For many years, Mr. Meacham, an old wood carver, has regaled the local children with his stories about a fierce dragon who lives deep in the nearby forest. His daughter Grace, a forest ranger, believes it’s just a fairy tale – until she gets to know Peter. This mysterious 10-year-old boy, who says he has no family or home, ensures her he lives in the woods with a friend – who turns out to be the giant dragon named Elliott that her father has always talked about. Grace decides to unravel the mystery of Peter and this mysterious dragon...

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There are two ways of looking at Pete's Dragon. Either through the cynical eyes of an adult, which reveals a superficial movie that is sometimes too silly, especially in the Hollywood smile of Bryce Dallas Howard – whose career is miles from her start with Lars Von Trier. Or through a mask of nostalgia that overlooks these shortcomings, offering an enchanting spectacle, cheesy but charming, with a dragon who comes to life thanks to some impressive special effects. The truth is probably somewhere in between: this movie by David Lowery (who is also miles from his beginnings with the indie drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) is a decent Disney production steeped in good intentions that gets bogged down by being too traditional to be exciting enough for 2016. This is especially true since Pete's Dragon comes at the heels of The Jungle Book, another bright fable about nature, but one that offers striking special effects, which was the one of the great successes of the year, and has probably already used up the audience’s reserves of sympathy and nostalgia.