{"id":1550,"date":"2017-01-22T03:23:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-22T03:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/?p=1550"},"modified":"2017-01-23T06:38:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T06:38:47","slug":"do-you-believe-in-dragons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2017\/01\/do-you-believe-in-dragons.html","title":{"rendered":"Do you believe (in dragons)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story goes like this. In Pete\u2019s Dragon<\/em> (2016, out now on DVD) a boy named Pete and his mother and father have an accident on the way to a forest park. The boy survives and a dragon rescues him.<\/p>\n

Pete calls the dragon Elliot, a name taken from a picture book. For the next six years, Pete stays with Elliot in the deep of the forest.<\/p>\n

Then, the park ranger finds Pete and takes him to the ranger’s residence, but Pete longs to be back with Elliot. Pete\u2019s journey is finding out if he will belong with his newly found human family or with Elliot. This is a difficult journey to undergo because he loves Elliot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Pete's<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reality and fantasy<\/h4>\n

There are a few moments in Pete\u2019s Dragon<\/em> that we may question.<\/p>\n

After Pete had a devastating accident on a deserted road, I thought a dragon rescuing Pete makes light of Pete’s predicament. How could a dragon really save a boy who has just lost his parents in an accident? Dragons are fantasy, aren\u2019t they?\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t and maybe you wouldn\u2019t reconcile reality with fantasy.<\/p>\n

Then the movie slipped under my guard and drew me into the story.<\/p>\n

I may not believe in dragons, but I engaged with the theme of believing or not believing and knowing or not knowing, which has wider implications in life.<\/p>\n

The theme of belief and non-belief<\/h4>\n

In Pete\u2019s Dragon<\/em>, the aging Meacham (Robert Redford) says he has seen and heard a dragon, but not many believe him. Meacham certainly believes, but what someone says is true is a sincerely held belief according to others. While Meacham tells them he knows, others don\u2019t believe. We know the feeling when someone does not believe us but we know the facts. Argh!\u00a0What is seen and heard isn\u2019t always accepted by others, but according to Pete\u2019s Dragon<\/em> there is more out there and is not a venomous giant about to attack.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/a>
Pete rides Elliot in Pete’s Dragon. (Image sourced via google images).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The story goes like this. In Pete\u2019s Dragon (2016, out now on DVD) a boy named Pete and his mother and father have an accident on the way to a forest park. The boy survives and a dragon rescues him. Pete calls the dragon Elliot, a name taken from a picture book. For the next…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":602,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,321,57,53],"tags":[6,15,34,282,145,8,41,16,7,359,24,12,245,11],"class_list":["post-1550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-movies","category-family","category-family-films","category-fantasies","tag-action-movies","tag-adventure","tag-connect","tag-family-film","tag-fantasy-film","tag-film","tag-friendship","tag-life","tag-movies","tag-petes-dragon","tag-problems","tag-second-chance","tag-themes","tag-visuals"],"yoast_head":"\nDo you believe (in dragons)? - Life at the Movies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We know the feeling when someone does not believe us but we know the facts. Argh! 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