I’m not joking when I say I really thought no one else knew about Disney’s 1977 film Pete’s Dragon. My family owned it on Betamax and it was in regular rotation in our home but no one else I knew ever talked about it. Regardless, it’s the next Disney film up for a remake and I’m going to go fly away on my invisible dragon now, k?
Pete’s Dragon was something fun and different to watch when I was a child. Similar to films like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins, it mixed live-action acting with animation. It took place in a small fishing town in Maine called Passamaquoddy in the early 20th century and starred Helen Reddy, Mickey Rooney, and Sean Marshall as an orphan named Pete. It also stared a giant, usually invisible dragon called Elliot. Hijinks ensue when a crackpot doctor and some miscreants from town (who bought Pete) decide they want to steal Pete’s best friend. Oh yes, there was also much singing and dancing.
So what can we expect from this remake? From the sound of things, nothing from the previous paragraph.
The new take is set to be written by David Lowery, who directed Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. He’ll be working with writing partner Toby Halbrooks. Deadline says they will be reinventing the core story of the film and that it was not be a musical. No word on if they’re mixing live-action with CGI or any other animation.
With this little information I’m seeing How to Train Your Dragon meets Game of Thrones meets Dragonheart. What do you think? I’m currently making this face.
(via Collider)
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