Pete’s Dragon Christian Movie Review (2016)

Guidance: Talk Together

Pete’s Dragon is a gentle family fantasy with warmth, wonder, and strong found-family themes, but it opens with a frightening car crash and implied parental death, followed by several tense scenes involving predators, peril, and men hunting the dragon. Its message is mostly compassionate and emotionally accessible, though the supernatural dragon and the film’s trust-your-heart approach may be worth discussing with children.

Why This Guidance Level

This film stays within the range of a mainstream family adventure, but it carries a few weightier elements than its gentle tone may suggest. The opening crash and Pete crying for his mother can land hard for younger or sensitive children, and later scenes include wolves, roaring, hunting talk, and moments of danger around the dragon. The fantasy material is not occult-heavy, yet the story’s wonder-filled view of an unseen creature and its emotional themes around loss, fear, truth, and belonging give parents several worthwhile conversation points.

Faith & Worldview Perspective

The film values courage, compassion, care for the vulnerable, and respect for creation. It also contrasts cynical storytelling with humble openness to wonder, which can reflect a healthy reminder that people do not know everything. At the same time, the movie places hope largely in a magical creature and human loyalty rather than in Jesus Christ, so Christian families may want to talk about the difference between enjoying fantasy and grounding real hope in Christ. Parents may also want to discuss how grief, truth, and belonging are handled when a child has lost his family.

Truths Reflected

• The story honors sacrificial care, protection of the weak, and the importance of family-like love.
• It shows that fear and appearances can lead people to harm what they do not understand.

Tensions to Discuss

• The film’s supernatural wonder is presented as emotionally meaningful, but it is still fantasy outside the hope and truth revealed in Jesus Christ.
• A trust-your-own-perception message can drift away from biblical discernment if children are not taught to test what is true and good.

Content & Discernment Markers

Occult & Spiritual Content

• The supernatural element is a dragon named Elliot, treated as a mysterious but affectionate creature rather than an occult force. Stories about the ‘Millhaven dragon’ and lines like ‘Just because you don’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there’ create a sense of wonder around the unseen. This is fantasy, not spiritual instruction, but parents may want to discuss the difference between make-believe creatures and the truth God has revealed.

Sexuality & Relationships

• Relationship content is light. There is mild romantic talk around an engaged couple, including ‘Aren’t you two supposed to be getting hitched?’ with playful teasing and no sexual material.

Identity Themes

• Pete’s identity is shaped by loss, isolation, and his bond with Elliot. The film leans into found-family belonging and being seen by others after trauma. Parents may want to discuss where a child’s deepest identity and security should rest before God.

Violence & Intensity

• The film opens with ‘TIRES SCREECH’ and ‘CAR CRASHING,’ followed by Pete crying ‘Momma.’ The moment strongly suggests the death of his parents and may be the most emotionally difficult scene for younger viewers.
• Soon after, a lost child is surrounded by danger in the woods with ‘ANIMALS HOWLING,’ ‘ANIMALS GROWLING,’ and ‘WOLVES GROWLING AND HOWLING.’ Pete asks, ‘Are you gonna eat me?’ The scene is tense but framed for a family audience.
• Mr. Meacham tells children a dramatic story about facing a dragon, saying its eyes were ‘like hellfire,’ that he raised his rifle, and that he took out a pocket knife as the dragon ‘set upon’ him. The scene is partly playful storytelling, but it includes hunting and threat language parents may want to note.
• There are additional peril moments with roaring, screaming, a distant crash, logging danger, and a child hanging from a tree while others shout ‘Help!’ and ‘Don’t let go!’ These scenes add suspense without becoming graphic.

Language & Humour

• Language is mild overall. The strongest notable phrase is ‘like hellfire’ in a tall tale about the dragon. There is also light gross-out humor such as ‘Ew! Elliot!’ and playful teasing between adults and children.

Other Content Notes

• A central emotional issue is orphanhood and abandonment. Pete is left alone after the crash and later seeks safety, belonging, and trust with both Elliot and human caregivers. This may open meaningful conversations about grief and God’s care for the fatherless.
• The logging conflict includes adults arguing over cutting too deep into the forest, which frames the woods as something to steward rather than exploit. Parents may want to discuss wise dominion and care for creation.

Notable Moments

• Opening loss: A family road-trip story turns suddenly into danger with a crash, and Pete cries out for his mother.

  “Momma.”

• Wolves in the woods: Pete is alone in the forest with growling and howling around him before Elliot appears.

  “Are you gonna eat me?”

• Dragon legend: Mr. Meacham tells children a colorful story about the dragon that mixes humor, fear, and folklore.

  “Just because you don’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And just because you say it’s true, doesn’t mean it is.”

• Forest conflict: Grace confronts the loggers for cutting too deep into the woods.

  “You’re not supposed to be cutting anywhere near this deep.”

Discussion Prompts

• Grief and God’s care: Pete loses his parents and feels alone. When people are hurting or afraid, where can we turn for comfort and care?
  • Biblical guidance: Scripture shows God’s compassion for the vulnerable and His nearness to the brokenhearted. Christian hope is not in magic or luck, but in the faithful love of God and the comfort we have in Christ.
  • Scripture: Psalm 34:18, James 1:27, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
• Fear, courage, and trust: The film says adventures can be scary and that you have to be brave. What is the difference between pretending not to be afraid and trusting God when you are afraid?
  • Biblical guidance: Biblical courage is not self-made boldness. It grows from remembering that the Lord is with His people.
  • Scripture: Joshua 1:9, Psalm 56:3-4, Isaiah 41:10
• Truth, stories, and discernment: Some characters believe the dragon stories and others doubt them. How do we enjoy stories and wonder while still testing what is true?
  • Biblical guidance: Christians can appreciate imagination, but we are also called to love truth, test claims carefully, and anchor our thinking in what is good and true before God.
  • Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Philippians 4:8, John 14:6
• Creation and stewardship: Why does the film care so much about protecting the forest and its creatures? What does it mean to care for creation without worshiping it?
  • Biblical guidance: God made the world good and gave people responsibility to steward it wisely. Creation should be cared for as God’s handiwork, not treated carelessly or as ultimate.
  • Scripture: Genesis 1:28, Psalm 24:1, Colossians 1:16-17