Oakes Fegley is appealing as the young boy who has lived on his own in the woods after a tragic accident took his parents. A park ranger, Grace, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, finds him and attempts to integrate him into regular life, including school. The question of how he managed to survive leads him to share details about "Elliott"—a dragon! While initially doubtful, when she brings up the story with her father, Beacham (Robert Redford), he seems to believe the boy and they venture back into the wilderness together, where they meet Elliott, who turns out to be real. They need to be careful because there are people wanting to capture Elliott, and the gentle dragon isn’t prepared for confrontations with the unpleasant logger Gavin, portrayed by Karl Urban, who doesn't seem quite right in the role. It's a pleasant film that is competently made and largely true to the original story—though it has some expected modernizations; however, stretching this essentially short tale into a movie running almost two-and-a-half hours proves difficult. Despite that, it’s a heartwarming movie about a boy’s affection, isolation, generosity, and imagination—it's also about maturing and learning to change as an individual. The special effects are good, the story moves along smoothly with strong acting and writing that lets us get lost in Pete’s world. I liked it.

Source on TMDB