The Happiest Place on Earth

I once read that there are three kinds of Disney fans.  There’s the classic Disney fan. There’s the “other properties” Disney fan, meaning Marvel, Star Wars, and the like.  And there’s the Parks Disney fan. Of the three, if I had to choose one, I would probably say I’m a Parks Disney fan, but the truth is, I’ve never really liked that break down.  There are things to love and dislike about all three of those and it seems hugely unfair to lump everything that isn’t the classic Disney brand into the “other” category. Star Wars and Marvel are huge entities that I wouldn’t really consider part of “Disney” even though they’re owned by them now.  And sure there’s a lot of people who are fans of them that wouldn’t call themselves Disney people, but there are a lot of fans who do. Likewise, I would argue that in order to be a fan of the Disney parks, you have to at least at one point in your life have been a fan of the classic Disney films, particularly the animated ones.  There’s just so much overlap.

This was a long winded way of saying, I love all things Disney.  I love the classic live action movies, I love the animated, I love the Pirates movies (yes ALL of them, FIGHT me), and I absolutely love Star Wars and Marvel.  You don’t get a Captain America shield tattooed on your body if you don’t love it. But, if you asked me what “Disney” thing I liked the best…it would have to be the parks.  That is why, when Disney+ finally launched, one of the things I was most excited about was The Imagineering Story.

He’s a Tramp, but they love him…

So how about those Disney live action remakes, huh?

I’ve had a bit of a mixed reaction to the remakes myself.  I really enjoyed Cinderella, though I’ve come to understand that I’m in the minority there.  I thought it was very visually pretty, that the acting was sweet and believable, and that the relationship not only between Cinderella and the Prince was more enjoyable but also his relationship with his father.  There was real emotion in that film where the original doesn’t really have that. I loved the costumes as well. I could have done without Helena Bohnam Carter or the terrible CGI but other than that, I thought it was a pretty good film.

I loved Maleficent the first time I saw it but my opinion on it has waned over time.  Again, it was very visually interesting, but upon looking back at it, I really hated what was done to Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.  Dumbo I thoroughly enjoyed but I don’t think even the most charitable viewer could say it really had anything in common with the original film.  I had mixed feelings on Jungle Book and Aladdin, feeling they did have some visually interesting moments and some fun scenes, but overall they didn’t really hold me in any real way.  They felt like what they were…nostalgic cash grabs. I didn’t even bother to see Lion King, I was so over it and uninterested.

And yet…and yet…

Lady and the Tramp was the very first thing I watched when I got my Disney+ account.  Not Mandalorian. Not any of the numerous classic Disney documentaries that I was literally salivating over.  Nope. I watched Lady and the Tramp. How did it go? Well…

Pete’s Dragon

Pete’s Dragon?  Harmless, predictable, and pretty to look at.  That’s my take away from it.  I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it.  The kids in the audience seemed to really enjoy it and that’s what matters at the end of the day.  The things I found overdone were clearly brand new to them.

That being said?  This movie was definitely not straining itself in anything other than visual effects.

I think that’s the thing that disappointed me about this the most.  It took zero risks.  To start with, they completely threw out the original film.  The only thing the two have in common are that there’s a boy named Pete and green dragon named Elliot.  That’s it.  The settings different.  The conflict is different.  The whole plot is different.  So if you’re going to do that, why would you then waste so much time being every other kids movie I’ve ever seen?  There was real potential here, and they didn’t even try.

Okay so what WAS the plot, since clearly it’s not the original?  Spoilers from here on out.