'Pete's Dragon' News: Pete's Dragon Gets a New Look, and It's Furry
Disney's remake of the 1977 live-action and cartoon feature film "Pete's Dragon" is bowing in theaters this coming August, but since the studio announced that it was working on the project, not much is known about the film until now. Entertainment Weekly featured an exclusive first look at the film's main character, Elliott, who is otherwise known as Pete's Dragon. Elliott the Dragon in the film looked different from the one in the original film: this one is furry and has lost the signature pink spikes and wild neon haircut.
According to the Entertainment Weekly report, film director David Lowery explained that they only let go of the pink spikes and wild neon haircut because it did not fit in the "photo-real terrain" that the creature lived in which is the forest. Since Elliott needed to blend well with his habitat, especially since he did not want others to see him, pink and neon had to go. Lowery however assured fans that much of the original character of Elliott remained: he still had a big jaw, a big snout and the same clumsy quality.
In another report in Tech Times, his new look was also in consideration of the fact that instead of having the power of invisibility, he is simply good at hiding or camouflaging himself, which one cannot do successfully with pink spikes.
According to the film's production designer, the inspiration for the furry dragon is based on the world of domestic mammals. Instead of basing it on medieval dragons that looked more reptilian, they decided to go for furry and soft instead, much like the traits of a dog. The intention is to make the dragon look less scary especially for kids.
"Pete's Dragon" stars newcomer Oakes Fegley as Pete the orphan boy who lives in the forest, Robert Redford as Mr. Meacham and Bryce Dallas Howard as Grace Meacham, the forest ranger who sets out to investigate whether the dragon in her father's tales and the one being mentioned by Pete is for real. The movie bows in theaters on August 12, 2016.
