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Videos of Dragons
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Dragon videos and movies.
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Disney loved to mix live action with animation (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), but this 1977 effort falls on its face. The turn-of-the-century story concerns an orphaned boy whose only friend is a cartoon monster. While the latter is entertainingly rendered, the rest of the film strains to be enchanting and the cast overreaches in a big way. Not for anybody over the age of ten. --Tom Keogh
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This story of a winsome orphan and his guardian dragon features an Academy Award-nominated score and song, Helen Reddy's "Candle on the Water." The combination of a live-action story with an animated figure was innovative in 1977, and the green dragon with pink wings will still charm youngsters today. However, its plot has the boy running from a nasty family to whom he's been sold into slavery, as well as an evil magician who tries to steal the dragon for his parts. These dark story lines may scare or bore younger children, who only want to see Elliot the dragon belch fire and give Pete rides on his back. And older children who might appreciate the plot may scoff at the relatively crude animation. This leaves a rather narrow audience window of about ages 3 to 7. A cast of veterans includes Shelley Winters, Mickey Rooney, and Red Buttons, who all turn in the hammiest of performances. Acting newcomer Reddy demonstrates both why her acting career never took off and why her singing career did. (Lines like "You're a bunch of superstitious ding-dongs" don't give her much help.) However, her sometimes awkward performance as the lonely lighthouse keeper who gives the boy a home provides the film with its heart. Bottom line: it's a keeper for diehard Disney fans, dragon lovers, and those who remember this movie fondly from their childhood. --Kimberly Heinrichs
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Dragon Tales is an entertaining and educational animated series for children 3 to 7 years old that takes place in "Dragonland," a magical land where friendly dragons talk, play, and interact with two children named Max and Emmy. This trio of Dragon Tales adventures celebrates the virtue of perseverance. "Dragon Drop" finds the Dragon Fair in full swing at the Dragonland school. Cassie works on her arts and crafts entry and Ord practices for the pie-eating contest, but Zak and Wheezie are full of trepidation about the sackberry toss. Since Zak and Wheezie don't know how to catch, Emmy patiently tutors them, but the pair becomes frustrated and wonders if careful listening, practice, and perseverance will pay off in time. In "Knot a Problem," Max and Emmy are summoned to Dragonland to help find a missing pony. Max and Ord find the pony and then lose him again thanks to Max's inability to tie a knot. Eventually, Quetzal's poem about tying knots and some dire circumstances prompt Max to put aside his anger and frustration and make one final knot-tying attempt. In "Rope Trick," Zak and Wheezie are learning to skip rope when their jump rope inadvertently lands in Quetzal's special potion and springs to life. To reverse the curse, Zak and Wheezie must jump over the rope three times. The pair enters an intensive learning session with Emmy that proves very trying. An appealing "Dragon Tune" appears between each episode and encourages kids to get up, stretch, and wiggle throughout this 42-minute video. --Tami Horiuchi
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From the makers of Sesame Street comes a trio of animated cartoons that creatively impart life lessons to the preschool set through fantasy stories and catchy music. Each 12-minute tale, based on the popular television series, transports Emmy and her brother, Max, to Dragon Land. There a community of dragons (who come in all the colors of bubble gum) helps them tackle common sibling conundrums. Today's lesson on sharing is a difficult one for oversized Ord, a lovable dragon who learns that being selfish results in a one-way ticket to loneliness. Kiki, the baby of the dragon clan, gives her friends an opportunity to share their sleepy-time talents when her naptime routine is disrupted. And when Cassie, the pretty-in-pink dragon, meets a talking crayon, she discovers that holding on tight to possessions takes all the fun out of owning them. Couched in sunny humor, Dragon Tales forgoes preaching but offers messages that empower kids to become problem solvers. Best of all, following each episode is a 60-second song to reinforce the theme while inspiring a few wiggles. --Lynn Gibson
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The "Roller Coaster Dragon" has come to Dragonland, and Emmy, Max, and their dragon friends can't wait for a ride. When they're forced to wait in line for an agonizing 10 minutes, Wheezie's impatience is almost unbearable. Can the group help Wheezie learn to wait patiently? Max's anger is out of control in "The Fury Is Out on This One"--it's so hard being young and outmatched in every Dragonland game. In his rage, Max accidentally releases a fury, a little monster that feeds on anger and can only be kept in control by taming one's temper. Quetzal, Emmy, and Zak offer helpful suggestions on anger management, but only Max can put them into practice. "Quetzal's Magic Pop-Up Book" opens the gateway to a world where imagination magically becomes reality. Emmy, Max, and the dragons are enthusiastic participants, but the group soon finds that its impetuous imaginings lead straight to chaos. A little plot planning and turn taking results in a more ordered story that satisfies everyone. Two fun dragon tunes separate the three episodes: "Pretend" stresses the strength of imagination and pretending, and "Zoo" encourages lots of active animal impersonations. What a great way to teach kids ages 3 to 7 about imagination, patience, anger management, and cooperation. --Tami Horiuchi
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Three big cheers for three animated cartoons depicting two friendly kids and their magical dragon buddies encouraging each other to learn new skills. In each 12-minute episode, Emmy and her little brother, Max, wish their way to Dragon Land, a sunny, sparkling place where Barneyesque dragons accompany the kind children on various life-lesson adventures. Zak, half of a two-headed dragon, works through his embarrassment to learn swimming; Cassie, a favorite among three- to six-year-old girls, learns roller skating out of necessity; and the rather large, rather daft Ord overcomes his initial disappointment with bike riding. From the creators of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales easily breaks through the monotonous contrivances that sadly muddy so many other well-drawn but poorly executed kid videos. This upbeat television series relies neither on pun-filled dialogue nor sourpuss friends, impossible bullies nor stereotyped siblings to carry the action. Rather, it combines smart, realistic dialogue (regardless of the fantasy element), beautiful animation, and creative storytelling. Other nice touches include stand-up-and-sing segments (each about 2 minutes long) between episodes and a 3-part credit roll at the tape's end. --Liane Thomas
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