Pete's Dragon
Seen it?2016 | 103 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Sunday Safe BetWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
It earned strong reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes). A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for fantasy fans, adventure fans and families. If you loved How to Train Your Dragon or The Jungle Book, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Feel-good.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 43 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG: a parent's death or loss. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham 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, who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete, 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, an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsStrong
88% on Rotten Tomatoes, 71 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
6.4 out of 10
- AwardsBelow par
1 win and 2 nominations from smaller awards and festivals
- Box office & staying powerSolid
$144 million worldwide on a $65 million budget
- Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 159K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by David Lowery
- Oakes FegleyPete
- Bryce Dallas HowardGrace
- Wes BentleyJack
- Karl UrbanGavin
- Oona LaurenceNatalie
- Robert RedfordMr. Meacham
- Isiah Whitlock Jr.Sheriff Gene Dentler
- John KassirElliot the Dragon (voice)
- Marcus HendersonWoodrow
- Aaron JacksonAbner