‘Pete’s Dragon’ has a gentle, folksy quality

What It's About: In a summer of unnecessary sequels and remakes, along comes a live-action version of Disney's 1977 animated feature "Pete's Dragon." It modestly fills the gap of family summer entertainment that's without flying chunks of concrete, screaming loud sound, or a crude, curse-filled script.

Not sure why this has been released the same year as another kid-without-parents-raised-in-the-wild live-action remake, "Jungle Book," was. But what is with Disney's obsession with killing off parents in many family-geared films? Here we go again, treading familiar territory.

As wholesome, warm-hearted family entertainment, "Pete's Dragon" has its charms, but is rather slow-paced and at first, downright scary for the wee ones. It also has an “also-ran” quality, doesn't feel original or exceptionally special.

Pete's parents are killed in a car accident and with only a backpack, he wanders into a Pacific Northwest forest. The legendary Millhaven Dragon takes him under his massive wing and raises him.

The dragon, now dubbed Elliot, has magical qualities, disappearing at will, and Pete has made a stunning tree living quarters near the dragon's cave. In this lush deep-green paradise, they have an idyllic life of play until Pete, now 10, is spotted in the woods and hauled back to town.

The dragon is lost without his little friend, and sightings of him about town are random. But some bone-headed lumberjacks decide to capture him and chaos erupts, danger lurks, and what's going to happen to high-flying fire-breathing Elliot, and his favorite brave boy?

Performances: The cast of nice characters are likable people, with Karl Urban playing the typical villain — a grandstanding Gavin who decides that the dragon must be brought down.

Oakes Fegley ("This Is Where I Leave You") is a cute kid actor whose bond with Elliot is believable. Oona Laurence is strong as the plucky gal pal.

Bryce Dallas Howard ("Jurassic World") is a kind forest ranger who becomes Pete's surrogate Mom, and she's engaged to Jack (Wes Bentley), whose 11-year-old daughter Natalie befriends Pete. They're all straight out of "The Waltons."

Robert Redford is Meacham, a wise sage, the woodcarver who believes in the dragon because he saw it once, many years ago, and repeats the tall tale as truth. He's Elliot's unlikely ally when push comes to shove.

Karl Urban ("Star Trek Beyond") has to play the stock villain, the dunderhead who doesn't mind killing mythical creatures and must be put in his place.

What Works: Director David Lowery ("Ain't Them Bodies Saints"), who co-wrote the script with Toby Halbrooks, has given the film a gentle, folksy quality, complete with old-timey music score.

This is in stark contrast to the very loud special effects-bonanza blockbusters we're accustomed to — and welcome to hear. The flights of fancy soar, and the visual effects are first-rate.

Elliot is a tender-hearted furry green giant of a computer-generated dragon, with expressive eyes and body language.

What Doesn't Work: OK, it's a fantasy, but Pete is remarkably verbal for a kid raised by a dragon. That said, the script is fairly standard, not particularly memorable.

In its favor, the film has a storybook vibe to it, rather than a bombastic adventure. And that just might be music to parents' ears.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 1:54 PM with the headline "‘Pete’s Dragon’ has a gentle, folksy quality."