<P> The film was shot in live - action using Panavision Panaflex cameras . The dragon, Elliot, was entirely animated by Weta Digital in CGI, instead of the original hand - drawn animation . </P> <P> On September 19, 2014, Disney cast Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence to star as Pete and Natalie . On October 2, Barrie M. Osborne was set to be the executive producer for the film . On October 16, Robert Redford was in early talks to play a local storyteller who remembers seeing a dragon in the woods . On November 20, Bryce Dallas Howard was in talks for the female lead role, a forest ranger who finds the boy and does not believe his stories about a dragon . On January 7, 2015, Wes Bentley joined the cast of the film . On January 9, Michael C. Hall was also added to the cast . On January 29, Karl Urban replaced Hall . </P> <P> Principal photography commenced in January 2015 in New Zealand, with Lowery directing . Rehearsals began early January 2015, while news reported the beginning of the shooting on January 26, 2015, set to last through April . Live - action filming locations included Bay of Plenty, Taupo and Wellington, while CGI was done at Stone Street Studios . On February 10, 2015, a press release confirmed that principal photography had commenced . Shooting took place in and around Wellington and Rotorua, before transferring to Tapanui, where the old Blue Mountain Lumber mill was used as the mill in the film, and the main street became Millhaven for two weeks . Production concluded on April 30, 2015 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Pete's Dragon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Soundtrack album / Film score by Daniel Hart </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Released </Th> <Td> August 12, 2016 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Recorded </Th> <Td> 2016 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Studio </Th> <Td> Air Studios British Grove Studios </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Genre </Th> <Td> Soundtrack, Film score </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Length </Th> <Td> 75: 29 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Label </Th> <Td> Walt Disney </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Producer </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Daniel Hart </Li> <Li> Jake Jackson </Li> <Li> David Lowery (exec .) </Li> <Li> Jim Whitaker (exec .) </Li> <Li> Adam Borba (exec .) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Daniel Hart film scores chronology </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Lost in the Sun (2015) Lost in the Sun 2015 </Td> <Td> Pete's Dragon (2016) </Td> <Td> Half the Perfect World (2016) Half the Perfect World2016 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Where was pete's dragon filmed in nz
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