Meet Elliot. He’s not your traditional friend. Rather than dreaming up trivial games and generally revelling in childhood innocence, Elliot spends much of his existence cowering in a lush forest far, far away from any human settlement. That’s largely because Elliot is a dragon – Pete’s Dragon, to be specific – and you can see him take flight in today’s latest TV spot for David Lowery’s feature film.
Lowery, best known for his work on Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, has pitched the movie as a fully-fledged remake of the 1977 flick, this time lending a sense of realism to the titular beast by blending CGI and live-action sequences. After rendering much of Middle-earth and, crucially, Smaug, it’s understood WETA Digital is the company bringing Pete’s Dragon to life.
Relative newcomer Oakes Fegley will anchor the action as Pete, a wide-eyed boy who befriends Elliot and, eventually, stands as one of the few humans leaping to the defence of the feathery monster. There’s a palpable air of E.T. infused in today’s TV spot, too, and it’ll be interesting to see how Lowery’s adventure fares in light of The Jungle Book‘s barnstorming success.
Also starring Robert Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bently, and Karl Urban in the role of a no-nonsense lawman on the hunt for Elliot, Pete’s Dragon will soar into theaters in time for 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.