Hollywood legend Robert Redford died at the age of 89 last week, and since then, a ton of emotional tributes from other actors have poured in. One of the latest comes from Bryce Dallas Howard, who worked with the late Redford on the Disney's 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon. Howard shared some really sweet memories of working with the iconic actor in New Zealand, and I love how her sentiments provide a better sense of the man he was.

Redford died in his sleep on September 16 in his home in Sundance, Utah. Eventually, Howard posted a tribute to him on her Instagram, which featured some of her sweetest memories of her co-star. Howard explained that she didn’t post her thoughts right away because it took her “a moment to find the right words of gratitude.” As she wrote:

Earlier in the post, Bryce Dallas Howard recalled the first time meeting Robert Redford was on the set of the movie where they played father and daughter. She said she “almost knocked him over” while rolling on a scene in which she was supposed to run into his arms, which led Redford to burst out laughing and quip, “You came at me like a cannonball!” As she continued:

In addition to Redford being an accomplished actor, he also directed many movies across his career, including a movie called The Horse Whisperer, which even had a 12-year-old Scarlett Johansson in it. (In fact, she recently spoke about her experience on it and the nickname she gave Redford). The story shows how much Redford cared about animals, as he didn’t hesitate in rescuing one in between shooting Pete’s Dragon. As Howard also shared in her tribute:

When their movie came out in 2016, our Pete’s Dragon review was glowing, calling the Disney movie with our own Eric Eisenberg calling it a “beautiful, earnest family film with wonderful emotion.” Maybe it’s time we revisited it on Disney+?

Robert Redford had over 80 credits across his career starting in the 1960s. His career really started to blow up when he starred in Barefoot in the Park and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the late ‘60s. By the 1970s, Redford amassed a plethora of films that eventually became beloved like The Candidate, The Way We Were, The Sting and All The President’s Men. It’s wild that his sole Oscar win was for his directing work on Ordinary People in 1981!

When it comes to Bryce Dallas Howard’s tribute, it's truly wonderful and celebrates the man as she knew him. Here at CinemaBlend, we're sending our love to Redford's family, friends and fans following his death.

Some moviegoers are absolutely against, or simply exhausted by, the idea of remaking a classic film or rebooting a hit TV show, and I absolutely sympathize with that, given how many lackluster remakes Hollywood has delivered. However, I am open to the idea of reimagining a beloved title, as long as the new version offers some reason to justify its existence by not simply hitting "copy, paste" and calling it a day. See what I mean by taking a look at some of these cinematic remakes and TV reboots that either surprised audiences with something or at least managed to stand on their own.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

The Rat Pack-led original Ocean's 11 from 1960, which sees a group of World War II veterans reuniting to rob five Las Vegas casinos in one night, just for fun. Steven Soderbergh's remake reimagines the heist (involving only three casinos in one vault) as Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) act of revenge against casino magnate Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who is dating his ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts).

Teen Wolf (2011-2017)

Instead of following a high school student who inherits a family curse that makes him half-man, half-animal like the 1985 comedy, Teen Wolf, MTV's more earnest series adaptation starred Tyler Posey as a wolf bite victim who ends up using his lycanthropic abilities to protect his community from supernatural forces with the help of his friends, Buffy style

The Invisible Man (2020)

Considered one of the best horror movie remakes ever made is writer and director Leigh Whannell's reinterpretation of the classic Universal Monster Movie, The Invisible Man. The acclaimed Blumhouse thriller introduces a more plausible explanation for the eponymous villain's transparency and tells the story from the perspective of the victim, his tormented wife (played by Elisabeth Moss), resulting in a powerful and frightening commentary on gaslit abuse victims.

Westworld (2016-2022)

Michael Crichton's 1973 film Westworld was almost a precursor to Jurassic Park, taking place at a high-tech tourist attraction with an Old West aesthetic and highly realistic androids that go haywire. Decades later, an acclaimed HBO drama of the same name would expand on the concept in much darker, timely, and thought-provoking ways.

Scarface (1983)

Howard Hawks' 1932 gangster drama Scarface follows an Italian immigrant (played by Paul Muni) who rises to power in Chicago's criminal underworld. Director Brian DePalma's 1983 classic, which many may not realize is a remake, follows a Cuban immigrant (played by Al Pacino) and his rise to power in Miami's criminal underworld.

War Of The Worlds (2005)

There has never been a truly faithful adaptation of H.G. Wells' seminal novel, but the two best-known alien invasion movies it inspired could not be more different from one another. The 1953 version follows various residents of a California town and shows things from a governmental perspective, while Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds is told entirely from the point of view of a divorced father (played by Tom Cruise) and his two children as they travel the country searching for sanctuary. The remake even subverts expectations by having the evil extraterrestrials rise from the ground as opposed to coming down from the sky.

The Mummy (1999)

Universal's 1932 monster movie, The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff, is an undisputed classic of the studio's seminal creature feature era. When the story was updated in the late '90s, it took a more action-adventure approach, with Brendan Fraser leading the cast as a stand-in for Indiana Jones.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Joss Whedon took the basic premise of his screenplay for the 1992 Kristy Swanson-led horror-comedy movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and revamped it (no pun intended) as a more earnest monster-of-the-week thriller, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as the teen monster hunter, that became a cultural phenomenon.

A Star Is Born (1976)

Bradley Cooper's Oscar-winning 2018 directorial debut, A Star is Born, is a wonderful achievement in spite of its many similarities to the late '70s hit of the same name starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. However, that film is a wholly original take on two other synonymous dramas that came before it in 1937 and 1954, both of which revolve around the movie business instead of the music industry.

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)

The main differentiator between Glen A. Larson's classic '70s sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica, and Ronald D. Moore's SyFy original reimagining is how it drops the campy tone. However, the contrast is unquestionably dramatic, resulting in one of the most celebrated cosmic TV shows of its time, or any time, and a benchmark for reboots done right.

The Thing (1982)

It is almost cheating to refer to John Carpenter's classic horror movie, The Thing, about an Arctic research crew that can't tell who among them is a shapeshifting alien, as a remake. It could more accurately be described as a far more faithful adaptation of its source material, a novella called "Who Goes There?" than producer Howard Hawks' 1951 thriller, The Thing from Another World, which is a relatively by-the-numbers creature feature.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (2018-2020)

Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman became a household name when Melissa Joan Hart portrayed her on the very lighthearted ABC sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Years later, Netflix released Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in which star Kiernan Shipka's iteration faces mystical situations of a far graver matter.

The Nutty Professor (1996)

In the original The Nutty Professor from 1963, Jerry Lewis plays the clumsy, unsophisticated, but brilliant Julius Kelp, who develops a serum that alters his personality, creating a more suave and well-kept alter ego he calls Buddy Love. In director Tom Shadyac's remake, Eddie Murphy plays the perfectly sophisticated, but vastly overweight Sherman Klump, whose revolutionary serum initially serves as a temporary, instant weight loss solution, and his thinner self, also named Buddy Love, eventually begins to take on his own persona over time.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Many of the best Western movies are reimaginings of classic Japanese action films. One of the best-known examples of this is The Magnificent Seven, which is merely an Americanized update of Seven Samurai, which trades swordfights for gunfights.

Pete’s Dragon (2015)

Co-writer and director David Lowery did not bother rewatching 1977's Pete's Dragon, which follows the friendship between an orphaned boy and a mystical creature that can turn itself invisible. He updated the Disney film into something that is not a musical nor a broad comedy, and goes for a more dramatic, atmospheric fantasy adventure for all ages, with great results.

Bel-Air (2022)

The classic NBC comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air stars Will Smith as a young man taken out of his Philadelphia neighborhood to live with his wealthy California relatives after a violent encounter. This premise worked well as the set-up for a sitcom, but is also well-suited for a drama, as demonstrated in Morgan Cooper's 2019 short film that became the basis for Peacock's darker reimagining, Bel-Air, from producer Smith and starring Jabari Banks.

The Fly (1986)

The original 1958 adaptation of George Langelaan's short story, The Fly, involves an instantaneous transportation experiment gone wrong when an insect gets in the machine, causing a scientist (played by David Hedison) to come out the other end with a fly's head and arm. David Cronenberg's reimagining takes that same transportation device setup, but Jeff Goldblum's Seth Brundle comes out the other end seemingly fine, before his body slowly begins to deteriorate as a result of his DNA being fused with the fly.

Beetlejuice (1989-1991)

The animated series adaptation of 1988's beloved Tim Burton movie, Beetlejuice, is still a story told from a ghost's perspective and retains the same one-of-a-kind, maniacally macabre aesthetic. However, it reimagines the title character as a lovably goofy ghoul who, instead of manipulating Lydia Deetz into marriage, makes friends with her and takes her on various wondrous adventures in the afterlife.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Jack Finney's classic alien invasion story has been adapted into multiple Invasion of the Body Snatchers movies, all of which are really no different in concept, but differ from each other in various stylistic and thematic ways. For instance, the original 1956 film is a commentary on fears of McCarthyism, while director Philip Kaufman's adaptation instead comments on blind consumerism and boasts not just a bleaker ending, but one of the most devastating endings in horror history.

A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)

At the time A Fistful of Dollars was released, few people realized the first installment of director Sergio Leone and star Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name Trilogy" was a remake. That is because, while the film is a Western-style, beat-for-beat reimagining of the 1961 samurai classic Yojimbo, which is also about a drifter who protects a village by playing two oppressive gangs against each other, Akira Kurosawa never received any credit for inspiring the story, leading production company Toho to file a lawsuit.

RoboCop (2014)

While some might say that José Padilha's RoboCop is a remake that should have never been made, it at least tried to be different in some respects. In particular, Peter Weller's Alex Murphy from the original has almost no memory of his life before becoming a hybrid of man and machine, but the version played by Joel Kinnaman is fully aware of the person he was before and forced to undergo his unusual procedure against his will, which is quite a bit darker.

Dragnet (1987)

One of the first films to honor the bewildering tradition of adapting earnest TV crime dramas into feature-length comedies was director Tom Mankiewicz's Dragnet. This slapstick parody of detective stories is set in the world of Jack Webb's seminal police procedural, featuring Dan Aykroyd as the nephew of Sgt. Joe Friday (who is also named Joe Friday) and Tom Hanks as his partner, Det. Pep Streebek.

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (2009)

Director Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage, boasts an entirely different story from Abel Ferrara's 1992 crime drama, Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel, despite also focusing on the exploits of a corrupt cop.

Disturbia (2007)

Director D.J. Caruso's Disturbia is recognized as an unofficial reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. It stars Shia LaBeouf as a teenage boy who suspects his neighbor is a murderer while confined to his home under house arrest, as opposed to a grown man (played by Jimmy Stewart) recovering from an injury.

Suspiria (2018)

Luca Guadagnino's reimagining of Dario Argento's 1977 Giallo-style supernatural thriller, Suspiria, has the same setting (a German ballet studio run by witches), but has none of the same eye-popping production design, incorporates a tangentially connected detective story B plot, and boasts a bleak twist ending.

Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

While also set in a mall this time, writer James Gunn and director Zack Snyder's take on the second installment of George Romero's revolutionary zombie movie franchise from 1978, Dawn of the Dead, makes the cast bigger, the zombies faster, the comedy more overt, and the subtle satirical nuances non-existent.

Death Race (2008)

Producer Roger Corman's 1975 B-movie Death Race 2000 takes place in a futuristic, totalitarian United States that holds an annual cross-country racing competition in which the object is to run over as many random pedestrians as possible. Paul W.S. Anderson's reimagining softens the dystopian angle, makes the race exclusive to incarcerated convicts on a single island, and challenges the racers to only kill each other, crowning the last person standing.

Velma (2023-2024)

In the HBO Max original animated prequel series, Velma, starring Mindy Kaling in the title role, the meddling kids from Mystery Inc. are nothing like who they used to be. There is also no Scooby-Doo, which was probably the last straw for all the haters.

When A Stranger Calls (2006)

The Camilla Belle-led update of When a Stranger Calls takes the first 20 minutes of the original 1979 suspense thriller, in which a babysitter discovers her unsettling phone calls are coming from inside the house, and extends that to its own 90-minute feature.

Beauty And The Beast (2012-2016)

From 1987 to 1990, CBS aired a modernized, crime drama-style take on the classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, depicting a romance between a lion-man living underneath New York City (played by Ron Perlman) and a beautiful ADA (played by Linda Hamilton). When The CW developed its own version, the series dropped the mystical half-man, half-animal creature aspect in favor of making the Beast a normal man who goes feral when angered after being subjected to a government experiment.

Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank (2022)

The original title of the animated comedy Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, about a dog who becomes an unlikely hero to a village of cats, was Blazing Samurai, to reflect how Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles served as its structural inspiration.

Mockingbird Lane (2012)

Mockingbird Lane, which aired on NBC as a Halloween special, was developer Bryan Fuller's failed attempt at reimagining the spooky, silly sitcom The Munsters into a modern supernatural dramedy.

Disney+ has been out for a few months now, and while some movies have come and gone, there's still a healthy lineup of content for audiences to check out. A good chunk of it is the standard Disney fare many have grown up with over the years, and then there's the rest. Some of it is serviceable and some of it is bad, but a really sizable chunk of it is just plain weird.

For those interested in the latter, the following is a healthy mix of weird-ass Disney movies that can be watched on a lazy evening chilling at home. There's something for everyone in this list, and maybe a few classics readers had not considered weird until they took the time to think about it just now. Take a look, and throw one of these on the next time the family complains about firing up those beloved Disney classics for the umpteenth time.

The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars

Call it a Disney classic if you must, but The Brave Little Toaster is still weird as hell. Pets and toys going after their beloved masters is endearing, but household appliances? For some reason, it's a little weirder to think my vacuum is attached to me than my childhood toy. Still, as weird as it may be, The Brave Little Toaster (which was supposed to be getting a remake at some point) is a great kids film for kids with a strong enough story to keep parents engaged as well. The sequel where they go to Mars may not be quite as well-remembered, but hey, if you're going weird, you might as well go full-tilt!

Gus

A young Yugoslavian man's life is changed forever when his mule is drafted as the field goal kicker for an NFL team. That's more than enough to qualify this live-action Disney movie as weird, but believe it or not, things manage to get weirder. Perhaps the strangest decision of this movie takes place during the Super Bowl scene, where the climax is interrupted by an insanely long chase through a grocery store. This is a good choice for anyone looking for a laugh at a truly bizarre old movie, but not much beyond that.

Pete's Dragon

A young orphan boy named Pete is sold to hillbillies who treat him badly, but it's all good because his invisible dragon Elliott is able to get him out of the jam. There's just too many hijinks that happen from that point on to effectively recap, but despite the weirdness of having an imaginary dragon, this Disney movie has a lot of heart. The same is true of the live-action remake, but one should hit up the animated version for that classic, but still weird mix of hand-drawn animation and live action.

Jungle 2 Jungle

Jungle 2 Jungle is one of those movies that feels like it's made up. A man travels to Venezuela to divorce his first wife, only to learn she had a son shortly after their separation who has been raised within the native Amazon tribe she's living with. The boy is encouraged to go to New York City, retrieve fire from the Statue of Liberty and return home as a tribe leader. Tim Allen's character, who only just met his son, agrees to take him to New York for an adventure that, against all odds, works out for the better. Trying to explain this movie makes it even weirder, though one could watch through without thinking and potentially not be alerted by the weirdness.

Doug's 1st Movie

Doug switched hands from Nickelodeon to Disney midway through its television run, and it all eventually led to Doug's 1st Movie. The movie is the series finale of sorts for the show, which features Doug revealing his feelings for Patti Mayonnaise after saving a lake monster. Yes, Doug waits until its finale movie to jump the shark, and the result is a little weird. What's super weird is that Disney titled this Doug's 1st Movie, while simultaneously making a movie that effectively ended the series.

Meet The Deedles

Before he directed the Disney Channel Original Movie classic Johnny Tsunami, Disney hired long-time stuntman Steve Boyum to direct Meet The Deedles. The film takes two surfer bros and strands them in Yellowstone National Park, where they pose as park rangers in an attempt to earn the favor of their father. It's one of two movies a young Paul Walker would do that year, and suffice it to say that some may remember his role in Pleasantville a bit more than this goofy movie possibly most known for a poster with the main characters' hair transformed into waves.

Rookie Of The Year

Outside of The Mighty Ducks, Rookie Of The Year may be the best movie that represents the odd trend of kid-centric sports films of the '90s. This weird movie has surely inspired many kids over the years that they'll break a bone and bounce back from it with a superhuman ability. In Henry's case, it meant being able to pitch a 100 MPH fastball, which in all honesty is not an incredibly rare feat in Major League Baseball to begin with. Hey, as weird as the premise is, one can't deny the Chicago Cubs may have gotten their World Series win sooner had they found a kid with unusually tight tendons in his arm.

Return To Oz

If ever there was a sequel that shouldn't have been made, it's Return To Oz. The unofficial Disney sequel to the classic The Wizard Of Oz begins with Dorothy being sent off by her aunt for electroshock therapy to cure her "delusions" about Oz, and the story really just takes off from there. Things get weird and really never stop until the credits roll. I guess in hindsight The Wizard Of Oz was a little weird, but given its iconic status, it's easy to overlook, while this entry is not.

The Shaggy D.A.

Unfortunately, Tim Allen's remake of The Shaggy Dog didn't get the sequel treatment like the original Disney movie. The Shaggy D.A. features Wilby Parker running for District Attorney, though his campaign experiences some trouble due to the re-emergence of the Borgia Ring. This is the kind of weird that was normal in the '70s, but has since gotten weirder with the advancement of technology. One scene in particular I'd watch out for is when the dog throws a punch at a criminal, and it's remarkably apparent the stunt was performed by a man in a dog suit.

All of these movies are currently available on Disney+ to binge at one's leisure. Check them out and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest and greatest in movie and television news.

Fairy tales. They are among the oldest stories that survive in our culture. They are some of the earliest stories that we hear, and the ones that we remember. Beginning in 1937 and running more or less to the present day, Walt Disney Animation began to turn many of these classic tales into feature films. Since then, multiple generations have grown up with these films, and for many audience members, Disney has made the definitive version of these ageless stories. At this point, the definition of the term "fairy tale" is essentially, "An animated movie made by the Walt Disney Company."

Now that Disney has turned every story ever written into an animated feature, they've now begun to remake each of them as a live action film, as well. However, most of these stories are so old that they're in the public domain, and Disney isn't the only studio that noticed how much money fairy tale movies can make. This means that not only are there more fairy tale films in development than you can count, in several cases, there are multiple studios working on the same property. How can you keep it all straight? Here's every single fairy tale movie we could track down (that we're not sure isn't dead). Clear your calendars!

Jungle Book

Didn't we just see The Jungle Book? Oh right, this is a different one. Previously Jungle Book: Origins, the film has apparently been retitled as simply Jungle Book. While Disney's version used simple computer animation, Origins will be using full motion capture to try to bring a new level of life and expression to the characters. To that end, Warner Bros. hired a motion capture expert, Andy Serkis, to direct the film as well as play the role of Baloo the bear. Waiting more than two years after Disney's try will hopefully be enough time for people to want to see this story again.

Release Date: October 18, 2018

Mulan

Mulan has become one of Disney's most popular princesses, mostly for being a heroine who breaks the mold for Disney. She's not driven by love, and she doesn't need a prince to save her. She does the saving. It's no wonder that Disney would look to the story for one its remakes. Fun fact: Ming-Na Wen, Agent Melinda May from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., was the voice of the original character. Any reason she couldn't play the remake in the live-action version? She already kicks butt. Hey Disney, I just did the heavy lifting for you. We recently learned that Mulan will not be a musical but that's about all we know about the film that's currently set to debut in 2018.

Release Date: November 2, 2018

Cruella

Disney struck gold with a movie from the villain's perspective with Maleficient, so they'll be going back to the well with the similarly themed, and titled, Cruella. As Disney had already done a pair of 101 Dalmatians live action films several years ago, with Glenn Close as the fashionista evil-doer, the new version has cast Emma Stone in the role, and will instead focus on the character's early days, and what made her the character we know and love...to hate. Glenn Close is acting as a producer of the new film which is being written by Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks) and Jez Butterworth (Black Mass). Most recently it has seemed that Mozart in the Jungle's Alex Timbers has been in talks to direct, and if that happens this one could go into full production later in 2017

Dumbo

Dumbo may be one of the strangest choices to transform into a live-action feature film, if only because it's barely an animated feature film. At just over an hour in length, it's difficult to even justify the "feature" moniker. However, with Tim Burton planning to direct the film, we have to say, he never let the source material get in the way of making a beautiful, and epic, story. Most recently Dumbo has been in the news because casting is currently underway. Danny Devito and Tom Hanks are reportedly in talks for roles. Will Smith was also up for the lead, though it appears those discussions have ended without a deal.

Aladdin

Guy Ritchie is going to direct a Disney musical. This is a thing that is going to happen. While the story of a street urchin who makes it big may be very much the sort of thin we expect from Guy Ritchie, a Disney movie is not. Still, that's exactly what we're getting. The film is having an open audition for the leads so we expect we may very well see unknown actors make their big screen debut. It appears the plan is for Aladdin to follow in the footsteps of Beauty and the Bast and be a full musical. This one is starting out as wild as Tim Burton's Dumbo but we're ok with that.

The Lion King

While the announcement that Jon Favreau has been brought on board to do a live-action (read: realistically animated, not using actual lions) version of The Lion King is some of the most recent news on this list, the fact that the project is being fast-tracked means that we might actually see it long before many of the earlier films on this list. One gets the distinct impression that maybe The Jungle Book was really just an expensive proof of concept that was devised in order to discover if a remake of Disney's biggest animated film ever was, in fact, possible. It appears the experiment was a success. The Lion King is currently slated to film prior to Favreau's Jungle Book sequel and has already cast Donald Glover as the voice of Simba and has announced that James Earl Jones will reprise his role as Mufasa from the animated film, because who else would you get to replace him?

Maleficent 2

Maleficent wasn't necessarily the best movie, but it was a wholly remarkable one that included Angelina Jolie doing some of the best scenery chewing that we've seen in a long time. It also made a lot of money, which meant a sequel was very likely. Since the Sleeping Beauty story is over we have no idea where this one is going to go, but since the original purported to tell us the true story of the famous fairy, we're sure there's more we don't know. Recently it has been reported that Angelina Jolie is considering Maleficent 2 as her next project, so if that happens expect this one to start moving forward much more quickly.

Christopher Robin

It's been a while since Disney first announced their plans to use Winnie the Pooh as the source for one of these many live-action remakes. While most of Disney's plans for these movies involve either prequels or direct remakes, Winnie the Pooh appears to be different because it's being set up as a sequel, where an adult Christopher Robin goes in search of his old friends. This has now been reflected in the fact that the film will actually be called Christopher Robin. Most recently, World War Z director Marc Foster was reported to be the director of the project so this one appears to be moving ahead. We're guessing this one will end up looking very similar to The Jungle Book when all is said and done.

The Little Mermaid

While Universal may have been the first to the Little Mermaid story (more on that later), their stumble regarding the casting may be the perfect opportunity for Disney. Not only have they recently announced their own live-action version of the Hans Christian Anderson story, or more accurately, the Disney version of it, but it will include the biggest musical talent of the moment, Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with the composer of the original animated film, Alan Menken. It would seem that they're planning to go the Beauty and the Beast route and make this one a full musical production. Here's hoping Miranda can cast himself as Sebastian the crab. That needs to happen.

Prince Charming

While the Prince Charming movie is being produced by Disney, this one is looking to be somewhat less of a "Disney movie." The studio didn't commission the script, but rather, purchased it on spec. It's said to be a revisionist take on the idea of Prince Charming, and not really a story about any specific character. The name Prince Charming has been given to the characters of several stories, including Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. We're imagining a character, not unlike the one in Bill Willingham's Fables comic. This sounds interesting.

The Sword in the Stone

We haven't heard a great deal about the live action The Sword in the Stone since it was announced about a year ago. What we do know is that Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman is involved. There's certainly an implication there that Disney's live-action The Sword in the Stone may have more in common with Excalibur than it does the Disney original. That's probably for the best with a modern audience. As long we get a special effects blockbuster wizard's duel, we're ok with that.

Tink

Reese Witherspoon has reportedly been tapped by Disney to play the lead role in Tink, a live action film that will focus on Peter Pan's possibly more famous sidekick. The screenplay is being handled by Victoria Strouse, who had the task of writing the script for Pixar's Finding Dory. The film is set to play with the timeline of the well known Peter Pan story, so this film could be a prequel, a sequel, or something in between. It's been over a year since this one was announced so we're not sure what's up with it. Still, it doesn't appear to be dead.

Tinkerbell

Not to be outdone, there's a second Tinkerbell movie planned, which is very much not the Disney story. Melissa McCarthy is attached to make a Tinkerbell movie for Fox. It's not clear exactly what kind of film this is. Nicholas Stoller, who is working on the script, has written everything from Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising to Muppets Most Wanted, so it's anybody's guess whether this will be a family-friendly fairy tale, or one only for adults. McCarthy is generally box office gold, so we'd expect this one to arrive on screen sooner rather than later.

Pinocchio

Another long-in-development project that has seen new life recently is Robert Downey Jr.'s plan to play Geppetto in a live-action version of Pinocchio. While the man inside the Iron Man suit obviously has a strong relationship with Disney, the studio that's been handling this project is actually Warner Bros. Both Ben Stiller and Paul Thomas Anderson had been attached to direct the film previously. After Anderson dropped out, Ron Howard signed on to direct. Still, it's been over a year since that happened and we haven't heard anything since. This one can't seem to stay down for long, so we're guessing it will begin to move forward sooner rather than later.

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid was the movie that launched Disney's renaissance in 1989, so it's surprising that the first studio to the line with a live-action film version of the story was actually Universal. Sofia Coppola left the director's chair, but the studio looks to have a replacement on the hook, which wouldn't have slowed things down if that was the only issue. Kick-Ass and 5th Wave actress Chloe Grace Moretz was attached to star in the lead role, however, it appears that she recently pulled out herself, so the future of this one is unknown. The Universal take looks to be a significantly darker version than the well-known Disney film, which is fitting, considering the Hans Christian Anderson tale is absolutely black.

Night on Bald Mountain

Of all the source material that Disney will be mining to make live-action movies, this one might be the most unusual. Disney's Fantasia contained animated shorts combined with classical music. One of the most memorable was the animation that accompanied Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain." Now Disney plans to turn the winged demon from that short into its own feature-length film. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless who co-wrote the scripts for Dracula Untold and The Last Witch Hunter together are working on the script. This one could be interesting if we ever see it.

Pinocchio

Robert Downey Jr. isn't the only one working on a Pinocchio movie. The tale of the wooden boy who wants to be a real one was Disney's second animated feature, and the Oscar-winning "When You Wish Upon a Star" has become the unofficial theme song for the entire company. Needless to say, this one is important to the studio. While we haven't heard anything about this film in over a year, as far as we know, Peter Hedges is still working on the screenplay. We don't expect the mouse house will giving up on this one until it's done.

Genies

Around the same time that Disney announced Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, and just about everything else on this list, they also announced Genies. Originally, Genies was set to be a live-action prequel that would eventually lead into a live-action version of Disney's classic Aladdin. Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, who wrote the screenplay for Freddy vs. Jason among others, were handling script duties on this one, which was supposed tell the story of how the Genie became trapped in the lamp to begin with. With the announcement that a live-action Aladdin is coming to the screen ahead of this, it's possible this project is being shelved, though no official announcement has been made. They could still follow Aladdin with a prequel if they were so inclined.

Rose Red

One fairy tale character who has been overlooked in recent generations, in large part because of Disney's version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is Rose Red. Many fairy tale fans may not be aware that Snow White even has a sister. Disney looks to be taking steps to rectify this oversight, with a movie based on the character, which is being set up as a sort of live-action companion to the animated original. The story will follow Rose Red as she attempts to wake her sister from the curse of the poison apple. It's an intriguing idea, which has a lot of promise. Now it needs some talent to get involved.

The Jungle Book 2

Just about as soon as The Jungle Book hit theaters Disney signed Jon Favreau to direct a sequel. The first film became one of the highest-grossing films of 2016. There's no wonder that Disney would want to lock in a sequel as soon as possible. There were three total books written by Rudyard Kipling, as well as a fairly terrible sequel to Disney's original animated film, so there certainly exists plenty of material on which to build a sequel. The announcement that Favreau is working on The Lion King first means it will be a while before this one sees the light of day, but with nearly a billion dollar box office take, we can be fairly certain that it will happen eventually.

Mulan

As stated at the beginning, most of these stories are public domain, meaning it doesn't cost any studio a penny to get the rights to any story. Thus, alongside Disney's plans to make a live-action Mulan, Sony has now announced that they will do the same. While the Disney film will certainly be a live-action version of the Disney animated film, Sony is planning a movie that follows closer to the original Chinese legend. In addition, the plan is for the film to shoot in China and use a mostly Chinese cast.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan has seen plenty of live-action adaptations already. From Steven Spielberg's adult Pan in Hook to the recent trainwreck in film form that was Pan. There will be at least one more in between now and the heat death of the universe. Disney has decided that if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. They'll be producing their own live-action Peter Pan from the same team that brought us the recent Pete's Dragon. Maybe the Disney pixie dust will make this one the hit that the others have only tried to be.

Snow White

Finally, we'll end this massive list where Disney began. In additon to making a film about Snow White's lesser known sister, the Mouse House is also planning a live-action musical based around the company's inaugural feature-length animated film. New music will be written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul who were involved in the production of La La Land so it's clear that Disney is looking to make this movie as big as Beauty and the Beast. Erin Cressida Wilson who wrote the script for The Girl on the Train is handling the screenplay. Whether this film will be related to the Rose Red idea is anybody's guess at this point.

Disney songs are some of the most popular in the history of film. There are countless tunes that you still remember the words to today. However, over the decades, Disney has also produced some fairly unusual songs. There are so many Disney songs that we grew up with that we'll never forget, but there are also quite a few of songs that you have likely forgotten, or possibly even mentally blocked out.

These aren't necessarily bad songs. Some of them are quite good, while others are just strange. Still, they all qualify as songs you've likely forgotten exist, which is sad, because there's absolutely something memorable about each of them.

'Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph' - Wreck-It Ralph

It's not surprising if you missed this tune as it plays over the closing credits of Wreck-It Ralph after the Owl City tune "When Can I see You Again?" which will one day go on a separate list of Disney Songs I've Had Stuck In My Head For At Least Five Years. "Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph" is a song about the "classic" arcade game of the film. What makes this game special though is that's performed by Buckner & Garcia, the same duo responsible for another video game based hit song, 1982's "Pac-Man Fever." The song does everything to convince you it was actually recorded 30 years ago.

'The Siamese Cat Song' - Lady And The Tramp

This one is just...awkward. Lady and the Tramp just isn't one of the Disney films that has remained a popular and well-loved classic over the years, beyond the pasta scene, anyway. The Siamese Cat song consists of two cats singing with terrible Asian accents, who are also trying to end the life of a pet fish for their lunch before moving on to steal a baby's milk. This one has not aged well, and may be part of the reason Disney doesn't talk about this movie much anymore. Everybody, just remember the dog with a meatball on his nose and move on, ok?

'The World's Greatest Criminal Mind' - The Great Mouse Detective

Vincent Price once sang a Disney song. I could really leave this entry right there and the point would be made. There's more to it, however, because the song is actually pretty good. You can hear Price's pure joy at performing this song in ever line. It's a gloriously fun tune from a seriously underrated Disney movie. If you have never seen The Great Mouse Detective, go do so. You'll enjoy Vincent Price's performance as villain Ratigan if nothing else. It's a shame they weren't able to get Price to voice a character in a bigger movie, he could have been one of the all-time greats.

'One Last Hope' - Hercules

Danny DeVito once sang a Disney song. That is a thing that happened. However, while the random Vincent Price tune mentioned a minute ago is actually an entertaining song, "One Last Hope" from Hercules is...not. It's just not. It's maybe not DeVito's fault, the song doesn't do him any favors. It's probably not his key, assuming he has one, but while Disney can do a pretty good job of making mediocre voices sound good, that doesn't happen here. Hercules is pretty much a disaster of a movie from start to finish and while it has some good points worthy of praise, this song is not one of them.

'I Thought I Lost You' - Bolt

Like Wreck-It Ralph, Bolt is not a musical, and as such, the only song is over the closing credits, but you can count on Disney to close off any movie with a catchy pop tune. On its surface, there's nothing that strange about "I Thought I Lost You" at first glance It's your standard Disney pop. What makes this one worthy of the list is the oddness of the duet, Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. Granted this is 2008 Miley Cyrus, so we haven't quite reached swinging naked on a wrecking ball level Miley, but the fact that Disney was able to get the star of Grease to sing with their (then) pop princess is a fascinating thing to behold.

'Trust In Me' - The Jungle Book

It's possible that you haven't forgotten this one entirely, as it was played over the closing credits of the live-action remake of The Jungle Book by Scarlett Johansson. One of the interesting things that they did in that film was change the gender of the snake Kaa from male to female. This song was probably the reason they did that. "Trust in Me" is a song of seduction. There's really no way to not look at the song that way. Even when it's being sung by an animated snake to a hypnotized boy, there's an element of straight-up creepiness in this one.

'I Saw A Dragon' - Pete's Dragon

The 70s were weird. When Disney decided to remake Pete's Dragon they decided to not do it as a musical and that was probably for the best. However, it meant that we were all robbed of what we're sure would have a brilliant musical number consisting of Karl Urban singing about seeing a dragon while appearing three sheets to the wind. Mickey Rooney, who plays the town drunk in the original, tries to convince a bar full of townspeople of the monster he saw. It's absolutely bonkers but I'd by lying if I said it wasn't also fun.

'Once Upon A Time In New York City' - Oliver & Company

If we're being honest, the entire soundtrack to Oliver & Company could go on this list. Modern Disney musicals have always an element of pop music to them, but Oliver & Company is more specifically a rock musical. If you remember this movie's music at all it's probably because Billy Joel voices one of the characters and provides a song. However, here we're spotlighting the film's opening song. "Once Upon A Time In New York City" is sung by Huey Lewis and if that's not enough to make this one odd, the lyrics were written by Howard Ashman. Yes, the same guy who won Oscars for music from The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast got his start at Disney writing for a Disney rock musical based on Oliver Twist.

'You Might Think' - Cars 2

You can't separate music and driving, which may the reason that the Cars movies have some of the best soundtracks among all of Pixar's productions. While Cars 2 is one of the studio's rare misses when it comes to movies, the music is still top notch. Since you don't remember the movie you probably don't remember that the film included a cover of The Cars "You Might Think" that was done by who might be literally the best band ever chosen for such a task, Weezer. They're so perfect that you might not have realized you were listening to a cover.

Disney may not control the world (yet), but the studio continues to be a powerhouse in Hollywood. The House of Mouse provide a lot of offerings in 2016, from animated tales like Finding Dory to action blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that many of these movies were critically and commercially well received this year, and it paid off for them big time, as Walt Disney Studios has become the first studio to cross $7 billion globally in a year.

The company announced their record-breaking achievement today, noting that it was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's global debut that pushed them over the edge, bringing in over $290 million over it first five days of release globally. Along with the previously mentioned movies, Zootopia, The Jungle Book, Doctor Strange, Moana and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which was released in December 2015) were crucial to the studio hitting this impressive blockbuster milestone. The press release went on to note that Disney holds five of the top 10 films of the year globally, domestically and internationally. Thanks to their successful 2016, they also now hold five of the top six domestic openings in industry history (four of those being MCU movies), as well as holding four of the top five animated films of all time. Pixar and Marvel Studios also both crossed over $10 billion in "combined lifetimes grosses" for their movies.

While 2016 hasn't been a great year when it came to quality blockbusters, Walt Disney Studios largely managed to soar above all that. Okay, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Alice Through the Looking Glass, which both underperformed commercially and earned a lot of negative reviews. The BFG's box office draw also wasn't as high as expected, though it did earn positive reviews. Still, the positive far outweighed the negatives as far as this studio is concerned. Other Disney movies that came out in 2016 included Pete's Dragon and Queen of Katwe, both of which did well for themselves critically.

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't like at least one of the Disney movies that came out this year, whether it was watching a new version of Mowgli's journey through the jungle or witnessing former surgeon Stephen Strange becoming a powerful conjurer of the mystic arts. Looking ahead, it looks like 2017 could be another excellent year for them, as their heavy hitters include Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Cars 3, Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars: Episode VIII, among others. Rest assured, if the studio breaks past $8 billion in 2017, we'll be sure to let you know around this time next year.

If you're looking to add some Disney flair to your moviegoing experience this holiday season, Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One are still playing in theaters.

In case it isn't obvious, both the way movies are made and how they're approached is completely different now than it was six decades ago, and having been a part of the film industry for nearly 60 years - making his on-screen debut in a 1960 episode of Maverick - Robert Redford has witnessed that change first hand. With that much experience, however, one might wonder exactly what he sees as the most significant transformation Hollywood has undergone in that time. Thanks to a recent interview, we have the answer: the period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when cable television began to grow, and studios started to look at their feature projects in a different way.

With the actor starring in the wonderful new remake of Pete's Dragon that arrives in theaters this Friday, I recently had the honor of sitting down with the great Robert Redford during a press day in Los Angeles -- and amongst the topics of conversation was the way in which the industry today differs from what it was when he first started out. I asked Redford if he could identify what he sees as the most significant change in the last 56 years, and without missing a beat he explained,

Of course, film fans know that during that same time period Robert Redford was doing more than his part to try and ease this evolution in the industry. In 1978, he helped found the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which was established to help get exposure to smaller, independently funded and artistic-driven films that otherwise wouldn't be seen by anyone. In the last 38 years, the competition between television and movies has only increased, and studios do continue to dedicate special focus to their potential tentpoles, but Redford's festival has kept going strong in the time since then as well, and has introduced us to some of the best filmmakers working today.

You can watch the legendary Robert Redford talk about his perspective on the changing film industry in the video below:

Do you agree with Robert Redford's perspective here, or would you argue in favor of another major change -- be it the proliferation of visual effects, or the way perceptions of genre have changed. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and be sure to see Redford back in action on the big screen this weekend in Pete's Dragon!

The original Pete's Dragon is a Disney film very much of its era. Beyond just its live-action/2D animation hybrid style and musicality, it's also one of those movies that you look back on and realize just how crazy twisted it is (from slave-driving foster parents to an organ-harvesting medicine showman, it really has it all). As such, it wouldn't have really worked for writer/director David Lowery to make a direct copy when crafting his own take on the story, but this just works for the new film's benefit. As while Lowery's version of Pete's Dragon isn't entirely without its share of darkness, it retains the deeply rooted themes of family, love and connection, and has a vivacious sense of adventure and incredible heart.

Set in the late 1970s/early 1989s, though feeling entirely timeless, the film opens with a tremendous tragedy, as a boy named Pete (Levi Alexander) finds himself orphaned and stranded in the forest after a car accident kills both of his parents. With predators lurking in the trees all around him, the young protagonist needs a miracle to survive -- and gets one in the form of Elliott: a giant, furry dragon that can both turn invisible and take to the skies at will.

Six years later, Pete (now played by Oakes Fegley) grows up and makes a home for himself and Elliott in the woods -- spending his days aimlessly sprinting through the gorgeously-shot flora, splashing through rivers, and freely leaping off of cliffs, always knowing that his majestic buddy will be there to catch him. Together they live in isolation, but that comes to an end when Pete spots Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), a ranger doing her rounds, and he discovers the activities of a lumber mill cutting down a section of the forest under the guise of brothers Gavin (Karl Urban) and Jack (Wes Bentley) -- who is also Grace's fiancé.

Pete is ultimately discovered by Jack's daughter, Natalie (Oona Laurence), and Grace brings the young boy into the local town of Mill Haven -- against his wishes. An escape attempt and his repeated requests to be reunited with Elliott lead to questions about who this forest companion might be, and Pete tells them about his fuzzy friend. Along with Grace's father, Meacham (Robert Redford), who tells enchanting stories to the local kids about his own encounter with a dragon, Pete, Grace and Natalie venture back into the woods for a fantastical introduction. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones to discover Elliott's existence, and Pete must protect his dragon buddy from real danger.

Clearly built as a family film meant to be watched by movie-goers all ages, Pete's Dragon isn't packed with all kinds of big dramatic twists and reveals. Instead, David Lowery lets the simple narrative play out logically and directly at its own natural pace, and really lets the characters and relationships compel the audience's investment. In the spirt of films like The Black Stallion and even the original Pete's Dragon, the film finds real magic in the relationship between its young lead and his fantastical CGI best friend -- but that same kind of emotion persists amongst all of the human relationships as well. As Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard (who delivers an all-around wonderful turn) has a truly heartwarming and never cloying bond with Oakes Fegley's Pete, which only grows stronger as the characters get closer. Excellent chemistry is persistent between every member of the ensemble, and it's their emotional connection together that makes you care how everything plays out by the end of the adventure.

Pete's Dragon marks David Lowery's first step into the studio movie world, having wowed Sundance Film Festival audiences in 2013 with his last feature, Ain't Them Bodies Saints - but the move does nothing to stifle his breathtaking visual style. Every time the movie journeys into the forest, it simply becomes spellbinding, as the director makes you feel enveloped in the majesty of nature and compels you to want to join Pete and Elliott on a sprint-and-fly ride through the trees. The work also serves as a reminder of just how incredibly far visual effects have come, as Weta Digital's work bringing Elliott to life is immaculate, and Lowery elegantly folds him into the grounded and hazy atmosphere of his aesthetic (to say nothing of the fact that you want to hug the giant cat-like dragon until one or both of you passes out). Lowery's last film made him a director to look out for, and Pete's Dragon secures his place as one of the industry's most talented new filmmakers.

The only good remakes are those that have a legitimate reason to exist and something to add to the story that's already been told, and Pete's Dragon fits that in every way. Essentially ignoring every element of the 1977 original beyond the relationship between the two titular characters, David Lowery has crafted a beautiful, earnest family film with wonderful emotion and pathos that should see it continually watched for years.

Only people of a certain age are likely to remember Disney semi-animated, 1977 feature Pete's Dragon... and that can only work in the favor of David Lowery's live-action retelling. Truthfully, the two films have very little in common beyond the shared title, with the newest effort going for a folksy, family-friendly vibe (as opposed to the cartoon's trippy dippy approach toward blending animation with real people).

This isn't a review of Pete's Dragon, however. This is a critique of the movie's use of 3D. Seeing as how Disney wants to appeal to the family ticket with this new film, deciding whether to pay more for a 3D ticket means everything. So, before you venture off to Pete's Dragon this weekend, how is the movie's 3D element? Let's discuss in great detail.

Pete's Dragon is a live-action film that blends in CGI (when it's time to reveal Eliot, the dragon). Which means, right off the bat, it's not quite as ready for 3D as a traditional animated movie. Films that are 95% CGI -- like Disney's own The Jungle Book -- or films that are animated have a better chance at impressing with 3D. Live-action films struggle. Seeing as how this movie is about a dragon who befriends a lost child, and who has the ability to fly, it fits the concept of what a 3D movie could be. The execution, however, is another matter.

Almost immediately, you can tell that 3D in Pete's Dragon is/was an afterthought, because everything good about Pete's as a movie works AGAINST it as a 3D experience. The film is mostly set in the forest, with scenes that seem to take place at dusk. Mood lighting in environments that are the same color as your CGI dragon creature means that nothing pops in 3D. In addition, no elements of the dragon's existence -- or his ability to fly -- are incorporated into the 3D. Pete's Dragon is a sweet movie that's hampered by its 3D, and that's a huge disappointment.

Movies that are filmed using 3D cameras, that organically implement the 3D into the storytelling, usually take advantage of the Before the Window frame. This means things pop off the screen, and into your lap. Movies that add 3D in post-production usually do not. Pete's Dragon does not. And what stinks is that, with Eliot the dragon being a CGI creature who's often in flight, I was looking for a wing or a tail or a puff of smoke from the creature's digital nostrils to come off the screen and remind me that I was watching a 3D movie. Nothing.

Beyond the Window -- or the deepest backgrounds of a 3D scene -- are places where contemporary 3D often manages to shine. Filmmakers can use 3D technology to really bring their environments to life, creating an incredible depth of focus. This is harder to do with live-action cinematography, and Pete's Dragon doesn't do anything special with its backgrounds through its 3D. The forests are still shadowy and tough to focus on. Backgrounds in scenes where humans interact are mainly blurry, rendering the 3D as useless. The Beyond the Window is as disappointing as the Before the Window. Sensing a theme here?

David Lowery shoots Pete's Dragon in a specific way to capture a melancholic mood. His film is about the passage of youth, and how a young boy is clinging to his time -- and his "imaginary" friend -- because that's all he has known, and society is not going to force him to grow up and take that comfort away. He relies on a folksy soundtrack to sell that mood, and he photographs his lush forest environments with well-placed beams of sunlight that probably look gorgeous... unless you are looking at them through the tint of a set of 3D glasses. Seriously, the dullness of the 3D glasses annoyed the crap out of me while trying to focus on Lowery's Dragon visuals. The movie's "dawn and dusk" settings are hindered by 3D glasses, and the tech does nothing to make the movie pop. On a brightness scale, 3D ruined Pete's Dragon.

The "glasses off" test tells an audience member how much blur they are getting on an image, which translates into the amount of 3D that's provided when your glasses are put on. A high grade on "glasses off" means that the visuals are VERY blurry and out of focus once you remove your 3D glasses. The lower grades (like the one I gave Pete's Dragon) mean that there's virtually no blur on the image, because there's no 3D enhancement happening on the visuals. I watched chunks of Pete's Dragon without my glasses on -- especially when young Pete left the forest -- because in those scenes, it played like a normal 2D movie, and the glasses were totally unnecessary.

Credit where credit is due: Pete's Dragon never plays with your senses to the point where you will feel queasy while watching it. The movie, in general, is a slow shamble of a folk tale, and the action, when it happens, is smoothly paced and directed, so you're never soaring or plummeting. That's good, I suppose. It's the one area where the 3D was a bit of an asset.

"Disappointing" is the only word I can think of when it comes to the 3D in Pete's Dragon. Mainly because the movie, in general, is kind and sweet and heartfelt and touching, and I can tell that director David Lowery made very distinct visual choices to establish his mood and setting. But those choices work in direct contrast to 3D, which really makes me wonder why Disney chose to even bother releasing Pete's Dragon in this format in the first place. It's not really that the 3D is terrible, it's just that it's wholly unnecessary, and if anything, it distracted me from enjoying the movie more. You do NOT have to pay for the extra 3D ticket to Pete's Dragon, in my opinion. In fact, I'd send you to the movie, but ONLY if you see it in 2D.

Bryce Dallas Howard has come a long way since her 1995 debut as "Girl in Yellow Dress" in Apollo 13, regularly working with talented filmmakers on big projects. Last year she found herself at the center of one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood with Jurassic World, and this Friday audiences will see her in director David Lowery's wonderful remake of Pete's Dragon. Surely her career will only continue to grow in front of the camera, but that's not where all of her ambitions lie. She also has some big goals as director, as she thinks she's ready to take on the immense dedication that it takes.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bryce Dallas Howard at the Pete's Dragon press day in Los Angeles last month, and it was while talking about her career goals that Howard spoke to her desire to take the helm of her very own feature film. I asked if moving behind the camera was something she was particularly interested in, and she explained that it's something that she's been working towards for a while now, and has her excited for the future. Said Howard,

As she pointed out, and as you surely all have mentally noted to yourself, Bryce Dallas Howard does have directing in her blood -- specifically from her father's side. Ron Howard, who himself is an actor-turned-director, not only gave his daughter her first three big screen roles (in the aforementioned Apollo 13, as well as How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind), but also apparently some serious inspiration. From watching her father work, she recognizes how much effort goes into taking the helm of a feature, and it's clear that's an effort that she respects.

You can watch Bryce Dallas Howard talk about her directing goals in the video below!

As fans of Bryce Dallas Howard's work, we will certainly keep you posted about her steps towards making her big feature directing debut -- but for now, be sure to do yourself a favor and see her fantastic and beautiful performance in Pete's Dragon this weekend.

After another big superhero movie debuting last weekend, we have three movies on tap this week that are all geared toward totally different crowds. We've got kids with unusual pets, socialites turned bad opera singers, and dirty food. Get ready for Florence Foster Jenkins, Pete's Dragon and Sausage Party. It's gonna be a Rotten Week!

Pete's Dragon is a remake of the classic 1977 live-action/animation Disney film, and tells the story of a boy named Pete, who has spent years of his young life living in the woods being protected by a dragon. Frankly, it looks fantastic. It's never easy pulling off live action with something like a dragon (Daenerys and company aside), but director David Lowery the the Disney crew have come up with something special here, a beast both imposing and lovable looking.

Critics' early reviews are ranging well above positive (83% with 23 reviews posted), and many are lauding the heartwarming nature of the story, the visual effects, and the child-like nature of it all. The detractors do warn the story is a bit slow and unconstructed. Though for a kid's movie I think we get out of here well on the plus side.

Brought to you in part by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the dudes responsible for some of the funnier flicks of the last decade (Superbad, Knocked Up, Neighbors, This is the End to name a few), we now have Sausage Party coming to theaters - an animated movie whose title givens you the idea of its hard-R content right from the jump. This isn't a cartoon for kids, even in the slightest.

We don't always know what will be a cult classic, stoner favorite movie right away. With Sausage Party, I suspect we do. A loud, dirty, brash flick about food making their way through the trials and tribulations in life out of the store, the movie looks hilarious. Not all critics will take to the off brand humor and "dirty" laughs, but that's not really the target audience anyway. That being said, the early reviews are very positie. This is going after the 16-25 crowd, and it should be a hit. If it's a success with the critical crowd as well, even better.

Oh, to have money and passion, but no talent. At its heart, that seems to be the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a woman who loved music, was rich, wanted to perform and couldn't sing a single note in key. I find it interesting making these kind of characters the protagonists (and yes I know it's loosely based on a true story) because on the whole they seem fun but difficult to connect with on a personal level. And yet it critics have taken to the story mostly on the back of Meryl Streep's performance. Streep is an all-time great, and is spending the latter part of her career delving more into these types of biographical comedies. It appears a solid choice.

Director Stephen Frears has had critical success before making movies with strong female leads, with titles like Philomena (92%) and The Queen (97%) on his resume. It appears he's done it again with early reviews incredibly strong (92% with 50 posted).

It was a very rough and sad week for the Rotten Watch last time around. This is mostly because I'm feeling bummed about Suicide Squad (Predicted: 75% Actual: 26%). I haven't seen the movie yet mostly because of the critical consensus. This is something I planned to see opening weekend for sure. I had such high hopes for the flick and have basically been watching trailers for a year straight, but critics mostly agreed the film was pretty much a mess. Slick, but without any depth or story at all. My prediction was way off the mark, of course, but more importantly, my emotions are in a fragile state right now. Off to the theater later to hopefully have a different view of things.

Meanwhile, Nine Lives (Predicted: 24% Actual: 5%) was even worse than expected. I wouldn't call this prediction a loss mostly because I had the overall tenor correct. I mentioned in my writeup that I lasted only 57 seconds into the trailer before calling it quits. Hence the low score. But it's hard to predict any movie under ten percent as that is total bottom of the barrel time. A man inhabits the body of a cat. I really should have predicted 0% (where it stood for some time during the week).

Next time around we've got Ben-Hur, Kubo and the Two Strings and War Dogs. It's gonna be a Rotten Week!

The press machine for Pete's Dragon has officially revved up, with about a month until the film's release into theaters all over. Yet in the first clip that Disney released from its latest live-action remake, there was no dragon to speak of. As if they heard the public's cries for more dragon action, the latest clip for the David Lowery helmed picture has given us our best, clearest view of Elliot's modern incarnation. Take flight with this new clip below.

The honors of unveiling this video go to Disney's official blog, Oh My Disney, as they gave us a really close up look at the titular dragon that Pete's Dragon has built it legacy up against. From the looks of it, the creature design for the new Elliot is not only impressive, it's also very close to the original character's design. If anything, the new Elliot looks like a more organic version of Disney's original animated masterpiece, and you can see this in the comparison we'll drop later in this story.

As for the action component of this short clip, we see Oakes Fegley's Pete playing a small game of hide and seek, before taking a flight on the back of his best friend. Of course, as we've seen in the trailers to the film, Pete likes to take some risks as he participates in one of the most dangerous trust exercises in the world: jumping off of a cliff, so that Pete can swoop in and save him. Seeing as this is a Disney flick, and the film is named Pete's Dragon, you can guess that this is successful in the most whimsical way possible.

The tone of Pete's Dragon continues to be well defined in the looks that we've gotten into the film's very Spielbergian vibe. Finally getting an up close look at Elliot only further fuels the excitement we have for this project, as he looks just as furry and ferocious as we'd hoped. This only makes the fact that Sausage Party is debuting in theaters that same weekend all the more twisted, as the epitome of Disney's magical formula will be facing off against what looks like the ultimate takedown of all that is sacred to the magical worlds the studio has been known to create. Hopefully, there will be room for both at the box office, as they appeal to very different demographics.

Pete's Dragon barrels into the movies on August 12th.

With Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets setting the box office on fire, it looks like families are more ravenous than usual in their quest for entertainment they can enjoy together at the movies. And as luck would have it, there's more excellent, if not interesting, looking content coming down the road for the rest of 2016! Some of these films are easy to spot, while others are threatening to get lost in the shuffle of films like Star Trek Beyond and other big blockbusters who dominate their release windows.

But we here at Cinema Blend love to help, and for you families looking to take the kids to something special between now and the end of the year, we decided to put together this list. One note before we get started, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is the only film on this list we presume will be PG-13. Other than that, we're anticipating the rest of the field will be square in G - PG rated territory. With that out of the way, settle the kids in front of the computer with you, and start planning the rest of your box office year!

Ice Age: Collision Course

Release Date: 7/22

In its fifth feature film, Ice Age: Collision Course, the Fox franchise is looking to throw together the following elements: a wedding, a meteor strike, and the screwball antics of Scrat. With Manny and Ellie seeing their little girl Peaches become a woman in her own right, the pressure is on to not only survive the blessed union, but to evade the impending apocalypse that is bearing down on them and all them love. We'd be lying if we didn't say that the big reason we're looking forward to this one is because, once again, we'll get to see Scrat setting off a chain of events that spur on the events of natural, and un-natural, history.

Pete's Dragon

Release Date: 8/12

It's not easy to reboot a classic. And yet, the family juggernaut we know as Disney has been making its job to perfect and refine such a prospect, and has been doing a hell of a job of doing so in the past couple of years. Pete's Dragon is their latest effort in that respect, and between the all-star cast, some promising newcomers, and a 1980's style throwback that makes the film look like a lost Amblin picture, this high flying thrill ride looks like it'll please the kids, as well as milk some well earned tears from the adults.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Release Date: 8/19

Anytime Laika releases a film, it's like a little gift-wrapped box on our doorstep. Though when we open the box, the gift inside exceeds the boundaries of the package we were promised, and Kubo and the Two Strings looks to be continuing that tradition in spades. With hypnotic action and a gigantic, anime inspired heart on its sleeve, the film looks to be both visually lush and thematically rich. Also, it's got Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron in supporting vocal roles, so hearing those two work their magic always has us excited.

The Wild Life

Release Date: 9/9

We're going to admit something pretty big here: not all animated films are rich in story. Yes, we know it's a hard thing to admit, but sometimes those cartoon characters on the screen are up there to do one thing, and one thing alone: entertain you. The Wild Life looks like it's taking this strategy to heart, as pratfall after sight gag after wild chase litters the coming attractions that promise its imminent release. So if you're looking for a fun afternoon at the movies with your kids, The Wild Life is waiting to take you to paradise.

Storks

Release Date: 9/23

Much like the movie market at large, the family film portion of the industry seems to be choked with franchises, reboots, and adaptations - with very little room left for the originals. Storks doesn't care if there's room for its original story of an age old fairy tale being redefined in a modern context. It's making room for itself, and it's doing so with some pretty impressive results by the looks of the trailers available. Warner Bros looks to be making itself into an animation powerhouse yet again, challenging Pixar and Dreamworks with laughs, heart, and Andy Samberg riffing off of Kelsey Grammar. Consider us sold.

Middle School: Worst Years Of My Life

Release Date: 10/7

For years, James Patterson has written best-selling novels that adults have eaten like individually wrapped pieces of literary confection. But what most people may not know is, he's also a pretty prolific YA writer as well. So while Detective Alex Cross isn't on our movie screens for the moment, now seems as good of a time as any to break out one of Patterson's more kid friendly franchises, via the film adaptation of Middle School: Worst Years of My Life. Not only does this look like an excellent choice for the ever so slim tween demographic, but the film looks like it actually crosses the parent - child humor bridge rather effectively. Why else would they hire Rob Riggle and Andy Daly?

Trolls

Release Date: 11/4

If your kids are singing the new Justin Timberlake single at full volume, relax: it's all leading up to something. That something is Dreamworks Animation's next potential hit, Trolls, which tells the story of a grumpy troll (JT himself) and the ruler of the trolls, who happens to be the most upbeat troll in the world (Anna Kendrick). As they team up to face down those that would hunt and eat them, they both discover a little more balance, and a whole lot of music. Yes, it sounds like The Smurfs all over again. However, Trolls not only looks like its a more enjoyable film, it will at the very least have a soundtrack you won't mind listening to for an hour and a half.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Release Date: 11/18

Ranking in as our most "mature" themed entry, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them looks to pick up where the Harry Potter franchise left off. While this option isn't a complete sell for the youngest demographic in your household, 'tweens and teenagers should rejoice, as there's a quality film on this list that looks like it'll entertain them soundly. Oh, and we won't tell them that you're just as amped to see magic return to the big screen, as you're more than likely looking forward to Newt Scamander's adventures of witchcraft and wizardry as well. Suffice it to say that November will be a rather magical month this year.

Moana

Release Date: 11/23

Speaking of music, you probably know that Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda is helping craft the music for Disney's latest feature film, Moana. Now far be it from us to say that this is the biggest draw to the project thus far, as the film marks the first Polynesian princess in the Disney canon, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson sounds terrific as demi-god Maui, and that spotted pig in the teaser is absolutely adorable. That being said, we're extremely curious to hear more of the sweet sounds that Miranda's pen has helped craft for that first look trailer, as the small taste we've gotten has us ready to buy tickets today.

Sing

Release Date: 12/21

As much as Sing is telling a story about underdogs looking for a shot at the big time, the movie itself seems equally poised to be an underdog itself. With Assassin's Creed opening on the same day, and tons of other big ticket family pictures coming and going before then, the all-star musical seems like it may have a hard time at the box office. However, if Sing takes after its sibling, the wildly popular The Secret Life of Pets, then there just may be a shot at redemption for this animal driven songfest yet. That, and any film that decides a koala could use the voice of Matthew McConaughey is a film we'll at the very least watch another trailer for.

This week, fans were transported into the world of Pete's Dragon, as the latest trailer for director David Lowery's upcoming Disney remake arrived online. The movie looks like a very different kind of film -- as the director purposefully didn't watch the original musical from 1977 while making it -- but it did give off the atmosphere of some of the best family entertainment we've seen in the last few decades. This can partially be explained by the various classic features that helped inspire Pete's Dragon's development.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of sitting down with director David Lowery and actress Bryce Dallas Howard during a Pete's Dragon early press day in Los Angeles, and one thing discussed in both interviews were the movies that helped inspire both the look and feel of the new film. Some of the titles mentioned were obvious, and others the complete opposite. Read on to find out what they said!

My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away

Director Hayao Miyazaki never really dipped into the world of live-action during his career, instead using his gifts to sculpt some of the greatest animated works of all time, but David Lowery was still able to learn from these features and apply feelings and ideas in the making of Pete's Dragon. Two particular titles from the Japanese genius that stood out included the brilliant My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away - both of which Lowery said were big in working with Bryce Dallas Howard. Said Lowery.

"Gentle" is definitely a word I think about when I look at how fuzzy and cute Elliott is in Pete's Dragon, and if the movie can even be half as sweet as My Neighbor Totoro, it will be a smashing success.

The Black Stallion

While all of the movies on this list had a hand in changing exactly what the new Pete's Dragon would turn out to be, director Carroll Ballard's 1979 adaptation of The Black Stallion may be the most important. Going into the project, it was the movie that David Lowery was thinking about the most -- though after rewatching it, began to understand that part of his job would be creating a much different cinematic experience than most young audiences are used to these days. Lowery explained,

According to David Lowery, it's really the more methodical elements of Pete's Dragon that get the most effect from The Black Stallion - particularly an extended sequence towards the beginning of the film when the titular orphan is just running around the woods silently with his magical pal.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

If it isn't already clear at this point, the work of Hayao Miyazaki was definitely influential on the making of Pete's Dragon, but that's actually also the case for movies about Hayao Miyazaki. After talking with David Lowery about the Japanese filmmaker, Bryce Dallas Howard turned him on to The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness - the 2013 documentary about Miyazaki. Said Howard,

Given the subject matter of Pete's Dragon, the tone, vision and atmosphere of Hayao Miyazaki's movies certainly make sense as a reference point, and hopefully we'll see a good amount of it reflected in the finished work.

The Witch

The horror film The Witch from director Robert Eggers may have only been released in theaters a few months ago, but thanks to the fact that David Lowery was able to get an early look at the movie, it wound up having an influence on Pete's Dragon. You might struggle to think what kind of inspiration could be taken from a dark horror movie, but what Lowery really appreciated as the particular geographical photography. Said Lowery,

As seen in the trailer for Pete's Dragon, the movie doesn't create the same kind of serious dread as The Witch, but the cinematography certainly does make the forested areas look stunning and beautiful.

You'll be able to see how all of these movies factor into Pete's Dragon when the movie arrives in theaters on August 12th!

Disney has been setting the box office on fire this year with two films, Zootopia, and Captain America: Civil War, that have already broken the billion dollar mark, and a third, The Jungle Book, which isn't far behind. Like The Jungle Book, the studio has seen significant success with remakes of their older films, but this August, we'll see a remake of a film that wasn't a smash hit the first time around. However, if the trailer is anything to go by, the second time may be the charm for Pete's Dragon. Check out the new trailer below.

Pete's Dragon follows an orphan boy who has been lost in the woods for six years, with his only apparent companion being a large dragon who can make himself invisible. While the original 1977 production, which was mostly live action, was a musical comedy, this new version is obviously looking to channel the more dramatic aspects of Disney's recent remakes. As a follow-up to The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon makes a lot of sense. Both stories follow orphans, and have put a lot of effort into creating realistic digital creatures. Whether Pete's Dragon will be able to be as successful as its predecessor is a more difficult question to answer.

There's a definite Neverending Story vibe going on here. Elliot the dragon is covered in more fur than scales, which is the traditional look for a dragon. If you were reminded of Falcor the luck dragon here, then you weren't the only one.

Pete's Dragon follows an orphan boy who has been lost in the woods for six years, with his only apparent companion being a large dragon who can make himself invisible. While the original 1977 production, which was mostly live action, was a musical comedy, this new version is obviously looking to channel the more dramatic aspects of Disney's recent remakes. As a follow-up to The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon makes a lot of sense. Both stories follow orphans, and have put a lot of effort into creating realistic digital creatures. Whether Pete's Dragon will be able to be as successful as its predecessor is a more difficult question to answer.

The Jungle Book had name recognition that stood outside of the Disney brand. It was a classic story long before Walt got his hands on it. However, Pete's Dragon is a film that even most Disney fans don't really take notice of. That doesn't mean the film won't work. It co-stars Bryce Dallas Howard, who's making a career of working alongside giant CGI beasts, and Robert Redford, and if Robert Redford is on board, then so are we.

In addition, the film stars Karl Urban, who we get to see a lot more of in this trailer than we have previously. It's clear that he will play the "villain" of the film, though whether he really has it out for Elliot, or is just scared of him, we'll have to wait and find out. We're not looking forward to disliking Karl Urban, but sometimes this is what movies demand of us.

Are you looking forward to checking out Pete's Dragon? Do you think this one will be another 2016 hit for Disney, or will it be more like Alice Through the Looking Glass than The Jungle Book? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Hollywood is constantly on a cycle of producing new remakes and sequels, and when a filmmaker is brought aboard to helm these projects, the assumption at large is that they go back and revisit the original to help inform their vision for the update. In the case of David Lowery, however, this wasn't the case. When the filmmaker got the job to direct the new, upcoming take on Pete's Dragon, he actually made a point of not rewatching the classic from 1977 -- basically because he knew that the movie he wanted to make wasn't going to be a straight remake.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Lowery earlier this month after a special presentation for the new Pete's Dragon in Los Angeles, and one of the most interesting things we touched on in our conversation was the fact that the filmmaker decided against rewatching the Don Chaffey-directed musical from 1977. Noting that the new movie really only has loose ties to the original, I asked Lowery what his relationship to it was in the making of his film, and he explained that it was his decision to really not pay it any attention. Said the director,

Watching the newly released trailer for David Lowery's Pete's Dragon compared to the original movie, it's pretty easy to see where the two features deviate. The 1977 version had Pete as a runaway orphan, who joins his dragon Elliott in trying to escape a horrible life of slave labor. He comes across a small town called Passamaquoddy and is taken in by a lighthouse keeper and her father, but must still contest with his terrible adoptive family and a doctor who wishes to harvest Elliott's organs. This is almost all different in Lowery's movie, where Pete isn't running away from an adoptive family -- he's been alone with Elliott in the woods for months -- and he winds up being taken in by a forest ranger and her dad. You can watch the preview for the new take below:

Discussing the making of Pete's Dragon further, David Lowery also noted that he actually enjoyed the freedom that came with not having to watch the 1977 film -- partially because it represented in a strange way the certain lack of pressure that existed putting together the remake. While the filmmaker certainly recognizes that there is a good amount of love for the original movie, it's also not quite held in the same regard as some other Disney classics of that era:

If you care to revisit the original Pete's Dragon yourself, as the 1977 movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as in digital formats. If you're going to wait for David Lowery's version of the family adventure, however, the good news is that the delay won't be long, as the new film will be in theaters on August 12th. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned for more from our interview with David Lowery, as well as Pete's Dragon star Bryce Dallas Howard!

Children’s films are always a big sell. Parents need something to keep the kids busy that won’t step outside the lines of decency for children of all ages. And, there’s no better way to try to get parents and their progeny into the theater than to tempt them with a property that already has some name recognition. Come August, Pete’s Dragon will be that property.

While Pete’s Dragon isn’t the best known of the Disney films, the 1977 movie, which was a combination of live action and animation, has a bit of a cult following. Many of today’s parents have probably seen the film, or at least heard of it, and they’ll jump at the chance to show this new version to their kids.

So, if you’re already looking forward to the day you can take your little ones to see Pete’s Dragon, check out our handy guide that tells you everything you need to know about the film.

The Rating

Pete’s Dragon won’t be difficult for any child to see. The kid-friendly film will be rated PG, so it’s perfect for families to see together. My guess is that the "parental guidance" will likely come, at least, from the fact that a boy is running around the woods by himself. But, we can get to that little tidbit later.

The Release Date

Instead of aiming for a bigger, height-of-summer release, Pete’s Dragon won’t hit theaters until August 12 of this year. The film’s main competition will be blockbuster bait Suicide Squad, which releases on August 5. Obviously, the two films will target two slightly different audiences, and, even though Suicide Squad will be a darker film, it won’t be too dark. The filmmakers still want as many tweens and teens to see the film as possible, so the DC comic adaptation is rated PG-13. So, while it’s is likely that the audiences could overlap quite a bit, Pete’s Dragon will still be the main choice for folks who want to keep younger, more impressionable kids entertained in August. More adults will surely be likely to flock to the theaters on their own for Suicide Squad, but we can’t underestimate the power of family movie-going habits that might make Pete’s Dragon a blockbuster hit in its own right.

What Is Pete's Dragon About

Based on an unpublished short story by writer Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field, the rights to the story for Pete’s Dragon were bought by Disney in the 1950s. The original film told the story of a young orphan in the early 1900s, Pete, who runs away from his abusive adoptive family and lands in a small fishing town in eastern Maine. He soon meets an invisible force, whom he calls Elliott, which reveals itself to him as a dragon capable of becoming invisible. The unseen dragon causes trouble around town, which people begin to attribute to Pete, since he’s a newcomer to the area.

That first film blended animation and live action, much like the new on will, by having an animated dragon to interact with Pete and any townspeople Elliott might come across and show himself to. The 1977 version of the film as also a musical, but the new production has decided to forgo that aspect of the storytelling.

The remake of Pete’s Dragon will still focus on an orphan and his (often) invisible dragon friend Elliott, but this time the story takes place in a logging community in the early 1980s. When Pete (Oakes Fegley) is discovered by a park ranger, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), filthy and in tatters roaming around the woods by himself, he tells her that he’s been living with a giant dragon in those same woods for six years. The story of the dragon sounds an awful lot like the one her dad, Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has regaled local children with for decades. With the help of her dad and 11-year-old Natalie (Oona Laurence), Grace becomes determined to find out who Pete is, who he belongs to and the truth about his supposed dragon protector.

Pete

Pete is a young boy who’s clearly had a rough time of it. While the first film had him escape a family of mean yokels who try to track him down, this movie simply meets him six years into a life of forest living with Elliott. Right now, we have no idea about Pete’s history, but that’s a good place to start for the mystery of the film. Was Pete abandoned six years ago, or did he run away to save himself from a terrible life with adults who couldn’t care for him? Either way, his time with Elliott has left him a bit wild, but alive and, no doubt, very resourceful for a child of his young age. We can see before long if all our questions about Pete and his life before being found will be answered.

Pete is played by Oakes Fegley. The young actor got his start in a 2011 short film called Glass and has been adding to his resume ever since. He’s appeared in This Is Where I Leave You, Boardwalk Empire and Person of Interest among his relatively few credits.

Elliott

We know who man’s best friend is, and in this case we know that wild woodland boy’s best friend is a giant dragon. In the first film adaptation of the story, Elliott was a pink and green dragon who was slightly taller than your average professional basketball player. Our new Pete’s Dragon, though, will feature a CGI creature much more like the ones we know from popular fantasy tales like Game of Thrones (although I doubt Elliott will be anywhere near as scary). The relative scale of Pete and Elliott was revealed when Disney released the first poster for the film. It’s safe to say that most pro NBA stars would be easily dwarfed by this iteration of Elliott.

The first movie also had Elliott talk. There's no actor listed as the voice of Elliott on the film’s IMDB page, but that could just be so that the talking dragon is more of a surprise for the audience, especially if they aren’t well acquainted with the first film. It’s also possible that if Elliott doesn’t talk, we’ll still be able to read his responses to Pete and the situations they find themselves in by his expressions, something like Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon.

Natalie

Natalie is a young girl who will help Grace and Mr. Meacham on their quest to find out more about Pete and his friend Elliott. The group will likely find themselves seeing things they never thought they would, and experience all the kinds of wonders that children’s films like Pete’s Dragon are famous for.

Natalie is portrayed by Oona Laurence, and the girl’s list of credits is currently a bit longer than that of Oakes Fegley. She got her first credit in the TV series documentary Celebrity Ghost Stories, where she played a young Phyllis Diller, as well as the comedian’s daughter. She’s gone on to have roles in Louie, Law & Order: SVU, Orange Is the New Black and, most notably, the 2015 film Southpaw.

Mr. Meacham

Children’s films such as Pete’s Dragon usually offer two roles to adults: the grown up who thinks a child’s stories are simply fanciful tales, and the ones who suspect early on that the kid (or kids) is telling the truth. Mr. Meacham is the film’s believing adult. Meacham, a wood carver who is also Grace’s father, has spent decades delighting children with his stories of a fierce dragon who lives deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. It’s not unlikely that Meacham tells the stories because he has first-hand knowledge of Elliott from when he was a boy, but we currently don’t have any idea how the man began telling his tales of the woodland dragon. That, though, will almost certainly be revealed in the movie.

Mr. Meacham is played by none other than legendary actor, producer and director Robert Redford. He got his start in TV and movies with an appearance on the show Maverick in 1960, and has gone on to become one of our most celebrated actors. To list everything he’s known for, well, it would be silly, but some of his greatest hits include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Candidate, The Sting, All the President’s Men, The Natural, Out of Africa, Sneakers and Indecent Proposal. His recent projects have included All Is Lost, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and A Walk in the Woods.

Grace

After meeting Pete in the woods during her rounds as a park ranger and hearing his story, Grace leads the charge to help the boy, find out who he is and get him back to his family, if he even has one. She’s also skeptical of his tales of Elliott, and, because she’s spent years hearing her father tell the story of a giant dragon, wants to finally find out if those stories or true or not. Grace is going to need some major convincing, but when you’re a giant dragon who decides to show yourself to an adult, you probably have the advantage there.

Grace is played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who has racked up quite the list of credits since her uncredited appearance in Apollo 13 in 1995. She made her major film debut in Spider-Man 3 as Gwen Stacy, and more recently has had notable parts in Terminator Salvation, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Help, 50/50 and last summer’s mega, super blockbuster Jurassic World.

Jack

The only thing that’s known right now about Jack is that he’s Natalie’s dad, and he owns the local lumber mill. Considering that Grace will get wrapped up in finding the family of a literal wild child and whether or not he knows a giant dragon, I can bet Jack will be more involved in the adventures than he’d probably want to be. I can also imagine that, like most adults would be, he’ll be doubtful of Pete’s story. Since he’s likely from the town where the film takes place, I wouldn’t be surprised if he heard Mr. Meacham’s tales of the dragon and has grown up to believe it just a fanciful story for children. Well, he’s going to be shocked.

Jack is being portrayed by Wes Bentley. After a star-making turn in American Beauty in 1999, he continued with parts in The Four Feathers, Ghost Rider and Jonah Hex. His more recent parts have included roles in The Hunger Games, Lovelace, Interstellar, Knight of Cups, and work on recent seasons of American Horror Story.

Gavin

The character we know the least about is Gavin. We know so little, in fact that all we know about the character’s part in the film is his name. But, the first Pete’s Dragon movie actually had a villain, Dr. Terminus, who was a medicine showman who offered Pete money for Elliott so that he could use his body parts (seriously) in his medicinal "cures" for the locals. If there is a villain in the new film, Gavin could easily be him. But, how will he be villainous? Will he want to use Elliott for parts? Turn him into a traveling ‘freak’ show? Or, will his part be something more down to Earth, like trying to take over or close the local lumber mill that’s owned by Jack? We only have a few months left before we can find out.

In the film, Gavin is played by Karl Urban. The actor is known for his kickass (and sometimes villainous) roles in fantasy, science fiction and action films like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Bourne Supremacy, the new series of Star Trek films and the underrated Dredd. He also led the short-lived FOX sci-fi show Almost Human.

Pete’s Dragon is shaping up to be a wonderful, magic-filled film that will be fun for all ages, and we all know that there’s nothing better than a children’s movie that adults can enjoy, too. It looks like the film will be capable of giving all who see it the kinds of chills and thrills that go along with watching a movie that inspires and awes. We can all see for ourselves when Pete’s Dragon hits theaters on August 12, 2016.

The whirlwind ride that was the 2016 Academy Awards has been completed, and with the winners resting and their fellow nominees drafting their next move, we can put the cinematic awards season to rest. Of course, we here at Cinema Blend are always looking to the future, and as such we’ve turned our crystal ball to next year’s ceremony. With a varying degree of certainty, and a good heap of salt, we’d like to present our picks for 2017’s Academy Award nominees in six major categories.

Best Picture

Sully

Deepwater Horizon

Snowden

The Light Between Oceans

The Birth Of A Nation

La La Land

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

The Founder

Passengers

From our end, 2017’s Best Picture crop looks to be filled with the usual adaptations and social commentary pictures. Films like Deepwater Horizon, Snowden, The Light Between Oceans, and Sully all seem like pre-programmed shoo-ins, with La La Land and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk serving as the slightly oddball pictures that balance out the pack. However, there are three films that really excite us when it comes to next year’s best picture race: the sci-fi romance picture Passengers, Nate Parker The Birth of A Nation, and the biopic on McDonald’s creator Ray Kroc, The Founder. With the buzz and subject matter surrounding all three, these seem to be the most exciting prospects in a line-up of the usual suspects.

Best Director

Derek Cianfrance - The Light Between Oceans

Clint Eastwood – Sully

Nate Parker - The Birth Of A Nation

John Lee Hancock – The Founder

Jodie Foster - Money Monster

In our eyes, 2017 could be almost an entirely fresh slate of Best Director nominees, as all but one of our picks has been nominated for the Best Director trophy before. Clint Eastwood’s Sully seems on track to earn him yet another golden nod, while two time winner / four time nominee Jodie Foster might earn her first directorial stripe with the financial thriller Money Monster. Meanwhile, the fresh faces of Derek Cianfrance, John Lee Hancock, and Nate Parker may find themselves becoming first year nominees, with a special focus being put on Parker, all thanks to the impressive showing of The Birth of A Nation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Best Actor

Tom Hanks - Sully

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Snowden

Michael Fassbender - The Light Between Oceans

Michael Keaton – The Founder

Nate Parker - The Birth Of A Nation

Nate Parker threatens to be a multiple nominee in 2017’s Oscar line-up, as he not only directed, wrote, and produced The Birth of a Nation, but he’s also starring in it. In fact, he and Joseph Gordon-Levitt both have outsider status if they wind up in the running for Best Actor, as previous nominees Michael Keaton and Michael Fassbender, as well as previous winner Tom Hanks, all seem to be in the same boat. Which means that from the looks of it, there is no clear front-runner in the race to see who ends up crossing the golden finish line, making this a race to look out for.

Best Actress

Alicia Vikander - The Light Between Oceans

Marion Cotillard - Untitled Robert Zemeckis WWII Romance

Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers

Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

Laura Linney - Sully

After Alicia Vikander’s win for Best Supporting Actress in The Danish Girl, it’s safe to say that the race for Best Actress is now hypothetically a competition among seasoned veterans. Among those who would challenge her first bid as Best Actress would be previous winners Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Lawrence, and, of course, the legend herself – Meryl Streep. Though don’t be surprised if three time nominee Laura Linney winds up taking home a long overdue Oscar for Best Actress, as The Academy loves to share the wealth, as well as honor its favorites after multiple nominations.

Best Supporting Actor

Patrick Stewart - Green Room

Aaron Eckhart - Sully

Steve Martin - Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Jared Leto - Suicide Squad

Kurt Russell - Deepwater Horizon

Now here’s where the race gets interesting, as the Best Supporting categories have always been known to carry some oddballs in their midst. If you’ve got an out there performance in either a proper supporting role or a strong lead performance in a film that’s still a dicey prospect in the Best Actor race, you usually go for the Best Supporting category and call it a day. This is what Jared Leto, previous Best Supporting Actor winner for Dallas Buyer’s Club, could angle for this year, as his Joker in Suicide Squad seems like a perfect candidate. However, that doesn’t clinch a win, as Aaron Eckhart might ride the possible wave of positive thoughts for Sully into his first nod, and possibly his first win.

Best Supporting Actress

Rachel Weisz - The Light Between Oceans

Shailene Woodley – Snowden

Bryce Dallas Howard - Pete's Dragon

Emily Blunt – The Girl On The Train

Helen Mirren – Collateral Beauty

The same rules apply for the Best Supporting Actress category, and judging by the race we’ve put together, we’d like to think we have another clear front-runner in the preliminary run up to 2017. While The Girl On The Train and Snowden are both going to benefit from the recent buzz surrounding them, and both Pete’s Dragon and Collateral Beauty seem like outside chances, it’s Rachel Weisz’s performance in The Light Between Oceans that has us thinking. Already in the limited material shown in the film’s trailer, we think we see more golden prospects in Weisz’s future.

Of course, the same caveat that goes for all of the other categories goes for the Best Supporting Actress field: don’t quote us on it. There’s still plenty of room for surprises, release date shake ups, and reversals of fortune. Still, as in years past, we’ll have fun looking at these predictions once the actual nominees are announced next January. Until then, we say so long to the 88th Annual Academy Awards, and hello to the sapling that is the 89th Annual Academy Awards.

In 1977, Pete's Dragon introduced the world to a boy, his dragon, and their adventures through a sleepy little logging town in Maine. Now, Disney has unveiled their first look at this summer's live-action reboot, and it's something spectacular. You can check out that first trailer below:

In the new Pete's Dragon, which we've gotten our first look at thanks to Disney, Pete is still an orphan, but he's been growing up in the forest over the course of six years without any human interaction. Though he hasn't been alone, as he's been watched over by his guardian dragon, Elliot. It's an unbelievable story, and a park ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her father (Robert Redford) are about to find themselves digging into Pete's history in order to find out whether he's telling the truth, or he's just imagining things. While Grace, the park ranger, is extremely skeptical of the story, her father is not – as he's been telling tall tales of such a creature for some time. Though seeing as this is a Disney movie, you know which outcome is going to be the right one.

Right from the first frame of the trailer to the Pete's Dragon reboot, there's a marked difference in the decision to change the time frame of the film's story. While the Disney classic took place in the 1900's, director David Lowery's version takes place in the 1980's. So, naturally, the time period helps this new retelling of Pete and Elliot's story look like a lost film in the canon of Steven Spielberg. A child on the run, cop cars colliding with one another in the kerfluffle, and the fairly wooded setting all radiate a sort of E.T. vibe, and so far it's working out perfectly.

Now this is a first look at Pete's Dragon, so there's plenty more that will be on display in further trailers. In particular, the villains of the new film haven't been revealed, and considering the original film's villain was a scheming "doctor" and his henchmen, there will almost certainly be an updated menace in this new rendition. Still, with the limited materials we've been shown, the new Pete's Dragon has made it onto our radar of film's to look out for. If there was any doubt that Disney magic was present in this film, let it be cast aside – at least to a certain extent – after watching this trailer.

Pete's Dragon is set to debut on August 12, 2016.

**UPDATE** With 2016 in the rearview window, it’s time for you to check out the always updated schedule for new movies in 2017!

2016 is loaded up with interesting and exciting films this year, including Captain America: Civil War, Ghostbusters, Suicide Squad, Finding Dory and the anticipated Star Wars spinoff, Rogue One. For those of you trying to keep all of the dates straight, here’s the rundown on what’s headed into theaters in 2016.

Dates and titles are subject to change. We'll do our best to keep this list updated with the most current information. We’re mainly focusing on wide releases here, but if there’s a 2016 movie you don’t see on the list, and want to know the date, drop it in the comments and we’ll do our best to dig up the info!

The Hateful Eight - January 1 (expanded release)

The Forest - Friday, January 8

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - Friday, January 15

Norm of the North - Friday, January 15

Ride Along 2 - Friday, January 15

The 5th Wave - Friday, January 22

The Boy - Friday, January 22

Dirty Grandpa - Friday, January 22

Fifty Shades of Black - Friday, January 29

The Finest Hours - Friday, January 29

Jane Got a Gun - Friday, January 29

Kung Fu Panda 3 - Friday, January 29

The Choice - Friday, February 5

Hail, Caesar! - Friday, February 5

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Friday, February 5

Deadpool - Friday, February 12

How to Be Single - Friday, February 12

Zoolander 2 - Friday, February 12

Race - Friday, February 19

Risen - Friday, February 19

The Witch - Friday, February 19

Eddie the Eagle - Friday, February 26

Gods of Egypt - Friday, February 26

Triple 9 - Friday, February 26

Desert - Friday, March 4

London Has Fallen - Friday, March 4

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - Friday, March 4

Zootopia - Friday, March 4

10 Cloverfield Lane - Friday, March 11

The Brothers Grimsby - Friday, March 11

Coco - Friday, March 11

The Other Side of the Door - Friday, March 11

The Perfect Match - Friday, March 11

The Young Messiah - Friday, March 11

Miracles from Heaven - Wednesday, March 16

The Bounce Back - Friday, March 18

The Divergent Series: Allegiant - Friday, March 18

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Friday, March 25

The Disappointments Room - Friday, March 25

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - Friday, March 25

God’s Not Dead 2 - Friday, April 1

The Boss - Friday, April 8

Hardcore Henry - Friday, April 8

Barbershop: The Next Cut - Friday, April 15

Criminal - Friday, April 15

Everybody Wants Some - Friday, April 15

The Jungle Book - Friday, April 15

The Huntsman Winter’s War - Friday, April 22

Keanu - Friday, April 22

Elvis & Nixon - Friday, April 22

Mother’s Day - Friday, April 29

Ratchet & Clank - Friday, April 29

Same Kind of Different as Me - Friday, April 29

Captain America: Civil War - Friday, May 6

Going in Style - Friday, May 6

The Darkness - Friday, May 13

Free State of Jones - Friday, May 13

Money Monster - Friday, May 13

The Angry Birds Movie - Friday, May 20

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising - Friday, May 20

The Nice Guys - Friday, May 20

Alice Through the Looking Glass - Friday, May 27

X-Men: Apocalypse - Friday, May 27

Me Before You - Friday, June 3

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - Friday, June 3

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - Friday, June 3

The Conjuring 2 - Friday, June 10

Now You See Me 2 - Friday, June 10

Warcraft - Friday, June 10

Central Intelligence - Friday, June 17

Finding Dory - Friday, June 17

Independence Day: Resurgence - Friday, June 24

The Shallows - Wednesday, June 29

The BFG - Friday, July 1

The Legend of Tarzan - Friday, July 1

The Purge 3 - Friday, July 1 (Purge: Election Year Trailer)

Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates - Friday, July 8

The Secret Life of Pets - Friday, July 8

The Infiltrator - Wednesday, July 13

Ghostbusters - Friday, July 15

La La Land - Friday, July 15

Ice Age: Collision Course - Friday, July 22

Lights Out - Friday, July 22

Star Trek Beyond - Friday, July 22

Nerve - Friday, July 29

Bad Moms - Friday, July 29

Jason Bourne - Friday, July 29 (New Jason Bourne Trailer)

Nine Lives - Friday, August 5

Suicide Squad - Friday, August 5 (Suicide Squad Trailer)

Pete’s Dragon - Friday, August 12 (Watch the trailer.)

Florence Foster Jenkins - Friday, August 12

Sausage Party - Friday, August 12

Spectral - Friday, August 12

Ben Hur - Friday, August 19

Kubo and the Two Strings - Friday, August 19

War Dogs - Friday, August 19

Don't Breathe (Formerly titled A Man in the Dark)- Friday, August 26

Mechanic Resurrection - Friday, August 26

Hands of Stone - Friday, August 26

Solace - Friday, September 2

Morgan - Friday, September 2

The Light Between Oceans - Friday, September 2

Sully - Friday, September 9

Before I Wake - Friday, September 9

The Wild Life - Friday, September 9

When the Bough Breaks - Friday, September 9

Snowden - Friday, September 16

Blair Witch - Friday, September 16

Bridget Jones's Baby - Friday, September 16

Hillsong - Let Hope Rise - Friday, September 16

The Magnificent Seven - Friday, September 23

Storks - Friday, September 23

Deepwater Horizon - Friday, September 30

Masterminds - Friday, September 30

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Friday, September 30

The Girl on the Train - Friday, October 7

The Birth of a Nation - Friday, October 7

Friend Request - Friday, October 7

Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life - Friday, October 7

The Accountant - Friday, October 14 (The Accountant Trailer.)

Kevin Hart: What Now? - Friday, October 14

Max Steel - Friday, October 14

A Monster Calls - Friday, October 21

Boo! A Madea Halloween - Friday, October 21

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back - Friday, October 21

Ouija 2 - Friday, October 21

Keeping Up with the Joneses - Friday, October 21

I Am Ashamed - Friday, October 21

Inferno - Friday, October 28

Doctor Strange - Friday, November 4

Trolls - Friday, November 4

Hacksaw Ridge - Friday, November 4

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk - Friday, November 11 (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Trailer)

Shut In - Friday, November 11

Almost Christmas - Friday, November 11

Arrival - Friday, November 11

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - Friday, November 18

The Edge of Seventeen - Friday, November 18

Bad Santa 2 - Wednesday, November 23

Allied - Wednesday, November 23

Moana - Wednesday, November 23 (Moana Trailer)

Rules Don't Apply - Wednesday, November 23

Jackie - Friday, December 2

The Eyes of My Mother - Friday, December 2

Incarnate - Friday, December 2

La La Land - Friday, December 9

The Bounce Back - Friday, December 9

Office Christmas Party - Friday, December 9

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Friday, December 16

Collateral Beauty - Friday, December 16

Assassin’s Creed - Wednesday, December 21 (Assassin's Creed Trailer)

Passengers - Wednesday, December 21

Patriots Day - Wednesday, December 21

Sing - Wednesday, December 21

The Space Between Us - Wednesday, December 21

Why Him? - Friday, December 23

A Monster Calls - Friday, December 23

Silence - Friday, December 23

Fences - Wednesday, December 28

20th Century Women - Wednesday, December 28

Hidden Figures - Wednesday, December 28

Live By Night - Wednesday, December 28

Which 2016 movies should you still be looking forward to? We break down the most anticipated movies of (the rest of) the year next...

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Bryce Dallas Howard is currently doing the rounds promoting her turn in the small upcoming flick Jurassic World, which is set to crawl into cinemas this Friday. While talking about dinosaurs, death, and screaming, though, the actress is also being asked about her future projects, one of which is Pete’s Dragon. And during such a chat, she’s revealed quite a bit about the remake, including the fact that it will be set in the 1980s - a much different setting than the original live-action/animation hybrid film.

Bryce Dallas Howard made this revelation while talking to Collider, and she clearly sounds hugely enthused about the film. Howard, who is the daughter of director Ron Howard, admitted that a big part of what drew her to star in the film is the fact that it takes place during the same period in which she grew up. She explained,

It's quite a big jump for Pete's Dragon to go from being set in the early 1900s to the 1980s. However, it's probably a sensible decision from those involved at Disney because this will allow the studio to further appeal to the demographic that originally fell in love with the film, while the period is also potentially more ripe for comedy as well. Once can also see this making Lowery's Pete's Dragon it's own entity and will help to differentiate it from the 1977 version, which is widely regarded as a bit tacky and woefully uneven.

Howard also spoke about how she adores just how innocent the David Lowery-directed film is, and she feels that this aura really lends itself to the film. In fact, while discussing Pete’s Dragon, Howard also predicted that the upcoming adaptation is going to be a mixture of "poignant," "classic" and "sophisticated," before comparing the story to the work of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Howard herself admitted that it will take some doing to ultimately match the iconic filmmaker, but she’s immediately placed the film on quite a pedestal with her comments.

Whether it will actually match those heights remains to be seen, however, there’s every chance that the story will emulate the efforts of 1977’s Pete’s Dragon. The film revolves around the titular orphan entering the delightfully named fishing town of Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine with only his dragon Elliot as his friend. Elliot can only really be seen by Pete, though, and he gets his owner into a huge amount of trouble because of his clumsiness.

Despite this whimsical nature of this story, Pete’s Dragon isn’t regarded as one of Disney’s finest, and it only has a rather cult commodity amongst film enthusiasts. But that could be seen as an argument for remaking it, and if Howard’s comments turn out to be true, then it will be regarded in the long-run as a smart move.

There’s certainly something appealing about Pete’s Dragon’s story, and with an impressive cast on-board - which includes Robert Redford, Howard, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, and two relatively unknowns in the shape of Oona Laurence and Oakes Fegley - if it's done right the film could find itself being embraced by a modern audience in a way that the original never was.

Pete's Dragon will be released on August 12, 2016.

The upcoming remake of the classic hybrid live-action/animated Disney film, Pete’s Dragon has just received a quick injection of awesomeness and badassery! In a bit of a casting swap, the film now adds the one and only Karl Urban. He will replace the recently-announced addition, Michael C. Hall.

According to a scoop from The Wrap, Urban will join the cast consisting of young Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley, Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford for what will be a modernized take on the 1977 musical movie about a young boy’s friendship with a dragon with the unexplainable power to turn invisible, specifically around any adult that would believe he exists. There has been no reported reason given as of yet regarding what made Hall exit the project just over two weeks after he had been initially cast.

As of yet, it is unknown what role Urban will play. Yet, the casting swap of Urban for Hall could be perceived as a sign of where this head-scratching remake is headed. Urban is known from his work as the current Star Trek franchise’s Dr. McCoy and a veteran of action/adventure standards like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Riddick films, and cult-classics like Pathfinder and his underperforming, but adored update of the comic book property previously performed (in an unintentionally humorous way) by Sylvester Stallone with Dredd. While Michael C. Hall brought the badness on TV’s Dexter, he is mostly a drama guy. The acquisition of Urban likely means that the film will be leaning more heavily on the "action" aspect than such a property might have led us to believe. The Kiwi King of Kick-Ass (he’s free to take up that nickname, by the way), certainly knows his way around films of the blue-screen-bonanza, big-budget popcorn variety. Even his recent work on television on the (unjustly) cancelled Fox sci-fi drama, Almost Human evokes the typical Urban-esque imagery of grizzled, sometimes drunken roughness serving as the exterior to a heroic personality that will wreck evil at any cost.

The original 1977 film will certainly stand in stark contrast to whatever we get with this remake. It was essentially a puffed-up serving of signature Disney optimism full of the kind of musical numbers for which there are no audience in today’s movie market. However, director, David Lowery, who sat behind the camera for Ain’t Them Bodies Saint, the bleak 2013 Texas love story with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, was clearly brought on board for reasons other than feel-good "ho-ho" hums that will make contemporary audiences return their popcorn and soda the old-fashioned way on to the adjacent floor, where litigious old ladies will slip on it and sue the theater.

Clearly, something resembling the heart of the original will persevere in this new version. It told the story of a young boy named Pete who, mistreated and stuck with a foster family of yokels, runs away, only to make the acquaintance of a giant green and purple dragon named Elliott who comes to the rescue of the wayward titular urchin. While in the film, Pete stays with a lighthouse lady in his fishing village town, the new film will supposedly change up the locale to a logging village. It’s probably a safe bet that Karl Urban will be a badass axe-wielding lumberjack who will see some action defending the new Pete (Oakes Fegley) from whatever version of his unscrupulous foster family is looking to reclaim him. (Or maybe worse.)

The Pete’s Dragon remake will attempt to make itself opaque to adults and kids alike at theaters on August 12, 2016.

The upcoming remake of the Disney live-action/animation hybrid film, Pete’s Dragon continues to horde what appears to be an increasingly impressive cast within its den. It has been reported that Dexter star Michael C. Hall and The Hunger Games star Wes Bentley are now on board.

Recent reports from TheWrap confirm Bentley’s addition to the cast and Variety would subsequently drop the news of Hall’s involvement. The duo will join Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard, and young Oakes Fegley, who will play the titular Pete.

The film will attempt to modernize the original 1977 Disney film set in a small fishing town in the early 1900’s about a boy named Pete who is stuck in a bad situation with a wicked foster family of obnoxious yokels, the Gogans. While trying to run away, he is rescued by a friendly dragon named Elliott, who has the power to turn invisible, specifically around adults. (Because if we’ve learned anything from family movies, the plot just can’t afford for kids to be believed.) Slap-happy shenanigans ensue all around the town. Fish are disappearing and the townsfolk are looking for a scapegoat. (Because that’s what townsfolk tend to do in movies.) Pete gets friendly with a lighthouse lady whose fiancé is missing at sea and protects him from all the Elliott-related adversity, despite not being initially sure if the dragon isn’t just the product of a lonely child’s imagination.

In the director’s chair for the new Pete's Dragon will be David Lowery, who helmed the 2013 romantic thriller, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. The film will be based off a script written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks. While there are expected contextual changes to the story (it is a 38-year-old Disney film, after all), the primary alleged change is that the story will now take place in a logging village, as opposed to a fishing village like the original.

As far as remakes go, this one presents some interesting challenges. Besides undoubtedly being a product of its time, the original film was also a musical. Given the more serious dramatic tone of director David Lowery’s films, clearly Disney didn’t bring him on board to put serious actors on screen singing jaunty tunes with saccharine grins on their faces. In fact, if the dramatic focus on child runaways in Lowery’s 2009 film, St. Nick, is any indication, then a great deal of focus will likely be placed on the dramatic aspects of Pete’s alienation from all the adult figures in his life.

That kind of description evokes memories of Spike Jonze’s 2009 adaptation of children’s book essential, Where the Wild Things Are. There's even strikingly similar themes to the overall stories. With that said, I cannot imagine that it will be quite the same bleakly picturesque project and will still likely contain the famous Disney stamp of optimism and (merchandise-friendly) fun.

David Lowery’s Pete’s Dragon remake is currently penciled in for a 2016 release.

Disney’s reboot of Pete’s Dragon seems to have lined up its female lead. Bryce Dallas Howard is currently in early talks to play female lead in the miovie as the studio try to get everything in order before they steam ahead with production.

Variety was the first to report that Bryce Dallas Howard, who has previously starred in The Help and The Village, and is also the daughter of director Ron Howard, has entered negotiations to star in Pete's Dragon. The trade also went on to confirm that acting icon Robert Redford could be in line to continue his recent on-screen renaissance with the film as well. It’s believed that the Sundance to Paul Newman’s Butch in William Goldman’s seminal 1969 masterpiece will star alongside Oakes Fegley, who will play the titular character. That’s to say he will portray Pete - not the dragon. That’s what I’m assuming anyway, because it would take a lot for Oakes Fegley to truly inhabit the role of the mythical beast, especially since he is around eight years old.

David Lowery is set to direct this reimaging of the legendary 1977 live-action/animated musical. He will be working from a script that was written by Toby Halbrooks with Jim Whitaker producing. Unfortunately for fans of the original, Variety went on to note that according to their sources there won’t be any music in the upcoming remake and it will instead possess a straight narrative. Which is a tad sad really. While Pete’s Dragon is far from one of Walt Disney Studios’ masterpieces, it's still incredibly endearing. Especially when it comes to the character of Elliot the dragon, who is preposterously loveable despite his clumsy ways. And the likes of "Candle On The Water" and "Boo Bop Bop Bop Bop (I Love You, Too)" really helped to evoke the warm glow that permeates throughout the film. In fact, "Candle On The Water" was even nominated for an Academy Award in 1977 for Best Original Song. The fact that the tepid and depressing "You Light Up My Life" ultimately beat it just adds further insult to injury.

Will a reboot of Pete’s Dragon actually work? It might. The original, especially on repeat viewings as an adult, is hard to watch at times. The plot is weak, the supporting actors are shoddy and it all just seems like a sly rip-off of previous Disney films. If Tony Halbrooks can provide a sturdy script and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery can adjust to making a children’s film, however, then the sublimely talented Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford should be able to do the rest. Let’s just hope that the animation for Elliot is a bit more seamless this time round, though.

For about a year or so, Disney was in negotiations with Ain't Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery to take charge of the modern update to their 1977 deep cut classic, Pete's Dragon. That story ended with Lowery taking the post, and a movie in need of a cast. Well much like their lucky strike in terms of picking a director, Disney's luck might extend a little further, as Robert Redford has begun talking about participating in a pivotal role.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop that Redford is in "early talks" to play, "a local who tells tall tales involving dragons that no one believes." Judging by that description, as well as the general layout of the original Pete's Dragon cast, it's to be assumed that Robert Redford would be playing the updated version of Lampie – the lighthouse keeper originated by Mickey Rooney in the original film.

How this project landed in Redford's lap isn't that much of a mystery, considering he landed an even more incredible role in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Considering the fact that the Hollywood legend probably had multiple pictures built into his deal, and his character's fate in the superhero sequel didn't really leave much room for a return, this looks like part of the deal that Redford signed on for.

As for the story to the new Pete's Dragon, the updated version looks to take place in a logging community that's being taken over by greedy corporate interests, instead of a lighthouse town being swindled by a sham of a physician. Considering a similar environment being featured in Ain't Them Bodies Saints, it's no surprise that David Lowery's visual style would be a perfect match to what this film is trying to accomplish. However, his hiring is far from a slam dunk, as Disney attempted a similar gamble with hiring Craig Gillespie for their summer sports flop, Million Dollar Arm.

Pete's Dragon is a perfect example of a film that makes for a perfect remake. The original is well known enough to draw an older crowd, but it's obscure enough that it's a blank slate for reinterpretation. You're not going to see as many Pete's Dragon purists flaming the comments section below as you would in any Marvel Civil War scoop you'll see us run. So long as there's a kid, a dragon, and maybe a couple songs; Disney can do whatever they want. And what they want is to keep younger generations familiar with Robert Redford and his acting chops, which will do wonders for his back catalog when those kids get a little older. (Sneakers should be required viewing for any 10-year-old.)

Pete's Dragon looks to start shooting this fall in New Zealand, and is currently not scheduled for a release window. More than likely, this could take the November 2016 slot reserved for an unnamed Disney animation film.

All the stories you loved as a kid are getting resurrected. Maleficent. The Jungle Book. Jem. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And now Pete's Dragon has joined this slate of revamps, reboots and remakes. But before you begin snarking that you know what to expect from this new Pete's Dragon, you should consider who Disney is wooing to helm it.

The Wrap reports Disney is in talks with writer-director David Lowery to helm its rebooted Pete's Dragon. Lowery made his directorial debut in 2005 with a little seen drama called Deadroom. After helming a string of shorts, he returned to features in 2009 with St. Nick, a drama that received some acclaim but no major notice. In 2013, Lowery at long last broke through with Ain't Them Bodies Saints. A romantic drama that starred Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster, Ain't Them Bodies Saints premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win widespread critical praise, with some calling Lowery the next Terrence Malick. Now, imagine Malick making a Disney movie.

Lowery first got involved with Pete's Dragon back in March of 2013. At the time, he and his writing partner Toby Halbrooks were hired by Disney to draft the screenplay for this reimagined Pete's Dragon. The original 1977 film featured appearances by Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Helen Reddy and Jim Dale. Famously it mingled live-action actors with a cartoon dragon to tell the story of a little boy named Pete, and his best friend, Elliot, an oft-invisible dragon. While the original Pete's Dragon was a musical that followed Pete's quest to find a loving family, early reports claimed Halbrooks and Lowery were being charged to change the central story at its very core, and cutting the musical numbers completely.

On its surface, Lowery and Pete's Dragon seems a surprising pairing, but as The Wrap points out Lowery's second film (St. Nick) focused on runaway children being forced to survive on their own. Not only does that film share narrative similarities with the original Pete's Dragon, but it means Lowery has experience working with child actors. Still, his cerebral aesthetic is one we wouldn't typically associate with Disney remakes. However, with Marvel movies and Frozen making money hand over fist for the studio, they can certainly afford to take a risk with something out of the box.

For now we have to wait to see if Lowery signs on, and if he does, how that might affect the production schedule of The Yellow Birds, an adaptation of the Kevin Powers novel he's lined up for his next project. Insiders on Pete's Dragon seem to suggest Disney doesn't want to wait, so either Yellow Birds will have to or Lowery might leave this dragon tale for some other helmer. However, seeing as he and Halbrook hammered out the script, that seems unlikely to us.

Writer/director David Lowery made a major splash at the Sundance Film Festival this year with his debut film Ain't Them Bodies Saints. Armed with an all-star cast of true talent including Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster, Lowery told the dark drama of an outlaw how races across Texas to finally be with his wife and the daughter who he was never able to meet. The film wound up taking home the cinematography award (albeit shared with Andrew Dosunmu's Mother of George), in addition to plenty of critical praise. But I would bet that none of those that have seen the film saw this piece of news coming.

Deadline is reporting that Lowery is now working with Disney to bring back the classic animated/live-action tale Pete's Dragon. Described as a "reinvention," the new project is being scripted by the filmmaker and writing partner Toby Halbrooks and apparently changes will be going all the way to the core of the original story.

A movie staple of most childhoods, the 1977 original told the tale of an orphan named Pete who teams with his friend, a cartoon dragon named Elliott, to escape his abusive adoptive parents. Fleeing to a town called Passamaquoddy, Maine, and taken in by a nice lighthouse keeper named Nora and her father Lampie, all things seem well for Pete and his friend until he learns that his guardians are on his tail and that the townspeople aren't too keen on having a dragon in the neighborhood.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints was picked up by IFC Films at Sundance and they will be releasing the movie on August 16th.