The first poster merely hinted at the titular star of Pete’s Dragon (no, not Pete – the other thing), shown bashfully hiding behind a tree. The first trailer for the upcoming remake from director David Lowery similarly exercised some restraint in showing the friendly dragon, with Disney presumably hoping to hold back on the reveal for a little while longer. The time has officially come for our first look at the dragon of Pete’s Dragon, whose name is Elliott, by the way.

Like the dragon on which he’s based, this Elliott is also big, green and furry with a goofy snaggletooth. As you can see in the first photo, which debuted over at EW, there are some positive and negative aspects to the design. On the upside, Elliott appears to aesthetically capture the spirit of his predecessor, and he sort of adorably resembles a giant dog. On the downside, it’s a bit cartoony — which could very well be the point, as the original film featured a hand drawn cartoon Elliott performing alongside live-action humans. It’s tough to say how this will read on the big screen, though:

Disney / EW
Disney / EW
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Here’s the official synopsis:

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.

Pete’s Dragon stars Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard and Wes Bentley, and hits theaters on August 12.

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