Elliot and Pete may be the beating heart of David Lowery’s magical reboot, but in today’s first clip for Pete’s Dragon, the House of Mouse shifts gears to shine the spotlight on Mr. Meacham and Grace’s relationship.
Played by Robert Redford and Jurassic World star Bryce Dallas Howard, respectively, the father-daughter dynamic underpinning Disney’s live-action reimagining appears to harbor some old wounds, with Howard’s character subtly referring to her own childhood spent under the monstrous shadow of a mystical dragon — and her father’s obsession with said reptile.
How much screentime Pete’s Dragon will devote to Redford and Howard is up for question, but at least based on this clip, we’re intrigued to see how their relationship pans out throughout the course of Disney’s adventure. Taking point as the wide-eyed Pete is newcomer Oakes Fegley, flanked by a cast that includes Howard, Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bently, and Karl Urban as a ruthless lawman hellbent on taming the title dragon.
Pete’s Dragon soars into theaters on August 12.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.