Pete's Dragon
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: August 12, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyAug 16, 2016
Our best fables and fairy tales are the ones that speak truth, and this version of Pete’s Dragon easily takes its place on any short list of the great films for young audiences as a result. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 11, 2016
Experiencing Pete's Dragon is like seeing something thought to be extinct, a creation every bit as magical and mythical as the flying, fire-breathing beast its named after. That would be the straight ahead, unapologetic family film. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 27, 2016
One of the year’s most delightful moviegoing surprises, a quality family film that rewards young people’s imaginations and reminds us of a time when the term “Disney movie” meant something: namely, wholesome entertainment that inspired confidence in parents and reinforced solid American values. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzAug 12, 2016
Common wisdom says Hollywood doesn't make this kind of movie anymore. But it's not true. Read full review
88
New York PostKyle SmithAug 11, 2016
A cinematic enchantment, a low-key 1970s-style kids’ movie brimming with sincerity and heart. It’s one of the best films of the year. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 10, 2016
[Lowery] has made a larger, very different movie without losing his instincts, his directorial stealth or his ability to finesse his actors' performances, in this case in the vicinity of an achingly expressive and unexpectedly furry dragon with a little bit of bulldog in him. Read full review
85
TheWrapRuss FischerJul 27, 2016
David Lowery‘s ease with actors and command of tone make Pete’s Dragon one of the best remakes in recent years. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyAug 11, 2016
If your kids can get through the first five minutes of Pete’s Dragon (which rank right up there with the shooting of Bambi’s mother on the Disney trauma-o-meter), then you won’t find a sweeter family film for the waning days of summer. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 10, 2016
Looking for poetry in a live-action family film is usually about as futile as hunting for dragons in your backyard; the vast majority of them wager on the indiscriminate tastes of kids and their dutiful chaperons. But Pete’s Dragon has poetry in spades. Read full review
83
ConsequenceBlake GobleAug 10, 2016
The way Lowery observes Pete and Elliot’s relationship with nominal dialogue is beautiful. While it’s easy to deride the remake as commercially conceived, the film still feels as rare as the dragon it depicts, wholesome and heartfelt. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthJul 27, 2016
It’s a lovely film that resonates all the more so in a summer of louder, more cluttered movies, and knowing that Disney had the confidence to allow Lowery’s vision to flourish is the icing on the cake. Read full review
83
The Film StageJordan RaupJul 27, 2016
In capturing childlike wonder through Pete’s eyes, this film has more than a few heartbreaking moments regarding the definition of a home and the people (or fantastical creatures) that give it life. And by keeping things relatively small-scale, David Lowery’s studio debut retains a personal touch with an unceasing supply of magic running through its lovable, full-hearted soul. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJul 27, 2016
There may be individual shots in this movie that cost more than the director’s entire pre-existing output, but make no mistake: This is a David Lowery movie — a movie imbued with the same tactile nature and uniquely American flair for myth-making that characterized his Sundance breakthrough, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” Read full review
80
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyJul 28, 2016
Lowery’s visual world essentially translates the movie’s message, that magic is everywhere if you allow yourself to see it. It may be a cliché and sappy sentiment, and one we’ve seen again and again in movies, but when done right it can be a beautiful one. Read full review
80
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJul 27, 2016
More than anything, this is a slice-of-life tale, whisper-thin but still full of feeling and a generous sense of place. With the world's most adorable dragon at the center of it all. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 10, 2016
Pete’s Dragon has the power to breathe fire into the most tepid of souls. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldAug 16, 2016
For me, a grown-up spoiled by Pixar, Pete’s Dragon seemed sweet but slow and a little bland. My guests, entranced by the friendly dragon and the film’s 3D depictions of flight, thought otherwise. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesJimmy GeurtsAug 12, 2016
The movie is something of a shaggy dog hangout film, albeit one that literally features a shaggy dragon. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzAug 11, 2016
A surprisingly effective work of family entertainment that hits all its marks, and then some. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 11, 2016
Thanks to Lowery's humanizing magic, Pete's Dragon is that rare family film you really can take to heart. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoAug 11, 2016
Lowery’s update turns out to be one of the summer’s best surprises, a gorgeous, magical reworking that deftly strikes that once-elusive balance between contemporary and quaint. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanAug 10, 2016
If the cast were less likeable, the predictability of the story might become wearisome. (Of course, it’s not likely to be predictable if you’re 9.) But all the actors, especially young Fegley and Laurence, engage us. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubAug 10, 2016
There should be more American family movies like Pete’s Dragon. Since there aren’t, we should get behind this one. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittAug 10, 2016
All one needs to grasp is the hope and inherent magic of a kid and a dragon being BFFs, then let the feels flow from there. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAug 12, 2016
After half an hour or so of ... stutter steps, Pete's Dragon starts working on you, much like those gold standards of the boy-and-his-otherworldly-friend genre, "E.T." and "The Iron Giant." Read full review
70
SlateDan KoisAug 12, 2016
Pete's Dragon is a gentle, understated family adventure, one that feels notably unlike the simplistically sentimental product the Disney imprimatur might lead you to expect. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAug 11, 2016
Mr. Lowery is very good with actors, and he lets much of his film unfold at a pace that may, in these frenzied times, seem rather leisurely. I thought the pace was fine, and admired him for giving his characters time to breathe. Elliott breathes fire, and the film around him breathes humanity. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 27, 2016
Pete’s Dragon sports an undeniably old-fashioned, even slightly square demeanour, but even when that aura feels a tad forced, Lowery’s loving care gives the movie a likeable, small-scale charm. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 9, 2016
It’s a lovely film, stately, sylvan and slow. It would take an insensate child and a very cynical adult to not fall for at least some of its charms. Read full review
60
TimeStephanie ZacharekAug 16, 2016
Lowery stumbles, working too hard to squeeze a response from us. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 11, 2016
Pete’s Dragon is a good movie. But it could have used a little more of the magic its characters are searching for. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottAug 10, 2016
Where the original was a goofy, campy bit of stylized storytelling, Lowery's becomes a nicely realized, feel-good love song to fantasy and magic, buoyed by solid, updated visual effects, a strong cast (including two wonderful child actors) and a throwback sense of wide-eyed wonder. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeAug 8, 2016
This being a kids film, there is a ‘message’ – about the destruction of nature. But the eco theme genuinely works with the film’s wonder at nature. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsRaakhee MirchandaniAug 5, 2016
What Pete's Dragon lacks in original plot, it makes up for in heart Read full review
60
Total FilmNeil SmithJul 31, 2016
Those with fond memories of a gentler era of boy-and-his-insert-critter-here heartwarmers are bound to welcome Dragon’s old-fashioned vibe. But it still feels almost perverse to place all of Weta’s hi-tech wizardry at the disposal of a film so stubbornly, studiously lo-fi. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsJul 31, 2016
Strong performances and direction make the most of a lightweight tale. Read full review
50
MTV NewsAmy NicholsonAug 18, 2016
Fegley’s heartbreaking performance is fused onto a marshmallow. Lowery overcompensates for the darkness in the script by making everything else soft and squishy. Read full review
50
ObserverOliver JonesAug 16, 2016
The battle here is between the sincerity of the filmmakers’ intentions and the cynicism driving the film’s creation. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGlenn KennyAug 11, 2016
This sentimental, nearly genteel movie demonstrates there’s a world of difference between invoking magic and conjuring it. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 11, 2016
Despite the vastly improved visuals, the new film is just as soft-hearted — and, unfortunately, just as mush-headed — as the earlier one. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineRichard Scott LarsonJul 27, 2016
It abandons its subtlety en route to becoming a moralistic screed about the preservation of the nuclear family. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenJul 27, 2016
Haphazard plotting and seriously undernourished character development aside, none of the emotional stakes have been planted deeply enough to elicit audience involvement in young Pete’s plight. Read full review
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