Fun, cute and touching remake of the original Disney classic that freaked me out when I was a kid. I took my 5-year old girl to this one and she liked it just fine, but her grandparents seemed to like it the most. There's a bunch of pretty slow drama scenes (especially around Robert Redford) that leans this more to adults than to kids, but it's still good for both.
Some pretty high profile actors and actresses are in this which surprised me, but helps keep the movie interesting and grounded. I think the movie tends to get a little melodramatic in the end but it was good fun until then. I like they instead of going for a reptilian-like dragon, they went with a dog-like one instead. Who does doggie paddle everytime he flies and that never gets old.
The boy is the real star of the show. Sort of a like if they took that cute kid from ROOM and spliced him into The Jungle Book. Great result.
It's nice to see Disney still doesn't pull any punches when putting content in kid's movies. You've got both parents getting killed in the OPENING SCENE. My goodness.
I'm embarrassed that I thought Bryce Dallas Howard was Jessica Chastain for the ENTIRE MOVIE.
Nice feel-good movie but you can skip it.
Heart rating: 4.5 stars
brain rating: 3.5 stars