And when the characters witness the creature for the first time, their eyes are in awe, jaws dropped, but the audience cannot relate; we are not surprised, in no awe, as we have spent so long seeing the dragon's entire body. It is a shame, because for all the film feels like a Spielberg picture, you cannot help but wish that they learned from Jaws that you should keep things tight-lipped until both he viewers and the characters can simultaneously witness the reveal.
He can cloak himself, which proves most useful, but it is used inconsistently; there is a scene where Elliot ducks out of sight from other humans, but then moments later cloaks himself. Why did he duck? Did he forget he can turn invisible?
Otherwise, he brings some pleasant humor to the film, especially later in the 102 minutes when he searches for Pete at a hospital and peeks through several windows in search of his little friend. He goes undiscovered from harm despite gazing through several; Elliot stares through more windows unnoticed than a slasher villain.
But everything else here just works, its brisk but tender, with some action pieces tossed in for eye-candy. The leads, Bryce Dallas Howard as Grace and Oakes Fegley as Pete, are tremendous, echoing Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance from the recent, and superior, The BFG. The supporting cast is hit or miss, the misses including Grace's fiance Jack, played by Wes Bentley and his brother Gavin, played by Karl Urban. But the pluses are big, including Robert Redford, charming in every scene is he is, playing Jack's father, and the only other person who has seen the mystery dragon. Oona Laurence plays Jack's kid, and she nails her performance and comes across more natural than her fictional father.
The film's only other major hiccup is the soundtrack. It lacks the grand score of the most whimsical movies, and instead relies on an underdeveloped score complete with adult-contemporary-like songs complete with vocals. They are nice, but there is no magic for the ears, reminiscent of Phil Collin in Disney's Tarzan. Where's John Williams when you need him?
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