Pete's Dragon

[RegularKarate]

I'll pile on more love here. This was great!
I was in love with this boy and his dragon immediately! Had that emotional burst happen a number of times throughout the movie.
So great how this is a studio film that felt like it was made outside of the Studio system.
I went right to Facebook to demand my friends all go see it. Take their kids.
I don't have kids, but the little girl five seats down from me was immediately invested. The moment that dragon (that AMAZING dragon) knocked over that crane or whatever, she yelled out "Elliot!" like he was HER friend.

SEE THIS!

[Reelist]

Who else got a collectible ticket?




This is a lot of fun! I was so thoroughly impressed by how elevated the cinematic techniques involved were from 'Saints'. At times I couldn't believe what was being pulled off. I knew this was going to be a good movie, but I think I severely underestimated how much heart it would have. If it doesn't grab you in the first 5 minutes, you have no soul. It's great how it hits all of the notes of a classic disney film while looking so much more sophisticated than were used to. The first thing I noticed is how much darker it's shot than most movies in this genre would be, then it clicked- that's the Lowery touch! It serves the special effects of Elliot really well by not overdosing us on how he looks all at once and letting our eyes adjust to what this thing is. Also, gives it a signature of the 70's which I'd forgotten this was set in, but was so delighted that there wouldn't be any jaded kids too glued to their smartphones to care about this dragon. Then the cast is so stellar, definitely my favorite Bryce Dallas Howard performance. And with Isaiah Whitlock there I couldn't help but think to myself a few times "A DRAGON?!! SHEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT" I always love to see The Wire cast spice up a movie. And Oakes Fegley exudes so much joy in every scene, there's not a hint of pretension in his performance. He really seems to be having a blast through the whole thing, it must've blown his mind to see the final product. I liked the villain guy, too..Karl Urban. He has just the right amount of sympathetic and evil in his face. There are some perfectly timed comic moments which 'Saints' didn't really have.. The best part is that it doesn't feel like a movie made by committee or that it's message was diluted whatsoever by the studio. In fact, there are many moments that break through the mold with the depth of emotions they bring up, and you really can't see how Disney would argue with any of Lowery's choices because they all serve so clearly enhance their product.

I'm gonna see it again, then let's talk spoilers!!

[Reelist]

I'm going to take this opportunity to clarify that's not actually my picture. Thanks for playing

[tpfkabi]

I got one of those tickets. 161 of 500 with the theater/town name on it. It has contest info on the back, but it ended 8/18.

I really enjoyed the film. I decided to go at noon on Saturday. It was in one of the smaller rooms, but it was pretty full with kids and parents. They all seemed to be into the film. After the emotional points during the end, I noticed how the room was pretty much silent except for sniffles. Then there was a theater wide gasp at the final scene.

[03]

lol reelist i was trying so hard to be nice, i didnt want to ask you what the fuck happened to your face.

[Reelist]

Richard Brody wrote a glowing review. He really seems to be getting at some deeper truths in the last paragraph.


Saw this again, and I know that it's a movie I'll revisit fondly. I'd like to catch it once more before it leaves theaters. It's such a cool experience to be able to watch something on the big screen when you're so acutely aware of how much work is behind it. On the first viewing, there's this very specific point where it shifts from feeling like a Disney film to a David Lowery film, and at that moment I was like "Holy shit, he did it! I'm not here watching this kids movie as some sort of favor, this is a journey I'm eager to go on." I'm really blown away by the visual effects, and how painstaking they must have been to accomplish. There are so many moments that I'm still scratching my head about how the hell they were pulled off, and I'll keep coming back to it to try and find out. 

There's so little fat in the script, it doesn't meander with any one character longer than necessary and has such a unique spin on a story that feels familiar but has never been told quite like this. We've seen a lot of characters like Pete before, but haven't witnessed what it's like for them to live and interact with a dragon. There's this relationship between them that's less like pet and owner than just two bros who grew up helping each other survive in the wild.


SPOILERS

it didn't click at first that Elliot was estranged from his family too, ( well, how could it until you see the end? ) Which gives such a broader scope to the story in explaining that Dragons do not inhabit this little town, they're up in the sky doing their dragon things and sometimes one gets left behind. So, Elliot's clumsiness, shyness, and inability to be vicious are from his never learning how to be a 'dragon'. His and Pete's trajectories mirror each other but ultimately must lead to one becoming civilized and the other untamed for the better of them both.

[Drenk]

SPOILERS

Tears have no value of their own and writing that I was crying when someone was holding the door for me at the exit of the cinema doesn't mean anything, but I don't see how I can write with my brain right now. The sense of wonder and, yes, magic I felt watching Pete's Dragon is rare. Well, I watched Peter et Eliott le dragon, actually, a dubbed version—but even that didn't take me out of the movie.

It's crazy how early the movie took me. I knew it would be a car crash and I grew tired of dead parents in a car crash at the beginning of a movie and then that shot happens. Pete whispering: wow. Then, we're with him.

It might be weird but the last time I thought that I wanted to see a specific movie with my children (if I have children) was when I watched Fury Road. Because I felt like a child watching that car chase. Cinema was magic again. And cinema was magic, too, in Pete's Dragon. Weta did a wonderful job, la mise-en-scène captures how Eliott could inhabit that world, and Oakes Fegley doesn't need to speak a word to mean the world.

An insane car chase or a little boy playing with his dragon? Same thing. And those hypothetic children will see both of them.

But yes, I can just talk about emotion right now. What I loved. I loved the scene when Pete is running on the street, looking for Eliott—yes, I really wanted him to be with Eliott. Strongly. So when the dragon came back to see Pete happy without him it broke my heart. I imagined the last shot during the movie. I thought it would be beautiful and it was.

And it still moved me when I was outside the cinema, pretending to watch the people swimming behind the glass because I was still crying.

My tears mean nothing. But I loved it. And I'm so glad it exists.

[Reelist]

Your tears do mean something! It's probably the highest compliment you can give a movie when they affect you like that. Like, how often do you cry at a really bad movie? Laugh, get Scared, Sure...but crying is for the big leagues. I cried too, but I didn't want to mention it because it felt like beating a dead horse with how much I already DO talk about it. The reason my cry was so much better than all of yours is that I had a single tear roll down my cheek when the music swelled for the Title credit ( wasn't even the first, either ). And it wasn't like a bitchy, blubbering tear, but more out of this thing we've been talking about here for 3 years becoming a reality and being really good within the first 5 minutes.

[Gold Trumpet]

Ghostboy,

Wonderful film. Loved it. I'm still an asshole so still a tough sale for me with many movies but that was great.

[Just Withnail]

When, a few minutes in, there's a Days of Heaven-y shot of the bridge that dissolves into the chisel driven into a piece of wood perfectly aligned with the bridge, this felt very much like a Lowery film. That shot immediately sent my thoughts to a similar shot in Some Analogue Lines, where a shelf becomes a roll of film.

(see it here, at 04:19)
https://vimeo.com/5584736

Both shots insist: this is handmade! And it really felt like it.

[Alexandro]

I thought I had lost my chance at seeing this in the theatre. A busy month, travelling and all that crap, and I wanted to see it with my oldest son, who is 5 about to become 6.

Luckily I found one showing today just in the right time, stars aligned and we went to see it.
For all the praise (and money) that was thrown into The Jungle Book, I objectively found this film way, waaay superior in every aspect. It's all so understated, nothing is overdone, it slowly engulfs you. You sense a deep respect for the audience from the makers. And then it pays off BIG.

Let me tell you (and this is in sync with what others here are saying), I choked up a lot during the last quarter of the movie, but was surprised when I realized my kid spent the last 15 minutes of the movie crying his eyes out, like really crying. There's so much going on emotionally, and I can only imagine what this must be like for a kid who is still basically believing everything in a movie as if it's really happening.

Tremendous achievement all around. thanks, ghostboy!!

[Reelist]

Now available on Blu ray, DVD, Ondemand, Amazon, and for a select few VHS!

[wilder]

The thing that really blew me away about this was the action sequences. Who knew Lowery was such a force in this area? I got more of a thrill out of Pete's run through town after his escape from the hospital and the initial capture of Elliot more than Mad Max: Fury Road (don't kill me, gang). Maybe it was just being more invested in the vision behind this film but regardless it was really impressive. The cinematography was also beautiful. So much care in the compositions that reminded me of the talented workhouse technicians that used to elevate studio films no matter the material.

For a moment I could swear there was a "From the window to the wall" reference when Pete is standing next to the glass in his hospital room before fleeing. Might be my imagination, knowing the filmmaker's inclinations, but even so any reminder of a PT film in a giant Disney behemoth has to say something about the quality.

[Reelist]

For a moment I could swear there was a "From the window to the wall" reference when Pete is standing next to the glass in his hospital room before fleeing. Might be my imagination, knowing the filmmaker's inclinations, but even so any reminder of a PT film in a giant Disney behemoth has to say something about the quality.

Obviously the entire movie was inspired by this speech

[Ghostboy]

That hospital escape was my favorite day of production! So much fun. I think it shows.
 
I posted this rehearsal video on my blog a while back. We shot this when we first scouted the location.

http://www.road-dog-productions.com/weblog/2016/11/toby_tours_tapa.html

And also, there is one repeated line of dialogue in the movie that is a huge accidental nod to the Master. I didn't think about it when we wrote it but definitely realized it once we were editing it upon rewatching the movie. Must have been subconscious theft!