Review of Pete's Dragon (2016) by R. W — 14 Aug 2016

Disney magic, not. The opening voiceover by Robert Redford felt contrived and inauthentic, as did the rest of his performace. A boy's lovely relationship with a dragon is destroyed by the outside world wanting, 1) to save Pete, played by adorable Fegley, from happiness and make him into a clone: who goes from running joyfully barefoot in the forest to wearing designer boots at the end, 2) to invent a "villain" other than conformity itself: yes, half of America is about money and destroying the environment and all that reside in it, 3)pull a nice ending out of thin air for Elliot, so we all feel good about separating Pete and Elliot.

Because Pete has a loving family now, and designer boots, so all is magical and good. Just wait until Pete turns 15 and decides the crazy world around him pales in comparison to the time he spent with Elliot.

That's a story I'd like to see.