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
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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