Pete's Dragon - Where's the Magic?

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Pete's Dragon - Where's the Magic?

Pete's Dragon takes the aimless '70s film and turns it into a bland after-school special that happens to contain a dragon.

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[tippy2k2]

That cute looking movie about the talking food just came out. Bring the kids to that instead!

 

[Dalisclock]

I remember the original from when I was a kid. I haven't watched it in years though and I'm kinda afraid to. So many of those films just don't hold up very well when you're older(though somehow the Neverending Story still works for me despite the fact it feels like half the plot is missing and Bastian is perhaps the most overly emotional kid to ever read a book).

I remember the old one being cheesy as hell and a musical to boot. Somehow I don't think taking the cheese out actually makes it better.

 

[Igor-Rowan]

I remember the original from when I was a kid. I haven't watched it in years though and I'm kinda afraid to. So many of those films just don't hold up very well when you're older(though somehow the Neverending Story still works for me despite the fact it feels like half the plot is missing and Bastian is perhaps the most overly emotional kid to ever read a book).

I remember the old one being cheesy as hell and a musical to boot. Somehow I don't think taking the cheese out actually makes it better.

I tried to watch it recently and it's unbearable. It's like all the characters from the movie are Giselle from Enchanted, cutesy, clueless and as over-the-top as possible, except there it's funny because the world contrasts her, making her stand out, here it's awkward and strange, because every single character talks and acts like that, and the songs, oh god, the songs... the best one was cut from the movie and the others are just like the rest of the movie.

 

[JCAll]

I remember the original from when I was a kid. I haven't watched it in years though and I'm kinda afraid to. So many of those films just don't hold up very well when you're older(though somehow the Neverending Story still works for me despite the fact it feels like half the plot is missing and Bastian is perhaps the most overly emotional kid to ever read a book).

I remember the old one being cheesy as hell and a musical to boot. Somehow I don't think taking the cheese out actually makes it better.

I tried to watch it recently and it's unbearable. It's like all the characters from the movie are Giselle from Enchanted, cutesy, clueless and as over-the-top as possible, except there it's funny because the world contrasts her, making her stand out, here it's awkward and strange, because every single character talks and acts like that, and the songs, oh god, the songs... the best one was cut from the movie and the others are just like the rest of the movie.

What, you mean you don't like songs about enslaving, torturing, and murdering a small child?

 

[Igor-Rowan]

What, you mean you don't like songs about enslaving, torturing, and murdering a small child?

Well, the reason I liked the song so much it's not because of the lyrics (I mainly imagine the "he" they're talking about is the Dragon, not the kid and that makes it okay), but the upbeat bluegrass symphony, the only song in the entire movie that's not a waltzing nightmare of quirky.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I guess a child trying to escape an abusive foster home doesn't play very well with modern audiences.

 

[jklinders]

I basically had to pretend to like the original for my Dad's benefit many years back...but it was horrid. The clips of the original I have seen recently made clear that my memory of the original was if anything sheltering me from the horrid reality of that flick.

The remake lost me at Bryce Dallas Howard. At the best of times she can't act her way out of a paper bag and having her as the female lead is not a good starting point for the shitty premise I am seeing here which is basically a preschooler's hybrid of Jungle Book and Tarzan.

 

[DeadProxy]

My first reaction to seeing the trailer for this movie:
Oh nice, something from MY childhood, pretty nice to see a Dudley the Dr--Pete's Dragon? Who the hell is that? Fuck this ugly movie.

Due to certain life choices, I can't remember if I ever read or watched the original Pete's whatevers, but I certainly cared more about the Dudley the Dragon movie that existed in my head for 3 seconds waaay more than I do about this movie.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Looks like something out of sesame street stopped the solvents and accepted some kind of lord and saviour into their heart. Stick to the drug abuse, dragon, it may be a shorter, chaotic life, but at least it's entertaining. Also you don't grow large and old enough to desire the succulent juices of human flesh. I give that relationship 3 years max before the dragon cooks and devours the child in an uncontrollable hanger/anger/hunger...damn, that isn't as simple to just type out, is it? There's only so many times a snickers bar will save your ass from a bipolar dragon.

 

[pookie101]

the original almost destroyed my childhood when i was 4 and they took me to it. its like master of orion 3.. something that needs to be destroyed and erased from history to protect future generations

 

[iblis666]

havent seen it in a decade or more but i remember watching pete's dragon and enjoying it, now mind you i will never watch it now since time ruins everything

 

[FPLOON]

First off, whenever I think of the original Pete's Dragon, I end up thinking about that other cartoon dragon who drank tea and refused to fight a knight in combat... Second off, it sounds a bit too safe for my taste... like a pseudo-death scene that's too fake to be emotionally invested in on an immersive scale or something along those lines...

Other than that, are dragons now cousins to the dinosaur family? I've been wondering this since this movie's first trailer...

 

[Transdude1996]

First off, whenever I think of the original Pete's Dragon, I end up thinking about that other cartoon dragon who drank tea and refused to fight a knight in combat...

I think you're referring to The Reluctant Dragon.

Other than that, are dragons now cousins to the dinosaur family? I've been wondering this since this movie's first trailer...

If you want to get scientific about it, dragons have always been dinosaurs, it's just they're often considered fantasy because "no animal/lizard on earth can, possibly, do things like fly [http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/flying_lizards_draco_facts/451/], breath fire [http://insects.about.com/od/coolandunusualinsects/a/bombdefenses.htm], or grow that big [http://earthsky.org/earth/do-some-animals-grow-throughout-their-lives]."

Also, it is possible for lizards to grow hair.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Pete's Dragon was originally a movie from 1977, which you likely either remember from when you were a kid, or haven't ever seen and hopefully never will.

It's been 15 years easily (probably more like 18) since I've seen that movie. I used to like it when I was a kid. So now I have to see it again.

The most I remember of the original are those Snake oil salesmen