In between arthouse efforts like 2013’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and 2017’s A Ghost Story, filmmaker David Lowery occasionally works with Disney. An update on a 1977 fantasy musical, 2016’s Pete’s Dragon acted as Lowery’s first stint at the House of Mouse.

In 1977, a car wreck kills the parents of five-year-old Pete Healy (Levi Alexander). After wolves chase him, he retreats into the woods and survives with the help of a dragon he names Elliott.

Six years later, forest ranger Grace Meacham (Bryce Dallas Howard) finds Pete (Oakes Fegley) and brings him back to civilization. As he acclimates, locals start to realize that there may be an actual dragon in their midst, a revelation that creates the inevitable uproar.

As noted in the review linked above, I saw the 1977 Dragon as a kid and enjoyed it. Indeed, it may’ve been the last “G”-rated Disney release I saw theatrically in my youth, for I “aged out” of that fare not too much later.

Despite some nostalgic memories of the movie, more recent screenings of the original Dragon revealed a pretty awful flick. With poor acting, terrible songs and a flat story, it failed to hold up after all these years.

Unsurprisingly, this left me skeptical that the 2016 Dragon would offer anything particularly memorable. Still, the presence of an unusual directorial choice like Lowery at least managed to pique my curiosity.

To be certain, the 2016 Dragon betters the 1977 version. That doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment, however, so the question becomes whether or not the 2016 update manages to stand on its own.

My answer? Not really, as the movie feels more like a mix of cliché concepts than anything fresh.

The Blu-ray case touts the fact that Dragon comes “from the studio that brought you The Jungle Book” – meaning the 2016 version, not the 1967 original. This seems like more than just promotional hype in this case.

While we can see the influence of various fantasy flicks here as well – especially 1982’s classic ET the Extra-Terrestrial - Jungle Book really feels like the primary influence. Both focus on young boys who get disconnected from society and grow up in nature with non-humans to raise them.

What with all the talking animals, Jungle Book pushes matters more into the realm of the unreal. Nonetheless, the connections remain clear.

Granted, Mowgli spends most of that movie in the jungle whereas Pete leaves the forest pretty early, so that leaves a different orientation. Still, I think it feels like the 2016 Dragon takes more inspiration from ET and Jungle Book than it does the 1977 Dragon.

Again, this becomes a good thing, as I wouldn’t want a more literal remake of the 1977 stinker. It was better that Disney simply took the basic premise of “boy with a dragon buddy” and took off from there versus an attempt to more formally redo the original film.

While the 2016 Dragon clearly beats its predecessor, this still falls into the “faint praise” category. Taken as its own entity, the 2016 film comes with less obvious charms.

One difference comes from the possible imaginary nature of Elliott. Whereas the 1977 take leaves this up for grabs across much of its running time, the 2016 version clearly establishes Elliott as real pretty early.

Which seems fine with me, as movies that play “guessing games” like that tend to sputter. Inevitably they push the answer in one clear direction, so the whole "real or fake?” question turns tedious.

With a slew of potential plot threads, Dragon shows the potential for drama and thrills. However, it branches off in too many different ways and seems unable to choose which to pursue.

This leaves the story oddly unmoored and without a lot of direction. Dragon feels more like a collection of themes instead of a proper story.

Indeed, a lot of Dragon can lean heavy-handed, with a mix of messages along the way. These don’t batter us but they make the movie less engaging.

Ultimately, the 2016 Dragon never becomes an unpleasant viewing experience, but it also fails to ever quite click. It musters a mix of tropes connected to both fantasy flicks and family dramas without much to allow it to soar.

Pete’s Dragon appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The film looked good.

Overall sharpness seemed solid. A little softness impacted a few interiors, but the majority of the episodes delivered tight, concise imaging.

I saw no signs of jaggies or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. The shows displayed no source flaws either.

Colors tended toward an earthy vibe to fit the forest setting, with an emphasis on light greens. Across these choices, the hues appeared well-rendered.

Blacks came across as dark and deep, and shadows followed suit. Low-light shots displayed nice clarity and smoothness. All in all, the flick provided positive picture quality.

In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack gave us moderately immersive material. With occasional action on display, the shows boasted reasonable use of all the channels. The elements combined in a satisfying manner to create a fairly engaging soundscape.

Audio quality also appeared fine. Music was lively and full, while speech appeared natural and distinctive.

Effects worked well, as they showed good accuracy and range. Low-end seemed tight and full. I felt the audio complemented the film nicely.

As we move to extras, we begin with an audio commentary from director/writer David Lowery, writer Toby Halbrooks, and actors Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence. All four sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, music, sets and locations, various effects and related domains.

Commentaries that involve kids of any age usually become superficial and silly. When those youngsters are pre-teens, the odds of a goofy track escalate exponentially.

To my minor shock, this one works reasonably well. Oh, it gets too jokey at times but it stays on track more than expected.

As such, we get a fair positive view of the production. While I don’t think this ever becomes a great track, it delivers more than enough info to keep us engaged.

A few featurettes follow, and Notes to Self runs seven minutes, 31 seconds. It offers info from Lowery as he reads excerpts from his journal that relate to the shoot.

We also see shots from the set and get some remarks from Laurence, Fegley and production designer Jade Healey. “Notes” adds some useful insights.

Making Magic spans two minutes, 12 seconds. It features Fegley, Laurence, Lowery, and actors Robert Redford and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The reel looks at how the movie brought Elliott to life. Despite its brevity, it comes with some decent thoughts.

Next comes ”Disappearing” Moments. This offers a nine-minute, 12-second piece.

After an intro from Lowery, we get 12 deleted, extended or alternate scenes – I guess. Because the segments all flow together without separation, it can become difficult to discern when one ends and another begins.

In any case, we find a good array of clips here. I don’t think we get anything crucial, but the snippets still offer material of interest.

A collection of Bloopers spans one minute, 28 seconds. It provides the usual goofs/giggles so it lacks anything noteworthy, but it least it’s brief.

Welcome to New Zealand occupies one minute, 56 seconds and acts as a promo reel to tout that country’s wonders via remarks from Lowery and Howard. It offers little useful material and just sells the locations.

We get two music videos: “Nobody Knows” by the Lumineers and “Something Wild” by Lindsey Stirling Featuring Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness. “Knows” offers a bland song with a bland video that mixes recording studio footage and movie clips.

“Wild” doesn’t fare any better. It offers another uninspired song and uninspired video that uses the same format as its predecessor.

The disc opens with an ad for Beauty and the Beast (2017). Sneak Peeks brings promos for Disney Conservation, Disney Cruises, Elena of Avalor as well. No trailer for Dragon appears here.

A second disc provides a DVD copy of Dragon. It includes the “Making Magic” featurette but lacks all the rest of the Blu-ray’s extras.

As much as Pete’s Dragon wants to communicate a sense of magic and warmth, it doesn’t get there. While it remains wholly watchable, the movie just fails to bring anything especially engaging or memorable to the table. The Blu-ray boasts positive picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. Though it easily beats the 1977 original, the 2016 Pete’s Dragon nonetheless seems pretty flat.