From the movie trailers, I assumed Pete’s Dragon would be a tough sell for my kids – it didn’t look animated enough for my 5 year old, I thought my 15 year old would think she’s too cool for some “little kid” movie and my college grad – forget about it. I was shocked when all three expressed interest in seeing it (my oldest wanted to compare it to the original, having rented it several times at Blockbuster back in the day). I’m thrilled we all shared this movie about an orphan who is raised by a dragon in the woods – it’s a beautiful, riveting, well-told story that just feels like love.
From the opening scene, we were spellbound. Also, from the opening scene, I was in tears (that evolved into a slow cry lasting through the credits). Spoiler alert: In the first few minutes, it’s established that Pete is surrounded by the love, safety and comfort of his parents and then, boom, they die in a car accident. While I’d love to blame Disney for revisiting its trope of killing off parents, in this case, the 1977 film this is based on has the boy running away from abusive parents, so perhaps this plot device is the lesser of two evils?
The deaths are reminiscent of Bambi, where we piece together what’s happening while never actually seeing any blood or dead bodies. In the aftermath, Pete is heard crying briefly, but we don’t see him grieving and so, for my five year old at least, it lessened the emotional impact. However, that may not be the case for older children and parents, who know exactly what just happened. (See: slow cry above).
Moments after the crash, four-year-old Pete is alone in a vast forest and nature gets scary, quick. Wolves and other predators circle Pete but one steps up to protect him: the dragon. At that moment, my kindergartner happily exclaimed, “And now Pete has a best friend!”
The film then jumps forward six years and Pete has been living in the forest with the dragon, whom he named Elliot. They are indeed fearless besties, connected in every way – so much that Pete can jump off the edge of a cliff and know that, sure enough, Elliot will swoop down to save him.
Life changes when Pete is discovered by lumberjacks cutting down trees in the forest. The local forest ranger Grace (Dallas Bryce Howard) takes responsibility for him and he stays overnight with her fiancé, Jack, and his 11-year-old daughter, Natalie. Grace clearly feels a connection with Pete, partially because she, too, lost her mother at a very young age.
Pete repeatedly tries to return to Elliot, who has become his family – part pet, part best friend, part father and brother figure.
Elliot also becomes a target. In one of the film’s scariest and most alarming moments, Elliot is hunted with a shotgun and captured with a rope around his neck. When he's shot with darts to sedate him, my little one thought the hunters had killed him and wiped away tears. Ultimately, we learn the intent isn’t to hurt Elliot, but to trap and exploit him for financial gain – and that’s also sad. To do the right thing, the kids and Grace’s dad team up to rescue Elliot in a sequence that involves reckless driving and potentially fatal consequences – this would be the film’s second scariest moment. While my family and I loved this film, I highly recommend sensitive children sit this one out.
That said, Pete’s Dragon soars. This film also allows kids to see themselves as capable – a testament to yes, you can. It’s a sweet story that is light on heavy messaging, but big on imagination, love and respect. As a movie that my three kids and I enjoyed, Pete’s Dragon really puts the family in family film.
For another mom's take, check out Mom's Movie Minute.
