The Flight of Dragons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Flight of Dragons |
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US DVD cover
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| Directed by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. |
| Produced by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. |
| Written by | Romeo Muller (screenplay) Peter Dickinson (book) Gordon R. Dickson (novel) |
| Starring | John Ritter Victor Buono James Gregory James Earl Jones Harry Morgan |
| Music by | Maury Laws Don McLean |
| Studio | Rankin/Bass Productions Topcraft |
| Distributed by | ABC Lorimar Television Telepictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | August 17, 1982 (United Kingdom) August 20, 1982 (USA) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States Japan |
| Language | English |
The Flight of Dragons is an animated fantasy film from 1982. It was made by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.. The movie mixes ideas from a book called The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson and a novel called The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson.
Famous actors like John Ritter and James Earl Jones lent their voices to the characters. The story is about a brave journey to stop an evil wizard. He wants to control the world using dark magic. A big idea in the film is whether science and magic can exist together. This is explored through a character named Peter Dickinson. He is a man from the 20th century who gets pulled into a magical world.
The film first came out on video in the United Kingdom on August 17, 1982. It later aired on ABC in the USA on August 2, 1986. Warner Brothers released it on DVD in 2009. The opening song for the movie is sung by Don McLean.
Contents
The Story of the Film
In a time long ago, filled with medieval fantasy and amazing creatures, the Green Wizard Carolinus noticed something. Magic was slowly disappearing from the world. People were starting to believe more in logic and science.
Carolinus called his three wizard brothers together. He suggested they combine their powers. Their goal was to create a "last realm of magic." This special place would be hidden from the rest of the world. The Blue Wizard Solarius, who controlled the skies and oceans, agreed. The Golden Wizard Lo Tae Zhao, who ruled light and air, also agreed.
However, the Red Wizard Ommadon, who was a master of black magic and evil, had a different plan. He wanted to fill humans with fear and greed. He hoped this would make them use their science to destroy themselves.
Since wizards were not allowed to fight each other, Carolinus came up with an idea. He proposed sending a group of heroes on a quest. Their mission was to steal Ommadon's crown, which was the source of his power.
The group included a brave knight named Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe. Carolinus's young dragon friend, Gorbash, also joined them. Solarius gave them a special shield that could stop dark magic. Lo Tae Zhao gave them a magic flute that could make dragons fall asleep.
Carolinus needed a leader for the quest. He asked the ancient magical force of Antiquity for help. Antiquity told him to look 1,000 years into the future. There, he would find a man of science who was related to a legendary hero.
In the late 20th century, in Boston, Carolinus found Peter Dickinson. Peter was a former scientist who now designed board games. He loved dragons very much. Carolinus brought Peter back in time and asked him to join the quest. Peter quickly became fond of Princess Melisande, who was Carolinus's ward.
Ommadon sent his dragon, Bryagh, to capture Peter. During Peter's rescue, one of Carolinus's spells went wrong. Peter accidentally merged with Gorbash, and Peter's mind took over the dragon's body.
Peter knew nothing about being a dragon. Carolinus's older dragon friend, Smrgol, became his teacher. The movie explores the idea of magic versus science here. Smrgol taught Peter how dragons fly and breathe fire. Peter, with his science background, could explain these abilities using scientific rules.
As the quest continued, the heroes faced many dangers. They survived an attack by scary creatures called Sand Murks. A talking wolf named Aragh, an archer named Danielle, and an elf named Giles joined their party.
As the group got closer to Ommadon's land, Danielle and Sir Orrin were captured by an ogre. Peter almost died trying to save them. But Smrgol rescued him, defeating the ogre. Sadly, Smrgol lost his own life in the fight.
In the Red Wizard's realm, the group faced the Worm of Sligoff. Peter destroyed it by setting fire to the sulfuric acid it produced. Ommadon then cast a spell to make the group lose all hope. Peter used Solarius's shield to push the spell away.
Next, Ommadon sent many dragons to kill the heroes. But Giles played Lo Tae Zhao's magic flute. It made all the dragons, including Peter, fall asleep. Bryagh stayed awake and killed Giles, Aragh, and Danielle. Sir Orrin bravely killed Bryagh, but he also died from his wounds.
When Ommadon appeared, Peter managed to separate himself from Gorbash. He remembered a science rule called impenetrability. Peter then defeated Ommadon by using science and logic. He argued against the wizard's magic and denied that magic even existed.
This act destroyed Ommadon. It also brought the other heroes back to life. The magical realm was then able to fully form. Because Peter had denied all magic, he was separated from this realm forever. But not before he woke Melisande with a kiss. He also left her Ommadon's crown.
Melisande had fallen in love with Peter. She begged Carolinus to let her join him. Back in 20th century Boston, Peter was selling the magic flute and shield to a pawnbroker. Suddenly, Melisande walked into the shop, carrying the crown. The two embraced, happy to be together.
Voice Actors
- Victor Buono as Aragh
- James Gregory as Smrgol and Bryagh
- James Earl Jones as Ommadon
- Harry Morgan as Carolinus
- John Ritter as Peter Dickinson
- Larry Storch as the pawnbroker
- Don Messick as Lo Tae Zhao, Giles the Elf
- Bob McFadden as Gorbash and Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe
- Alexandra Stoddart as the Princess Milisande
- Nellie Bellflower as Danielle
- Paul Frees as Solarius the Blue Wizard, Antiquity (uncredited)
Other voices were provided by Ed Peck and Jack Lester.
Who Made the Film
| Producers | Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass |
| Associate producers | Masaki Iizuka, Lee Dannacher |
| Screenplay by | Romeo Muller |
| Based on The Flight of Dragons by | Peter Dickinson |
| Additional story material from The Dragon and the George by | Gordon R. Dickson |
| Design by | Wayne Anderson |
| Original music by | Maury Laws |
| Title song by | Jules Bass, Maury Laws |
| Title song performed by | Don McLean |
| Additional material written by | Jeffrey Walker |
| Animation coordinator | Toru Hara |
| Storyboard and Animation directors | Katsuhisa Yamada, Fumihiko Takayama |
How the Film Was Released
The Flight of Dragons has been released in many ways since 1982. It was available on VHS tapes and also on LaserDisc. Some VHS copies were even made from the LaserDisc version. There was also a Betamax tape release.
In 1996, Warner Home Video released the film as part of their Classic Tales VHS series. This also came out in Australia a year later. The Warner Archive Collection released the movie on DVD on November 17, 2009. In December 2017, Warner Archive said they would release the film on Blu-ray in 2018.
The Film's Music
The original music for the film was created by Maury Laws. The main theme song, also called "The Flight of Dragons," was written by Jules Bass and Maury Laws. It was sung by Don McLean.
An official soundtrack album was never released for the film. However, a composer named Carl Johnson recreated some of the music for a planned live-action movie. Even though that movie was put on hold, three of the finished music tracks were released online.
Live-Action Movie Plans
In September 2012, there was an announcement about a live-action film version of The Flight of Dragons. This project was later canceled. A team was working on it for a 2015 release date. People like Maury Laws, Chris Achilleos, and Wayne Anderson were involved. This planned movie was going to be loosely based on The Dragon Knight by Gordon R. Dickson.
See also
In Spanish: El vuelo de los dragones para niños
