Disney has unveiled a new UK trailer for the upcoming remake of Pete’s Dragon. The film is directed by David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) and tells the story of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. While this is the same conceit as Disney’s 1977 iteration of the story, that’s basically where the similarities end, as the Mouse House pretty much gave Lowery free reign to take the story where he wanted. And based on this new trailer (not to mention the trailers that preceded it), it looks like a wondrous and wildly emotional take that emphasizes the bond between this young boy and his pet dragon in a way that doesn’t feel cheesy or overly sentimental.

Indeed, early reviews for the film have been swell and Disney was so pleased with Lowery’s work that they quickly enlisted him to direct their new live-action Peter Pan movie. The studio’s approach to these live-action remakes has paid off incredibly well, resulting in some truly terrific and distinct new iterations of classics like Cinderella and The Jungle Book. They take a very filmmaker-centric approach, as evidenced by the fact that Lowery reunited with his Ain’t Them Bodies Saints composer Daniel Hart on the picture, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the studio’s hefty slate has in store.


For now, take a look at the new trailer below, along with a video highlighting Hart’s score and collaboration with violinist Lindsey Stirling and a behind-the-scenes featurette. The film opens in theaters on August 12th and stars Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, and Karl Urban.

Here’s the official synopsis for Pete’s Dragon:

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon. Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.


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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney

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