Dragon Hunters (Movie Review)

For those sci-fi/fantasy geeks who are avoiding the inevitable "Bayish" Transformers movie this weekend, you might enjoy renting "Dragon Hunters".

This CG animated flick runs 80 minutes and is no epic story or triumph of characterization. It's aimed at the Pixar fanbase and does a very good, though not flawless job of catering to that crowd.

The animation is excellent and the visual design is beautiful in addition to creative. In terms of production values, this movie stands next to any Pixar flick I've seen. With the right marketing, this might have been a great success theatrically. For whatever reason it was a direct to DVD release in America.

The story takes place in a wildly fantastic world of knights and dragons. The land consist of countless islands that float among the clouds, with bridges or various floating rock formations connecting them all. The flight pattern of these land masses is un-synchronized in some cases, resulting in wild criss-crossing and occasional collisions in the sky. The film betrays its foreign (French) origins by not explaining to us why the world is like this. This and many other creative wonders go unexplained.

This might be a downside for some, but younger viewers will probably just enjoy the ride as we are all meant to. (And the movie is not as "trippy" as Mirrormask, so most folks will be fine without getting all the "world-building" details.) Some adults will also appreciate the design and animation of the world and its inhabitants in ways that kids will totally miss. I confess, I would have like more details about the world, but not because the lack of them resulted in a weird experience for me. I want more details because the world really interested me and I would have liked to have known more! (There is a feature on the DVD that offers some of this however.)

The world is about to be destroyed by a massive (and I mean MASSIVE) dragon called "The World Gobbler" and a young girl who dreams of adventure ends up traveling with two unlikely heroes to vanquish evil and save the realm.

Lian-chu, voiced by Forest Whitaker, is a hunter-for-hire who enjoys knitting in his spare time while his small, brainy and rather mouthy partner, voiced by Rob Paulsen, gives him a hard time while coaching him through their various hunting gigs.

Whitaker brings nothing unique except a little star power to the role. Paulsen, whom many will remember as the 80's-90's "Raphael" on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and "Yacko" on "Animaniacs", carries much of the story and delivers a few chuckles. The girl is actually voiced by a young girl, a welcome change from the all too common adult actor hamming it up and trying to sound like a kid.

The humor in this movie is odd at times and may catch you off guard. It's not near as well written as the average Pixar release, but still enjoyable. It also has a slightly darker feel than other flicks in this medium, but certainly no gore or serious violence.

Overall, the movie is beautiful and a fun (sometimes funny) ride that would have been served by a better script and a little more introduction to the world.

In terms of relevance to meaningful discussion, the movie deals with the issues of courage, death and "belief". The latter is touched on briefly and in the same vague way Oprah and Hollywood all handle it. We aren't told what to believe in, just to "believe", like some warm and fuzzy "wishing machine". No topics are dealt with in ways that will likely interest or provoke thought in adults, but probably provide doorways for parents to discuss these issues with their kids.

As a dad who plans to indoctrinate his kids with the world of fantasy and sci-fi, this will serve as a fun tool in a few more years.

Rated PG for some scary images, fantasy action and language

Quality: 8.0/10

Relevance: 7.0/10 (for parents and their kids)