New replaces old. But does it really?

My thoughts are this: I've seen the original when I was a kid. I remember loving it like most of the kiddy fare I saw. Now that I'm grown up, I gave it another watch. I would rather go bobbing for apples in sewer water. Then I was forced to see the new one with my little niece. I loved it from the start. I thought wow this is something so wholesome that it overwhelmed me at times. It made me feel like a little kid again. It brought back all those feelings of wonder and inspiration.

I would not call this film particularly modern in its sensibilities. Most modern children's films are a cacophony of noise, nonstop gags, pop culture references and witty dialogue. Pete's Dragon is more like a throwback to the children's films of the 1960's-1980's. It's very sincere and low-key in its approach. Differences from the original aside, I think both films are timeless tales, and the exact opposite of the typical modern-day studio product. I think this one will be remembered just as well as the original. It's a lovely story and there's nothing in it that would especially date it in 39 years. The setting is already dated by about 35 years (early 1980's), but some people have suggested it's set in a present-day backwoods town.

Both films are heavy on themes of friendship, love, commitment, and the importance of family. This one has just enough humour to lighten the mood when necessary, but not enough to be a distraction. There are morals and lessons, but since it's not a musical they are presented in a more subtle way. There is an environmental message that flows naturally from the narrative without being preachy. There's the idea of "magic" - how does believing in something that no one else believes influence your worldview? The villain of this film is not truly a villain, but a morally ambiguous type of guy that almost everyone can relate to. He's more clueless than evil, so he's not afraid to change when he realizes he was wrong - unlike the villains of the original who are basically mustache-twirling cartoon characters. Another theme of this film is making difficult choices - what does Pete want vs. what is best for him?

Let's agree to disagree on Elliot's noble purpose. As much as I liked the original, Elliot will always be Pete's dragon in my mind.

You seem to suggest that this film was purely made to cash in, while the original Pete's Dragon had some grander motivation. If anything, the original was riding on the goodwill left over from Mary Poppins. If Disney had wanted to make a purely commercial product, they could have just remade the original with minor changes and set it in the present day. It would have been a lot less work than coming up with an entirely new story.

I like the original, so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm ragging on it. I just appreciate that they are two very different films.

griz-259-175100, I think you're going to have to realise that you are just about the only person in the world who likes the original Pete's Dragon as much as you do. Most people would be hard-pressed to remember much about it beyond the premise, the poor animation and possibly the Helen Reddy song (let alone the full score!).
It obviously struck a deep chord with you, but your posting history is close to "The poster is flooding the boards with the same message" .

No tears please, it's a waste of good suffering.