GREAT MOVIE DRAGONS
Not all dragons are created equally, they come in all shapes and sizes, some friendly and others not so friendly. One of cinema’s most iconic dragons gets a remake this month, originally released in 1977, ‘Pete’s Dragon’ was a Disney live action film featuring an animated dragon called Elliott, a friendly dragon with pink hair & pink wings. Elliott gets a computer-generated makeover this month in a new big budget version featuring Bryce Dallas Howard, Karl Urban and Robert Redford. Below we look at other classic dragons from cinema over the years.
How To Train Your Dragon – Toothless
Ask anyone under the age of 8 what their favourite dragon is and the answer is probably Toothless. Released in cinemas in 2010 ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ has already spawned a successful sequel, a cartoon spin-off on Netflix and a third movie is already scheduled for 2018.
The Hobbit – Smaug
Smaug, voiced by ‘Sherlock’ star Benedict Cumberbatch in the recent ‘Hobbit’ trilogy is one of Tolkien’s most enduring inventions, he was the blueprint for many fictional dragons that followed & represents Tolkien’s attention to detail, showing that a well developed dragon character could be more than just a fire-breathing menace.
Dragonslayer – Vermithrax Pejorative
This early 80’s movie featured a surprising amount of violence & terror for a PG rated Disney movie. Vermithrax Pejorative is a truly terrifying dragon, who explodes out of a burning lake in a dark cave and feeds on sacrifices from a corrupt local ruler. This mighty beast looked highly realistic for its time thanks to a combination of full-scale animatronics, puppetry, and go-motion. Fantasy fans like George R.R. Martin and Guillermo del Toro still call this dragon their personal favorite.
Dragonheart – Draco
Voiced by Sean Connery, Draco was one of cinema’s earliest CGI creations. Playing like a mismatched buddy comedy Dennis Quaid, a dragon slayer teams up with our CGI dragon and the two con the English countryside out of gold.
Reign Of Fire
Despite being filmed over 14 years ago the dragons in ‘Reign Of Fire’ still look impressive today and match anything you’ll see in ‘Game Of Thrones’. Filmed on location in beautiful rainy Ireland (our weather perfectly suited this post apocalyptic world), these terrifying fire-breathing dragons kept young stars Gerard Butler, Matthew McConaughey & Christian Bale on their toes.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
The one thing more terrifying than a dragon, is a dragon with three heads. Ghidorah is a 1964 Japanese science fiction film, that was number five in the Godzilla franchise that achieved cult status away from Godzilla.The three-headed beast most recently appeared as a half-robot version in 1991’s Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah.
Spirited Away – Haku
1995’s Oscar Winning animation ‘Spirited Away’ another friendly dragon. When the young heroine Chihiro accidentally crosses into a spirit world, she is brought face to face with a number of odd characters – none more memorable than Haku, a dashing young prince/spirit who has the ability to shape-shift into a flying dragon. Instead of cold hard scales like most dragons Haku has flowing white fur, a long, sinuous neck and a lupine face managing to be majestic and cuddly at the same time.
The Neverending Story – Falkor
Falkor, he iconic luck-dragon has become the face of ‘The Neverending Story’ series. He combines the best traits of both dragons and dogs, With the ability to breathe blue fire and ‘swim’ through the air – and as the name implies, a lucky streak – Falkor is just as fierce as he is friendly.
Die Nibelungen
The oldest dragon on our list is from Fritz Lang’s 1924 movie, this unnamed dragon was cinema’s first kickass dragon. The 50 foot beast required a team of seventeen technicians to operate him, one mans job was to manually fan smoke out of the dragons mouth.
PETE’S DRAGON IS IN CINEMAS NOW!