Too much of everything

Beautiful, moving film.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I watched this movie on a whim, partially because I was bored (and watching relatively under- the-radar animated films is what I do when I'm bored) and partially because the style of the character designs intrigued me. Going in with such shallow intent and such non-existent expectations, I was truly and very pleasantly surprised to discover that "Dragon Hunters" is actually a pretty darn good flick. Set in a world of floating islands, the film follows protagonists Gwizdo and Lian-Chu, a pair of down-on-their-luck, roguish dragon hunters who find themselves contracted into going after the World-Gobbler, a dragon big and bad enough to swallow entire fortresses whole. Along the way, they are unwillingly saddled with the care of young Zoe, their client's runaway niece and aspiring dragon huntress, who believes that the two are noble knights straight out of a fairy tale. Together, Zoe, Gwizdo, Lian-Chu, and the latter's pet dragon Hector must take arms against the ferocious World-Gobbler, prove their dragon-hunting worth, and, of course, nab the reward money while they're at it. The movie is based on a French cartoon which was dubbed into English and aired on Cartoon Network around 2004. It only lasted 2 seasons and was kinda cheap (many episodes reuse old scenes, which can get pretty irritating), but it's fun nonetheless. That said, I didn't watch the show until after I saw the movie (and even then I've only seen the first season), and I think the film can stand on its own two legs. It's funny, action-packed, features some very nice CG animation and an excellent score, and is surprisingly heavy on the quiet moments and pathos. Part of this is because of the fact that the characters were already set up by the show, and the filmmakers probably figured that a large part of their audience would be made up of old fans. However, as someone who was a complete newbie coming in, I was very pleased with the characters and their arcs - Gwizdo in particular (voiced by Rob Paulsen in the film) underwent quite a bit of development and, thanks in part to Paulsen's flawless voice acting, oozed personality and charm. Forest Whitaker as Lian-Chu was, I found, a bit bland, which I thought was strange because Whitaker is a great actor. Lian-Chu in the show is quite soft-spoken, but Whitaker says his lines completely deadpan, which can make his character come off as somewhat boring, especially in comparison to the emphatic Gwizdo. Zoe is surprisingly endearing for a chatterbox kid, an archetype which is almost always ungodly irritating, but here works, somehow. The world the characters inhabit, while not developed too much, is gorgeous and well designed, making the film quite a treat to look at. The various dragons, too, are quite inventive, many of their designs having been taken from the show, which was not shy in stretching the definition of a dragon to its utmost limits. The plot is well-paced, knowing when to take pauses for drama and (often very pregnant) silence, which is especially jarring if you've seen the show (your typical bright, energetic kids' cartoon). However, this dramatic spin never detracts from the humour, which is quick, sort of clever at moments, and often very dry (in a good way). There are a few nods to bodily functions/modern concepts but the film thankfully never goes for the full toilet humour or pop-culture reference angle, nor does it try to cater to children at the expense of the adult viewer. All in all, a very entertaining ride, and well worth a watch (or a re-watch)! I recommend watching at least a couple of episodes of the show first, though, because it'll give you a better sense of the characters and make their arcs in the film that much more satisfying.

"Dragon Hunters" was an entertaining movie.Even if this is anything extraordinary or a life-changing experience, it is still a highly enjoyable adventure film with likable characters and a funny plot.The animation is pretty good, with impressive and imaginative sceneries, not to mention the stylish character design. There is some notorious influence from Pixar in what concerns to the main aesthetic principle used in the characters, but the overall result is pretty good. Even in the parts where the story seems to follow a predictable pattern, the visual originality of the scenes makes this interesting and worth watching.This is a good movie, being highly recommendable for the family viewing.

This one had been languishing on my netflix queue for the longest time for reasons that I never could quite pin down. It's not Pixar. It's not Disney. It's not anime.And the story seemed so simple. A lot of people seemed to comment on that. Just the same, I didn't erase it from the queue.So finally, I clicked on it.Just the opening Graphics alone held me spellbound. A world of floating islands, drifting ruins, flying forests, castles high in the sky with darkling clouds below. . .and a dragon. A hero and his friend, a spunky Princess and. . .a very strange dog.The story is straightforward-- a standard Slay-the-dragon quest with the usual lessons about Responsibility, Friendship and Bravery. We've all seen it done many times. But this one has a soulful elegance to it.The big shouldered Hero warrior has simple lines, but the expressions on his face speak volumes about honesty and gravitas especially when he remembers his childhood.His friend Gwizdo is the perfect fulcrum of adult humor, sarcasm and Guilty Conscience. His laugh inducing lines were never out of place.And the Princess is just adorable.I loved this as an adult. And its simplicity speaks with wordless directness to children.To call the storyline 'simple' is unfair: Call it 'Uncluttered'. And the visual vistas are simply astounding in their detail and majesty.Whether you have Children or Not--Just Watch it.

Well, my title sums it up. The computer graphics are top-notch, I dare say they can compete with Pixar's. There are some scenes in there that are jaw-dropping, especially when combined with the musical score. The only thing that bothered me is that the choreography of some scenes is so spastic that only people with severe ADD could enjoy them. One can only sweep around the camera so much and so often before it becomes annoying.The story however is not top-notch. The characters all give the impression of being mish-mashes of predecessors from various older animated films. One particular character's personality suddenly changes completely without any valid reason. The result is that none of the characters are particularly interesting, because they just try to be so much at once that they end up being compromises.Children will probably love this just for the awesome visuals and the simple story, and will not notice the inconsistencies. Adults can enjoy this by turning off their brain and letting themselves be awed by the stunning visuals. If you don't care about eye-candy, you may want to stay away from this one.P.S.: Yes, this film features floating islands very reminiscent of Avatar, but remember that Dragon Hunters is one year older.