Pete is the titular protagonist and best friend of Elliott in Disney's 2016 live-action feature remake film Pete's Dragon. Pete is a young feral boy living in the woods of the Pacific Northwest with Elliott after his parents were killed in a car accident. When he is discovered by a girl named Natalie, Pete and Elliott's presences change an entire town and its residents forever.
Role in the film[]
In this incarnation, Pete, a five-year-old boy, is on a road trip with his parents when their car flips off the road after trying to dodge a deer, Pete's parents are killed instantly, but Pete survives and escapes the crash. He ends up being chased into the forest by a pack of wolves and becomes surrounded until the wolves are scared off by the presence of a dragon with green fur, yellow eyes, and huge wings. Pete is at first frightened but comes to see that the dragon is very friendly. Pete names the dragon "Elliott", after the dog character in his favorite book, and the two of them become the best of friends and live together in the forest.
Six years later, Pete, now 11, spots a lumberjack crew illegally chopping down trees near his home. Natalie, the daughter of the site foreman, spots and chases him. When Natalie accidentally falls from a tree and hurts her leg, her screams attract her father, Jack, and his fiancée, park ranger Grace Meacham. Pete tries to run away, but Gavin, Jack's brother, accidentally knocks him unconscious. After that, Pete is taken to the hospital. He escapes from the hospital and tries to get back to the forest, but is unfamiliar with his new surroundings. Grace and the police give chase and soon recapture him after he is cornered in an alley. Grace then approach him and promise they are not going to hurt Pete. Then she tells Pete to come to her and then he tries run pass her and roars but manages to grab him and tell him to breathe and as he stops struggling and started to howl in fear. Grace, Natalie, and Jack invite Pete to stay with them promising to take him back to the woods the next day and have Pete show them where he had been living for six years. When Pete begins talking about his friend, Elliott, Grace begins to wonder. When she was a little girl, her father used to tell her stories about a dragon in the forest. While he said they were true, Grace never really believed them as she got older. But everything that Pete has said and shown about Elliott is exactly what was described in her father's stories.
When Elliott does, however, and finds Pete settling in with Grace's family, he feels betrayed and leaves but understands his decision.
The next day, Pete, Grace, and Natalie, along with Grace's father, Mr. Meacham journey to the forest. Upon arrival, they follow Pete to his treehouse where he introduces them to Elliott. They are both startled but amazed by what they see with Natalie even coming close to petting him on the nose. However, Elliott is ambushed and tranquilized multiple times by Gavin and his fellow lumberjacks who load Elliott onto a truck and bring him back to the mill where they lock him in a warehouse. Pete is worried about what might happen to Elliott and needs to save him. With Natalie's assistance, the kids manage to get inside the warehouse without being noticed and remove the chains that are holding Elliott. Although free from his restraints, Elliott is still weak and unable to fly out. With Mr. Meacham's help, they drive Elliott out of the mill and back to the forest, pursued by the police.
Gavin, however, gets ahead of them and tries to make them stop at the bridge. But they are unable to and ram right into Gavin's pickup and come to a stop on the other side. Elliott, who now has his strength back, angrily attacks the police force by breathing fire at them. Pete tries to get him to calm down but Elliott does not listen and continues to breathe fire. Jack and Grace end up halfway across the bridge, and the enormous amount of fire causes damage to the bridge. The road beneath them gives way, and their pickup ends hanging dangerously over the ravine beneath the bridge. Grace and Jack are trapped and inches away from death. When Pete finally gets through to Elliott that he needs Grace and Jack, he finally calms down and moves in to save them. Suddenly, the damaged bridge completely gives way causing Elliott, Grace, and Jack to fall down into the misty ravine. Just when everyone expects the worse, Elliott emerges from the mist with Grace and Jack riding on his back. They are all happily reunited, but with military helicopters approaching, Pete decides to flee with Elliott back to the woods despite Grace's plea.
Pete and Elliot then return to their now demolished treehouse. Now that everyone knows of Elliott's existence, he will have to leave. This also means that Pete will have to leave his friend for good even though he does not want to. Elliott, knowing these people that Pete met can love and care for him as much as he has, encourages him to go back to them. The two friends give each other one last tearful hug before going their separate ways. Pete returns to live with Grace, Jack, and Natalie while Elliott flies away to find a new home.
In the years that follow, Grace and Jack get married and adopt Pete, while Elliott is not seen or heard from again. However, it is shown that Elliott is living peacefully among many other dragons. Also, it is revealed that Pete himself has knowledge about where Elliott lives.
Printed Media[]
Pete's Dragon: The Lost Years[]
The book set after Pete and Elliot first met and explains how Pete survived on his own with Elliot and what adventures they had.
Trivia[]
- This version of Pete is similar to Mowgli and Tarzan, but unlike the two, he was found and raised by a dragon since the age of five.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Miscellaneous[]
Variants[]
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