It’s undeniable that kids have a different perspective than adults do. With Pete’s Dragon being a family film, it was pretty special to chat with the two young stars of the movie. Oakes Fegley plays the main role of Pete, while Oona Laurence is the girl, Nicole, that befriends Pete. These two were so composed in their answers that they felt like mini adults in tiny bodies.
Photo credit: Disney
Pete’s Dragon — Oakes Fegley & Oona Laurence Interview
In the trailers, you see Pete jumping off a cliff onto the back of Elliot the dragon. How many times did he have to do that during filming to get it right? He couldn’t remember exactly but he knew it was a lot, maybe about ten times or so.
OAKES: We did stunt training before we started filming and we felt safe with all the stuntmen. All the stunts that we did, we just had a ton of fun and felt safe while doing it. So it was really, really cool.
Photo credit: Disney
It’s one thing to act, it’s quite another when your scenes are with a CG dragon that’s not really there.
OONA: Well, it was pretty tough at first because a lot of the time the dragon was a pole with a tennis ball on the end. So it was kind of difficult to imagine that it was a dragon. But I think, as time went on, I think we all kind of got used to it.
OAKES: Like she said, it was a tennis ball on a stick or a piece of tape on the wall as an eye line. So you had to imagine that’s a dragon and, like she said, it gets easier and easier as you get used to it. But, at the beginning it was kind of challenging, and it was definitely hard.
Photo credit: Disney
Oakes Fegley & Oona Laurence — Movie Roles & Being On-Location
Since the new movie is so different than the original, neither actor watched it before filming. For Oona, it was more her parents who wanted her to do this remake. For Oakes, it was being in a Disney movie that drew him to the role.
OAKES: It was a Disney film and I was like, “Wow!” Yeah, I’m incredibly proud of myself. I can’t believe I got the role and it’s just been life-changing.
After hearing that she got the part, Oona was so excited to be going to New Zealand. I asked her what her favorite part was about shooting there.
OONA: It’s such a beautiful and luscious place. There’s so much to do there, too, so it was great. When we had free time we would go do all the touristy stuff. Also, the people there are so nice. At the end of it, my mom was like, “We have to move there!”
Photo credit: Disney
Oakes Fegley & Oona Laurence — Appreciating Family
Being a group of parents, we were curious what message they hoped other kids would take away from Pete’s Dragon. Oakes and Oona shared the same feeling.
OAKES: Family is very, very important. And you can’t give up on family because they are there for you whenever.
Both actors are just “normal kids” with their friends and at school. When it comes to work, though, Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence certainly know their stuff. Take your kids to watch Pete’s Dragon ASAP!
Pete’s Dragon is now in theaters nationwide!
- Visit the official website: http://movies.disney.com/petes-dragon-2016
- Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyPetesDragon
- Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneypetes
I was invited on an all-expense paid media trip as a guest of Disney in honor of the Pete’s Dragon movie. All opinions are my own.
See more:
Marvel’s Avengers | Avengers 2: Age of Ultron | Monsters University | Frozen | Big Hero 6 | D23 Expo 2015 | Finding Dory | Pete’s Dragon
2 comments
TerriAnn great to read the interview and see their perspective. It does look like a challenge to pretend the tennis ball on the stick is a dragon.
Thanks, Becky. Yeah, I didn’t know that was a common thing in the movie industry when working with blue/green screens!
Comments are closed.