In 1977, Pete's Dragon introduced the world to a boy, his dragon, and their adventures through a sleepy little logging town in Maine. Now, Disney has unveiled their first look at this summer's live-action reboot, and it's something spectacular. You can check out that first trailer below:
In the new Pete's Dragon, which we've gotten our first look at thanks to Disney, Pete is still an orphan, but he's been growing up in the forest over the course of six years without any human interaction. Though he hasn't been alone, as he's been watched over by his guardian dragon, Elliot. It's an unbelievable story, and a park ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her father (Robert Redford) are about to find themselves digging into Pete's history in order to find out whether he's telling the truth, or he's just imagining things. While Grace, the park ranger, is extremely skeptical of the story, her father is not – as he's been telling tall tales of such a creature for some time. Though seeing as this is a Disney movie, you know which outcome is going to be the right one.
Right from the first frame of the trailer to the Pete's Dragon reboot, there's a marked difference in the decision to change the time frame of the film's story. While the Disney classic took place in the 1900's, director David Lowery's version takes place in the 1980's. So, naturally, the time period helps this new retelling of Pete and Elliot's story look like a lost film in the canon of Steven Spielberg. A child on the run, cop cars colliding with one another in the kerfluffle, and the fairly wooded setting all radiate a sort of E.T. vibe, and so far it's working out perfectly.
Now this is a first look at Pete's Dragon, so there's plenty more that will be on display in further trailers. In particular, the villains of the new film haven't been revealed, and considering the original film's villain was a scheming "doctor" and his henchmen, there will almost certainly be an updated menace in this new rendition. Still, with the limited materials we've been shown, the new Pete's Dragon has made it onto our radar of film's to look out for. If there was any doubt that Disney magic was present in this film, let it be cast aside – at least to a certain extent – after watching this trailer.
Pete's Dragon is set to debut on August 12, 2016.
