The Remake of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon Gets Its First Teaser Trailer, Karl Urban

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It was almost three years ago I learned Disney was going to remake their 1977 film Pete’s Dragon and now we’ve finally got our first look with a teaser trailer.

Much like Disney’s 1964 film Mary Poppins (which is getting a sequel soon!) and 1971’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete’s Dragon mixed live action acting with animation. The film took place in a small fishing town in Maine called Passamaquoddy in the early 20th century and starred Helen Reddy, Mickey Rooney, Jim Dale, and Shelley Winters with child actor Sean Marshall as an orphan named Pete. The animated dragon was named Elliot and yes, like many Disney classics there was singing and dancing.

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It was a staple in my childhood home and was probably one of the first movies we had on “home video” which at the time meant Betamax. As you can imagine, I have a lot of apprehension about a remake.

But here’s the first teaser for the film which previous reports said would take place in a logging town and not feature any singing or dancing. Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Karl Urban, Wes Bentley, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. star along with Oakes Fegley as young Pete.




Not much to see here of course but lots of promise. I like that they didn’t try to make Elliot look like a scary dragon but seemingly kept his more adorable look intact.

I’ll wait to see more on this one but I definitely got some warm and fuzzies here, especially seeing Fegley’s expressions. Here’s Marshall and Fegley side by side.

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Pete’s Dragon will be in theaters in 3D on August 12.

(via @DisneyPetes)

4 Responses to “The Remake of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon Gets Its First Teaser Trailer, Karl Urban”

  1. VBartilucci says:

    So… a kid lost in the woods, raised by a Dragon.
    So…Dragon Book, basically.
    There’s literally nothing left of the original, save for that is a dragon, and presumably the boy’s name is Pete. And Robert Redford is in it. Not a fair trade.
    Why do I know Frank Welker is going to voice the dragon?

  2. WheelchairNinja says:

    I don’t know why everyone always makes such a big deal about mixing live action and animation in stuff like Mary Poppins or Roger Rabbit. Disney’s literally been doing it since the very beginning: http://youtu.be/oUdAQ7rtU9I

  3. philnolan3d says:

    I hope Elliott looks cute and friendly but I haven’t seen any shots that show him yet.