• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechNokia

Disney and Google Built an Augmented Reality Website For Pete’s Dragon Movie

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 11, 2016, 8:04 PM ET
Photograph by Handout/Getty Images

Disney really wants families to watch its upcoming Pete’s Dragon remake and is turning to both virtual reality and augmented reality to help promote it.

The entertainment giant released Thursday a special promotional website for the film that it built with Google (GOOG) and the advertising technology company MediaMonks.

The website, which requires an iOS or Android smartphone to use, was built to use Google’s recently released image recognition tool called the Google Cloud Vision API.

Mimicking the phenomenon that is mobile game Pokémon Go, the website is a game that uses what’s known as augmented reality technology, in which digital graphics can be overlaid onto the real world through a smartphone’s cameras.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In the game, called “Dragon Spotting,” users must find the movie’s dragon protagonist Elliot throughout various places in their homes or neighborhoods, according to a Google blog post on the website.

If the game tells users to find Elliott at a table to see if he is hiding, users must locate a table and look at it through their Android smartphone. If the table is indeed a table, Elliot should appear on the screen of their device.

For iOS users, gamers have to take a picture of the object and upload it to the website from their phone. If they have located the right object, the picture comes back with a Elliot superimposed onto the picture.

The website uses Google’s image recognition tool to identify the objects from a user’s smartphone.
From the blog post:

For example, if the user needs to identify “couch,” the website checks against a list of possible responses: “chair, futon, couch, sofa.” As soon as the recognized entity matches the desired object, Elliot is revealed!

Disney (DIS) is one of Google’s high-profile customers of its growing cloud computing business unit.

For more about Disney, watch:

Last week, Nokia said it also worked with Disney to promote Pete’s Dragon. Nokia shot a 360-degree video of some landscapes in New Zealand using its newly released OZO camera, which digital effects company Weta Digital spliced a CGI version of Elliot into.

Using a Samsung Gear VR headset, people can watch the virtual reality video to get the feeling that they are flying on the back of the green dragon.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

anger
AIProductivity
AI angst mutates into ‘FOBO’ as Fear of Becoming Obsolete takes over American workforces
By Nick LichtenbergApril 5, 2026
14 minutes ago
marketing
CommentaryMarketing
The corporate ‘storyteller’ is marketing’s newest messiah—and just as hollow as every buzzword before it
By Bruce StocklerApril 5, 2026
14 minutes ago
gecko
CommentaryInsurance
The billion-dollar bet that turned insurance into entertainment
By Stuart N. BrotmanApril 5, 2026
2 hours ago
cameras mounted on a wall
CybersecuritySurveillance
Your neighbor just got a home security system, but should you be worried? ‘It’s inherently a little creepy’ says surveillance expert
By Catherina GioinoApril 5, 2026
2 hours ago
Logan Brown, the founder of AI-powered law firm Soxton
SuccessCareers
The founder of a $2.5 million AI-powered legal business started work at her DA’s office at just 12 years old
By Emma BurleighApril 5, 2026
4 hours ago
lexi
CommentaryVenture Capital
I’m a VC who bets on AI. What keeps me up at night isn’t the idea of these companies failing—quite the opposite
By Lexi NovitskeApril 5, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

The World Cup is supposed to be an economic windfall. But 'you're seeing a number of headwinds' now
North America
The World Cup is supposed to be an economic windfall. But 'you're seeing a number of headwinds' now
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
College grads in ‘AI-proof’ careers like psychology and education are seeing negative returns on their degrees
Personal Finance
College grads in ‘AI-proof’ careers like psychology and education are seeing negative returns on their degrees
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
Success
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
3 days ago
A Yale economist says AGI won't automate most jobs—because they're not worth the trouble
AI
A Yale economist says AGI won't automate most jobs—because they're not worth the trouble
By Fortune EditorsApril 4, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 3, 2026
2 days ago
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.