Everyone is talking about it so I might as well add my two cents. They just put out the teaser trailer for this summer’s Pete’s Dragon remake. I have to be honest- I like the trailer. I think it looks kind of magical. Now I thought the Maleficent trailer looked promising and you see what that brought us…
I would certainly rather there be no remakes at all and get new and exciting content but that’s not happening any time soon. The best we can hope for is these remakes are more of the Cinderella vein and less Maleficent/Alice in Wonderland (and no the new Looking Glass trailer does nothing to excite me). I guess I’m more positive about Pete’s Dragon because I’m not super attached to the original; although, I do enjoy it.
What does seem cool about Pete’s Dragon is they are doing more of a reimagining than a remake, which begs the question- why call it Pete’s Dragon in the first place? Fair enough, but at least it isn’t like Maleficent where they restage our favorite scenes but ruin the characters and story. At least that doesn’t appear to be the case.
One thing I don’t understand in these remakes is why they shy away from the music? I understand not wanting to make everything a musical but why not have a soundtrack? Candle on the Water is a great Disney song and I feel it at least should be in the closing credits. You had no Bibbity Bobbity Boo in Cinderella. No Once Upon a Dream but in credits in Maleficent. That is so bizarre. Why not take full advantage of the properties you are remaking? It’s not like Oz where they don’t have the rights to the original music.
Either way, I thought it was an effective, enticing trailer that didn’t tell me too much but just gave a spirit of the film. This movie has been very hush-hush so I’m glad to see some images of the dragon and what the story is going for. The fact Pete is a feral boy living in the forest for 6 years is interesting and Robert Redford being in your movie never hurt anything.
So I’m hopeful. What say you? I know some people are very upset about it and I can see their points. Share in the comment section.
I love the original Pete’s dragon. And my biggest fear was that they would depart from the original cuddly design of the dragon and replace it with some generic CGI thing….
Needless to say, I am NOT pleased with the trailer.
I can see that concern. I kind of like the darker tone but I’m not that attached to original so I totally get it.
I like the trailer too.
All right! I’m surprised so many dislike it so much
Trash! Disney has run out of original thought. Remake that is No Where in line of the original. Tone is too dark, story looks horrible, and a cgi dragon that appears to be out of the Game of Thrones? Leave originals alone and start creating instead of remaking!
Sorry you felt that way. I am not a big fan of the remake trend but it’s here so hope it will be ok.
While I do need to see the original before the remake, the impression I get from ‘Pete’s Dragon’ is that while not a lot of people have seen it, those who have really, really cherish it. That means that the remake was always going to get off on a bad footing. There are major differences from the original; there are no musical numbers (which I knew right away), no seaside setting, not much of a sense of humour or fun (yet), and no quirky villains. That might not be too big of a problem if the film is able to stand on it’s own two feet and make us really root for Pete and Elliott, but for fans of the original it’s looking like an “in name only” remake. Still, I’m willing to bet that it at least works out better than ‘Alice in Burtonland’ or ‘Maleficent’.
The trailer itself I thought was just okay; it had a nice sense of mystery and intrigue that reminded me of ‘The Iron Giant’, the actors gave earnest performances from what we saw, the differences from the original actually raised my interest, and the way they captured the beautiful New Zealand landscapes as the American Northwest was captivating. But, I feel like I need to see more of the film’s more heartfelt or lighter touches in order to get a good feel for it. I’m worried that this could be Disney’s 2016 box office flop, like ‘John Carter’, ‘The Lone Ranger’ or ‘Tomorrowland’, even if it is objectively better on it’s own merits than the films I listed, and its all because of that very unwelcome reception. Even ‘The Legend of Tarzan’ is off to a better start, and that’s not even Disney’s Tarzan!
Great comment. I think you nailed it on your insight about those who love the original cherish it. I had no idea it had so many fans, which is awesome.
I never thought Pete’s Dragon would be the first of these remakes to bomb but it really could judging by the reaction I’ve seen. I would say 99% of people, not just hard core Disney buffs hated the trailer. Interesting!
At this rate, the only way I can see it not bombing is if the reviews and word of mouth are insanely good, like Cinderella levels of good; maybe that can tip the odds in its favour. That and nostalgic fans try their best to separate the original from the new version, which is generally good advice for anyone going into a remake. The film may or may not have a budget as big as John Carter or the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, and somehow I don’t think it will. I really hope we’re all pleasantly surprised by it’s quality, but this is one that most people (there have been a few exceptions) are just flat out turning their backs on.
I think you could be right. My initial thought was this was going to be the easiest of the remakes because I didn’t think people cared about it that much. Clearly I was wrong!