Concerned about the prospects of logic and magic existing side-by-side in harmony, a Medieval wizard summons the help of a twentieth century board gamer inventor who believes in dragons in this popular animated feature film. The movie is adapted from two separate books about dragons: one that speculates the existence of dragons and their biology, and the other a more straightforward fantasy adventure yarn. Memorable as many of the action sequences are, the film is at its best when channeling the more speculative book. The pseudoscience behind dragons, how they breath fire and how they fly is endlessly fascinating. The film also crosses some curious science fiction territory as the game board inventor also gets to experience how a dragon mind works after the wizard accidentally melds him with a dragon. The vast majority of the film though channels the adventure tale, which is significantly less interesting, especially as the characters keep droning on about science versus magic. That said, the film offers some thought-provoking notions in terms of the role of magic in human evolution, such as the idea that television screens were inspired by the crystal balls of fortune tellers and that planes resulted from fairies inspiring humankind to consider flight. The film benefits from some decent vocal work too. Only Harry Morgan disappoints due to the distinctive nature of his voice; he always sounds like Col. Potter from 'M*A*S*H'. James Earl Jones is especially good as the chief villain and John Ritter is perfect as the easily excited protagonist.
Review of The Flight of Dragons
