Review of Pete's Dragon (2016) by Wdwire — 14 Aug 2016
Although it stars Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard and (for some reason) the boyfriend from American Beauty, the Pete's Dragon reboot amounts to nothing more than a bunch of sentimental drivel. Nothing like the original.
The positive, challenging aspects of the original have been removed. For instance, the original was a friggin musical. No sign of that in this remake. The original was a romping, gritty, kid's fantasy. This new one feels like a sappy remake of King Kong, with 5% children and 95% folk music.
Remember the dad from the original? Robert Redford portrays him as straight-laced, benign and one-dimensional. An extra child has been added to the story, which is so unnecessary. The Gogans, the abusive, controversial foster family from the original, are completely absent. And the dragon, Elliot, has been stripped of his outrageous, hilarious personality from the original, to that of a mere dog. They should've named this movie Pete's Giant Green Puppy With Wings.
This review of Pete's Dragon (2016) was written by Wdwire on 14 Aug 2016.
Pete's Dragon has generally received positive reviews.
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