Image via Wikipedia

So did it live up to my expectations? Well, not quite, but it really is charming. The voice acting is top notch, even if Dakota Fanning’s performance can become somewhat bratty, while the music, reminiscent of Danny Elfman’s work with Selkirk in the past, creates a suitable fairy-tale feel. The stop motion animation is simply superb. Bringing life to a range of bizarre and wonderful characters which are at once believable and grotesque, the attention to detail (tiny hand-stitched knitwear can be seen worn by several of the figures, for example) and the imagination given to character designs mirrors the innovations of the original story brilliantly. The infinitesimal charm of the animation is then accentuated by remarkably well-chosen use of the 3-D gimmick. I have to say, I’d been sceptical of the new spate of 3-D films: the decision to make kid’s movies more gawp-worthy and horror movie jump scares more immediate by sticking the occasional hand through the screen will quickly get old, but its use in “Coraline” is delightfully understated. With the exception of a handful of moments in which hands, needles or other objects are thrust at the viewer, the technique is largely used simply to draw the audience in to the strange, wonderful and horrible world the protagonist finds, adding to the sense of wonder and to the immersive nature of the film. The result is a piece which is just as watchable in 2-D as it is in 3-D, full of awe-inspiring visuals and stunning intricacies.

My main issues with the film come not from the sumptuous audio-visual experience it creates but from its weaknesses when compared to the novel. At 100 minutes long, it moves slightly too fast, the creeping dread that replaces the wonder of the Other world in the novel takes place just a little too fast for my liking. Some of the nastier scenes are also woefully abbreviated, too, the battles with the grotesque versions of inhabitants of the Other World last only a few minutes each and are not particularly disturbing. I was particularly disappointed that one of the most distressing scenes of the book, in which Coraline witnesses the transformation of the Other Father into a hideous lava-like monster, is adapted almost beyond recognition. It’s a pity: that was a scene that really stuck with me and one that really drove home the dangers that the Other World and the sinister Other Mother represented. Thankfully other alterations are more understandable. The addition of a new character, a sort of foil to Coraline, allows the interior monologues of the book to become externalised, even if his appearance does mean the presence of the cat, a frankly marvellous character, is reduced.

In short, though the dark heart of the story that made the novella a modern classic has been watered down so greatly it is almost trivialised, it’s a beautiful spectacle and a lot of fun. I expect that in a few year’s time, it will be seen as something of a technological forerunner in much the same way that we now look back on “Toy Story” as the genesis for the digital saturation of the children’s market: technically brilliant and covering new ground but otherwise a rather ordinary family film.

The story is a very straight line, from opening credits to closing, about a magical fish that falls into fascination with a five year old human boy. The fish is one of a gazillion offspring, the result of a hard to imagine union between a wizard and a goddess.  The little fishy, Ponyo, turns herself into a human child so that she can remain with the boy, Sosuke,  and live on land. Doing so upsets the balance of nature and causes the moon to come perilously close to the earth.  To restore the balance, the little boy must show true love.

Okay, so it’s a pretty simple story. It’s kind of like The Little Mermaid Meets Godzilla. There are a couple of moments that had my little girl squirming in her seat out of anxiety. There were a couple of moments where the wizard had to stop and explains the plotline to make sure we didn’t get lost. And there are several laugh out loud funny spots.  My wife and I both had trouble with the five year old boy being asked to show true love, and had to work hard to remind ourselves that Miyazaki’s concept for the relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke is platonic love. I say that because some of the wording gets a little sticky, although it quite flew over my seven year old’s head.

The artwork is at once simple and terribly complex. Sosuke’s house is a study in retro so convincing you’d think you were watching The Party or Mod Squad.  There are many points in the film wherein the art is so stylized as to go beyond credulity, which I found distracting.  Some scenes, such as the boat ride over the submerged roads, are exquisitely photo-realistic.  Parts of it reminded me of the old Max Fleischer cartoons.  But, you cannot leave the theater without having seen something beautiful.

The acting is equally strong. Liam Neeson’s performance as the wizard is both hilarious and convincing.  Cate Blanchett’s goddess was certainly goddess-like, although lacking in excitement. Tina Fey, playing the little boy Sosuke’s mother, was a delight.

I think Joe Hisaishi is a brilliant man. His work is at once powerful and subtle.  He tends to borrow phrases from western music, however, sometimes to the detriment of the film. In this case you will be certain to hear Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries thrumming over the surging waves. Except that it’s not quite Wagner…it’s so close you’ll be tempted to hum it, and you’ll be disappointed because it deviates at crucial moments.  It’s not a bad score by any means, and it serves well in highlighting and supporting the film’s moods. It’s just that I found myself thinking “isn’t this Wagner?” when I should have been following the story.

Is it suitable for little kids? Good heavens yes!  The younger the better, although preschoolers may find it too long.  There are some scary moments, but they are more than outweighed by cute, cheerful scenes.

Me? I’ll take a pass on this one. The story is very straight-line, but a trifle too simple for my taste. While the film is beautiful and shows an artist’s loving hand, the stylization frequently took me out of the story. The acting is solid, but the writing is stodgy and vaguely confusing is some places.  I liked the simplicity of Kiki’s Delivery Service, which had the same gentle nature as this film, but found the artwork and the structure much more satisfying.

While the surface similarities to The Little Mermaid were numerous, the story was very different.

Some of the similarities? Both fish girls want to be human, both fish girls have red hair, both have a ton of sisters, both have fathers that rule the ocean and seem mean at first but are really just loving fathers, neither has a mother figure at first, though Ponyo does at the end of her film, both fathers are mad at Humans because they pollute the ocean and lastly, both heavily involve magic.

In Ponyo, we are treated to a story of magic and wonder. There is no real bad guy, no evil witch who tricks Ponyo, but rather the story revolves around her ambition and energy throwing the world off its balance. It is remarkably charming. The visuals are average quality but pretty inventive at times and the story will make you laugh and smile and sit there feeling good. Too few movies are so heart warming.

Some anime, such as Bleach and Naruto target younger audience, thus they have a lot of fighting scenes and not much text. But just because of that You shouldn’t just disregard them, since a lot of movies are, too, for youngsters (Spiderman, X-men etc.). Of course some are purely for kids, such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon and Dragonball Z.

There are more serious anime, too. Such as Death Note, which has a good storyline and sometimes is even hard to follow because of the confusing text. I also recommend Fullmetal Alchemist, Elfen Lied, Vampire Knight and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

If you are interested in an anime, watch an episode or two and you’ll get hooked for sure.

Ryan states that there were too many images in his mind coming all at once that did not give him enough time to draw and complete before the next came in. This was stated during an interview on the effect that cocaine had on his work. The artist who interviewed him stated that Larkin’s earlier animation was quite imaginative; the drug can induce a heightened sensitivity to your surroundings and can alter ones perception of reality.

But the drug also brought out the ‘dark side’ of Ryan according to the interviewer but one an always debate that. This comment was made alongside a film, animated by Ryan, that showed something similar to the creation of an Eden which gradually flourished and then became the object of a great fire that burnt everything alive. At first had one can attribute that to a the dark side of human nature but in relation to today there is a kind of poetic truth behind the tale; all we have to do is see what we are doing regarding our abuse of resources and making the world a toxic place to live! So the animated film that supposedly revealed his dark side can actually be taken as an epitaph for all the needless destruction we are orchestrating in the name of hunting out an ‘external’ enemy.

In the end Ryan was on the street collected change, it was a far cry from the time he was drawing for CBC studios and got paid for his work. A lot of the money he earned went to his habit and he soon lost his job because he could not be relied on. In later years a younger artist caught up with him and made a documentary on his story on his life as an artist and the ups and downs he had but sadly Ryan was not the same, he had greatly suffered from the loss of his companion and was otherwise no longer as creative as he was years earlier.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

With only a $5,252,000 weekend gross, Coraline looked like it was going to float down to the bottom of the box-office barrel, but then jumped to an impressive $61,145,000 in only a few weeks. What could have possibly taken Coraline from “I want my money back” status to “I’m naming one of my kids Coraline” status?

Legend and director, Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), gave this film a lot to live up to. It broke out into the underground film scene with staggering hype and enthusiasm. Though the commercialism was nothing like “The Dark Knight” or “Lord of the Rings”, it made an impressive effort of getting word out about the clay-mation motion picture.

Coraline is about a girl whose family moves into a new apartment filled with strange people, neglectful parents, and lots of boredom. However, Coraline’s life is flipped upside down when she discovers a secret door in her living room wall that’s been hidden by wallpaper. On the other side of the ominous passageway is another world. Actually it’s the same world, just an alternate version. Here Coraline finds adventure and her wildest dreams come to life, but is it too good to be true?

Just the fact that Coraline is clay-mation and stop-motion was enough to make me cough up the cash to see it. Its detail and realism is simply mind-blowing, but it offers more than just a display of the creator’s impressive creativity and patience. Coraline’s creepy, dark characters and story gives a certain chill that is not found in most PG films. It is by no means just a “kid’s movie” and has enough excitement and mystery for any viewer. Viewing it makes the audience feel as if in a dream that is both perilous and exciting, bringing to life a certain part of your psyche that was dormant before. Plus, the 3-D glasses heighten the effect even more.

Coraline leaves the audience silent, because words cannot describe the shock and awe that fills the room. It is a true motion picture masterpiece that will forever be a favorite of its view audience.

When Aladdin climbs up on Jasmine’s roof, her pet tiger attacks Aladdin. There is when he mumbles what they say is either “Take off you clothes”  or “Good teenagers, take off your clothes”. The Disney Company says it’s false … and that’s what media says. But, I happen to believe that there is something there.

The Little Mermaid

The priest seems to be a little too happy to be at this wedding. It seems he gets an erection.

There’s also another Little Mermaid taboo on the cover of the film:

Some believe that part of the kingdom on the cover is a phallace, drawn by a disgruntled artist.

The Rescuers

In the scene when Bianca and Bernard are taking off on the back of their friend, Wilbur,  there’s a very naughty image in the background. The Disney company doesn’t deny this one, actually; they recalled the movie in the ’70s because of it.

The Lion King

We should know that even the greatest, most awesome movies from Disney are gonna be criticized. I say this, because The Lion King is my favorite movie from Disney. Well, in one scene when Simba lays down and a bunch of dust comes flying up, some say the word sex  is spelled in it. To this day, it’s still undetermined.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

(The scene is approximately 2:45 into the clip)

If you look close enough, Belle makes a cameo appearance … reading  a book of course. Also, you can see a guy shaking out the carpet from Aladdin, and 2 guys carrying Pumba. Some say you can see a satellite dish on the roof, which is also true if you look to the very left of the screen.

So it was inevitable that one day, I just had to wonder how old Sally must be if she talks about missing the Route 66 that existed “forty years ago”, and just what the HTB stickers on Chick Hicks stood for.

And as I tried to find out, here are other Cars trivia I came across:

1. Lightning McQueen’s number 95 stands for the year Pixar released Toy Story.
2. Chick Hick’s sponsor, HTB, stands for “Hostile Takeover Bank”.
3. The real name of The King, Dinoco’s Golden Boy, is Strip Weathers. His design is based on the Plymouth Superbird, a car produced only in 1970.
4. In Sally’s story to McQueen when she first showed him Wheel Well Motel, she recounts how Radiator Springs looked so different 40 years ago. That leads us to believe that she had been there at least that long. Sally’s car model, however, is based on a 2002 model of the Porsche 996, three years old at the time Cars was released.
5. Doc Hudson moved to Radiator Springs after his great crash in 1954, more than 50 years earlier. He met Sally in Radiator Springs when she ran away from her fast-track California life, which must have been more than 40 years ago.
6. Route 66 is a real-life road now called Historic Route 66, colloquially known as the “Mother Road” or the “Main Street of America”, and runs from Chicago, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and ends at Los Angeles, California.
7. The song Route 66 has two versions in the movie – one by Chuck Berry, and another by John Mayer for the film’s credits. From the day it was first recorded by Nat King Cole, the song has had more than 60 versions from different artists, including Natalie Cole, The Rolling Stones, Perry Como, Bob Dylan, and Bing Crosby.
8. The voice of The Sheriff is played by Michael Wallis, who also happens to be the writer of the book “Route 66: The Mother Road”.
9. Fillmore’s character was based on Bob Waldmire, a Route 66 artist and vegan who owns a VW microbus that looks very much like Fillmore.
10. If you look at the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, you’ll swear you were looking at Ramone’s body-art shop.

You either grew up watching these beautiful princesses or you watched them come out when animation had barely hit the entertainment industry. Either way, you loved these Disney Princesses, you just never told anyone. It’s a fact that every person must accept – these princesses are hot! Check out the countdown.

12. Snow White 

She is the epitome of classic. She made her debut in the first full length animated film… well Snow White. However I find here style a little old for me maybe if she tanned a little bit and dyed her hair a different color than charcoal black I’d reconsider, but for now she is stuck at number 12.

11. Alice

This little girl is very curious, a very loveable attribute. However, the main issue is in the prior statement. She is a little girl, calling her anything more than a cute nice little blonde girl could get me some nice shiny cuffs and a bible for a lesson on moral decency. She is a little young for me; I wonder how long if she has grown up since she made her last film?

10. Wendy

Wonderful girl who knows how to take charge and is a natural leader. Again, there seems to be an issue with age though. I think of Wendy as nothing more than a kid who wants to be a grown up, or seems like an overbearing “I’m more mature than you kind of girl” – Pretty much a turn off. Plus I want a girl who’s not going to fly off on me in the middle of the night with some guy dressed up in a green pajama suit and a bunch of boys who have just seen Bambi for the first time.

9. Mulan

Have you ever said to yourself? “Man, I want a girl that could just beat the crap out of me if she wanted to.” Well, she got it. This girl has a lot to offer, her wisdom is off the charts and her beliefs are respectable. The lizard thing here would be the issue. Can anyone say privacy? That blasted lizard is all up in Mulan’s business; tell him to go find some other girl along the family lines to stalk.

8. Aurora

This woman has it made. Beautiful, rich, tall, and blonde, with flocks of forest animals giving her that constant invitational feeling of nature, Perfect! The issue here would be longevity; I’m thinking my woman would be able to handle more than some enchanted prick on the finger before going down. Ya, I think that I’m definitely going to add that to my checklist. I don’t want to have to go through no dragon to get to her either, that’s a lot of effort. You feel me?

7. Cinderella

I find this girl to be totally awesome. Again beautiful blonde, with a fairy god mother to boot, plus she got them glass slippers. I wonder how much those would go for on eBay. She is the perfect diamond in the rough girl with a great personality. So why is she in the middle of the pack? This selection can be summed up using two words… Rat Infestation! Moving on.

6. Megara

Miss Independent, with that long brown hair. She has this charisma about her. Plus I’m just a sucker for brunettes so you’ll find that my top selections are mostly brunette, sorry to all the blondes, they seem to be more eye catching but I can’t trust them as much, plus there is that dumb blonde stereo type… anyway back to Meg, I can just see this girl making a deal behind my back that I would have to clean up. We can’t all be gods like Mr. Muscles. She also is too outgoing, I like the shy girls.

5. Jasmine

She definitely has one of the best bodies of the princesses and is also in the top two for least amount of clothing. I would have the time of my life with her pet tiger if I wasn’t scared to death that it would suddenly slash my throat and I would die a painful, bloody death. Her father is rich so that’s a plus and she is very beautiful and apparently a fast learner. She doesn’t quite rank as high however because her ability to take care of herself is limited to acting like she is in love with a guy and randomly kissing him while forgetting to take off her crown. Nobody makes out with a hat on… do they? She did have a trilogy though so snaps for Jasmine.

4. Ariel

Finally a red head. This princess I think has the best face of all of them; its just so small and round and… well gorgeous. She also ranks the highest on the lack of clothing meter for all those perverts who care about that stuff. She is never afraid to follow her dreams. Sacrifice which is very important and a demonstration of that has already been made when she gave up her life in the sea for her true love. She can sing like none other too which makes being around while she is taking a shower that much nicer. Why not number one? Her best friend is a fish. I’m sorry that just really bothers me.

3. Pocahontas

What a woman. Free-spirited, strong-willed, wise, and understanding, one can’t ask for a lot more. Beautiful, just beautiful, as well as having great athleticism and being at one with nature; she has it all. She also being Native American would make life lots easier, helping start up that casino I’ve always wanted to cheat everyone out on their money with and help her kids get into college. Let’s face it we screwed them over big time. She got plenty to offer which is why she makes the top three.

2. Jane Porter

This girl never ceases to amaze. She is very intellectual and patient, I mean try and teach Tarzan how to talk and act human. Stressful I’m sure. She is super pretty, brunette (again) and nice body. Her dad seems pretty cool and she has that awesome British heritage that is always so very sexy. Very compatible which slides her into the number two spot.

1. Belle

Finally the number one. Surprised? Probably, but if you knew me you wouldn’t be that surprised. She is beautiful and brunette, shy, intelligent, caring, everything a family guy like me could ask for. Therefore she is flipping hot! She loves to read which really is not my thing, but it’s definitely a turn on. I just like the passion. She’s not out to flaunt her stuff either which is why I gave Jasmine and Ariel the heave. Plus she has the guts and patience to deal with the Beast. She just got it all in my eyes. She has this one hands down.

So,  the guys over at Disney have drawn up some pretty nice animations for us over the years however I don’t think this was the kind of image they were looking for. Oh well. I just care to look at things a little differently. How would you rank your top twelve?

Good Versus Evil and Science Against Magic

It is a great animated movie. Ask those in my generation and others who have watched it, and you will see their eyes gleaming, and they will suddenly talk about the artwork, parts of the story and the dialogue even. The Flight of Dragons is about a quest to save man from evil’s conquest of the realm of magic and the realm of science. Seeing the need to separate the two worlds, Carolinus, the green wizard of nature, recommends his plan to his brothers Solarius, blue wizard of space and sea, Lo Tae Shao, gold wizard of the air and solemnity and Ommadon, red wizard of evil and dark magic. Being the embodiment of evil and greed, Ommadon does not agree to the plan and intends to use magic to inspire man to use science to make creations that will inevitably lead to his destruction. To stop Ommadon, one has to capture his red crown, the source of all his power.

With the quest and eventual battle being staged on land, the territory of Carolinus, the green wizard chooses his dragon Gorbash and friend Sir Orin Neville Smythe, a knight. For the leader and third member of the quest, Carolinus asks Antiquity for assistance to make the selection. Antiquity chooses Peter Dickinson, a 20th century man of science upon the puzzlement of Carolinus. From there, Peter is brought to the realm of magic from 20th century Boston and in an accident is merged with Gorbash before the quests even begins. Sir Orin, Gorbash/Peter and Smrgol, the dragon uncle of Gorbash proceeds to Ommadon’s territory and gathers allies along the way such as Arak, canine friend of Gorbash, Danielle, a female archer and Giles of the Treetops, the elvin outlaw. Together they face dangers such as the Ogre of Gormly Keep, the giant worm that secretes highly corrosive acid and Ommadon’s horde of dragons under his dark spell. Peter and Ommadon eventually battle in the end as science against magic, respectively.

Seven Reasons Why The Flight of Dragons is a Great Animated Film

In the story, Peter Dickinson is the ancestor of Great Peter, the dragon master, the one who tamed dragons and taught them how to speak. The two are separated by 777 generations. With this, I present the seven reasons why The Flight of Dragons is one of the best animated films ever.

1. It is About a Quest

Ah, yes. A quest is a buddy, road trip and David versus Goliath movie rolled into one. It brings a small band of main characters with various backgrounds together in an adventure. Along the way, they get close and face insurmountable odds. This formula has been appealing in movies whether they are animated or live-action.

2. It Has Creatures and Characters of Magic and Fantasy

Dragons, wizards, knights, archers, ogres and fairies feed the imagination of the audience. Movies take the audience away from reality to the world of fiction and even fantasy. Aside from the said traditional magical creatures and characters, The Flight of Dragons also has its unique creatures such as the giant worm and the horde of sandmerks. Forgive me for the spelling if it is wrong, but there are no subtitles because the movie is not on DVD yet. Individually, they are just like rats that stand on hind legs and around two feet tall, but collectively, they can drive one mad with their mind-maddening chattering.

3. It Has Great Dialogue

“You… complete me.” “Hasta la vista baby.” “You can’t handle the truth!” Great movies have great and memorable dialogue, and The Flight of Dragons has a lot of it from the humorous to the wise to the gallant such as the following.

Dialogue One: Gorbash with Carolinus at night looking over a pond of water

Gorbash (doubtful and sarcastic): “Are you certain this is a limpid pool of time?”

Carolinus: “My dear young fellow, I am one of the four magic brothers. I should know a limpid pool of time when I see one.”

Dialogue Two: Melisande with Carolinus discussing the meeting of the four magical brothers

Melisande: “But why does Antiquity force you to include something so abominable?”

Carolinus: “As evil is a part of all things, evil is a part of our world of magic. And the irony of all existence is that good would be totally impotent without the contrast of evil.”

Dialogue Three: Sir Orin standing by the bodies of his comrades with sword held by praying hands and facing Breog, the devil dragon.

Sir Orin: “Giles, my darling Danielle and Arak too!”

(calm and filled with courage): “Blade with whom I have lived,

Blade with whom I now die,

Serve right and justice one last time.” (flash of Giles’ body)

“Seek one last heart of evil.” (flash of Arak’s body)

“Still one last life of pain.”

“Cut well old friend… (flash of Danielle’s body)

And, farewell!”

That third dialogue is actually etched inside me and has resonated in my mind since 1982. It is a knight’s code of servitude and sacrifice and his last living act to rid one last creature of evil. Those who have seen The Flight of Dragons quip dialogues like these three I mentioned to one another.

4. It Has Effective Celebrity Voice-over

This is one of the movies that effectively used celebrity voice-overs in animated films before it somewhat became an industry standard after Pixar’s Toy Story featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Remember that The Flight of Dragons came from 1982, and it was voiced over by actors of that time. Harry Morgan, the white-haired actor and one of the leads in the movie and TV show MASH, is the voice of Carolinus. He has a firm grandfatherly voice that is perfect for the green wizard. John Ritter, who was the lead in the hit TV sitcom Three’s Company, is the voice of Peter Dickinson. John Ritter fills this character’s wonder of dragons and modesty very well. Finally, when one remembers The Flight of Dragons, one remembers James Earl Jones as the voice of red wizard Ommadon. This is probably the best voice-over of his career topping Mufasa of The Lion King and tying, if not edging Darth Vader. That speech wherein he orders Breog to lead the dragon army against Peter and his comrades is brought to life with his booming and reverberating voice. It tops off with a crazed shout of, “a flight… of dragons!”, and ending with the words “doom, doom, doom”. It just grabs you and tightens your chest. Aside from being a great actor, James Earl Jones is the ultimate talent for voice-overs.

5. It is a Product of 80s Anime, Anime Taken to a Higher Level

The Flight of Dragons comes from the era after mecha ruled TV anime in the 70s. The movie is a Rankin-Bass production, but the Illustrators are Japanese. Toru Hama is the animation coordinator, and the storyboard and animation direction are by Katsuhisa Yamada and Flimihiko Takayama. Anime transcended to something intricate, elaborate and beautiful in The Flight of Dragons after the box-type cartoonish characters in the mecha anime of the 70s, which I actually like also. There is detail, for example, in Smrgol’s curled horns and lips, and the film has interesting designs such as Sir Orin’s long trident instead of a mere lance and Lo Tae Shao’s unique serpentine dragon unlike the other blimp-like bodied dragons. The artwork here is very impressive.

6. It Has Beautiful Music

Don McLean highlights the music of The Flight of Dragons with his singing of the theme song written by Jules Bass and Maury Laws. Below are its lyrics which I got from www.lyrics007.com.

The Flight of Dragons Theme Song Lyrics

Flight of dragons soar in the purple light

In the sky or in my mind

Flight of dragons sail past reality

Leave illusion behind

Is it the past I see

When I look up to the heavens

Believing in the magic

That I know could never be

I want to go where they are going

Into the world they’ve been

Can I open up my mind enough to see

Flight of dragons, heavenly argosies

Catch the wind, rise out of sight

Flight of dragons, pilots of fantasy

In the sky or in my mind

Flight of dragons

Flight of dragons

Don McLean is the singer of the classic songs Vincent and American Pie, and the Flight of Dragons song and music in the movie has a dreamy quality to it.

7. It has a Unique Element: Giving Scientific Explanations to Magic and Creatures of Fantasy

Finally, what makes The Flight of Dragons unique is the presence of scientific explanations in a fantasy movie. This is embodied in the scene where Gorbash/Peter explains how dragons fly with the assistance of Smrgol. It turns out that dragons are like blimps or hot-air balloons lifted by hydrogen derived from the mix of stomach acids and calcium. Dragons get the calcium from the limestone that they regularly eat. An electrical spark in the roof of the dragon’s mouth ignites the hydrogen, and being lighter than air, lifts the dragon to flight. The dragon propels himself with his wings and blows out hydrogen in the form of flame or “dragon fire” in order to descend. It’s a pretty crafty explanation and catchy story element mixing science into magic.

The Flight of Dragons Live-Action Movie

From an animated film, The Flight of Dragons can be elevated into a great live-action film. We’re now in the age of CGI in cinema where in this age, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was made into Oscar-winning movies, Harry Potter was successfully brought out from book to film and various superheroes fly about, stretch and swing from building to building. After the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia came out and there are even plans to make The Hobbit into a live action movie. The fantasy genre is still alive and kicking the box office, and The Flight of Dragons can be a blockbuster.

Personally, I prefer Chris Columbus to direct The Flight of Dragons if it becomes a movie. I like that enchantment and magic of discovery present in the first Harry Potter film that he made. I also prefer Weta, the company behind the special effects of The Lord of the Rings, to participate in making the movie. To take this idea of turning The Flight of Dragons into a live-action movie further into flight, let’s play casting director for a while and choose possible actors for the key characters. Below are my choices.

Casting Suggestions for a Flight of Dragons Live Action Movie

Green Wizard Carolinus – Ben Kingsley (Oscar winning actor with voice close to Harry Morgan’s; put a skull cap on him, long nose and a beard and he’s Carolinus!)

20th Century Man Peter Dickinson – Edward Norton, Ewan McGregor (Yep, those two can be Peter.)

Knight Sir Orin Neville Smythe – Jason Isaacs, Pierce Brosnan (Must be around his 40s or 50s, dashing and with a British accent. Wearing that armour is a plus factor for them to take on the role.)

Princess Melisande – Alexis Bledel, Anne Hathaway (Dreamy, ethereal beauties. I would love to hear more suggestions for this character)

Red Wizard Ommadon – James Earl Jones (The man voiced him; he should play him! They have the same body mass as well!)

Lady Archer Danielle -Saffron Burrows (Her age is like Danielle’s, and she’s fit too.)

Elvin Outlaw Giles – Billy Boyd (He was Pippen, one of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. Might as well be elvin outlaw Giles too!)

Blue Wizard Solarius – Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson (great voices and toughness for the part)

Gold Wizard Lo Tae Shao – Henry O (Jet Li’s mob boss father in Romeo Must Die; his facial qualities, especially the cheeks, are like Lo Tae Shao’s!)

The Pawnbroker – Judd Hirsch (Jeff Goldblum’s father in Independence Day can smoothly deliver those pawnbroker’s lines. Somehow, he can be Carolinus too!)

Voices of

Dragon Gorbash – Billy Crystal (Must have comedic angle)

Dragon Smrgol -Robert Loggia (Must have that old, experienced, grandfatherly quality)

Devil Dragon Breog – Michael Ironside (Tough, tough, tough and intimidating. “Puny scum of Carolinus!! Prepare to die!” He can say that well.)

Canine Arak – Brian Cox (Slightly scruffy, nice old voice)

Antiquity – Alan Rickman (Yes, yes, he’s just a tree, who dropped a silver acorn, but we need that commanding authoritative voice)

If you find my choices amusing and, or absurd, please take note that I am not a professional casting director and that I never had any experience whatsoever of casting actors for a movie or a play. Please forgive me. However, I love movies, and I believe there is some amount of sense in my choices. I hope my amateur attempt in casting will somehow spark the production of a live action Flight of Dragons movie. It will not only be a great delight to fans of the original animated film but also to a worldwide audience composed of various age groups and race. It is because the theme of The Flight of Dragons will bind them all.

The Need to Elevate The Flight of Dragons to DVD and Into a Live-Action Movie

I’ve been browsing the Internet for old movies being formatted to DVDs, and I saw this particular kaiju (giant monster) movie Daikyoju Gappa of 1967 having a special DVD in 2008. Believe it or not, this is about a giant mutated lizard/chicken monster that wreaks havoc in Japan. If movies like this cross over to DVD, and a special DVD I may add, why can’t a great animated film like The Flight of Dragons make it? This is somewhat unsettling and absolutely puzzling. It is like having Lebron James on the bench when the team, city and league can be benefitting from his contributions in the basketball court.

I have a dream. I plan to find out who owns the rights to The Flight of Dragons, and tell them about the ideas I have written here. I also call on others who share the same admiration for the film and the desire for it to be on DVD and become a live-action movie as well. I invite them to request for these also. I invite them to share their most memorable scenes, express their appreciation for the movie and even give their own casting suggestions. I will collate all of these comments and add them to my own and write and email the one who holds the rights of the film. I will write and email them every month or even every week my requests and any flowing comments from everyone who loves the film until they finally decide to release this on DVD and hopefully, a live-action film as well.

I hope my plan succeeds with a length of a dream and a flash of an inspiration, the only way one can briefly enter the realm of magic as the green wizard Carolinus said. So help me if you can friends, and let us have this fine masterpiece in DVD and a live-action film. Together, let’s make an impact with the same force The Flight of Dragons has made in each and every one of us.