Over the years thanks to Game of Thrones, HBO viewers associate dragons with a quasi-Great Britian. But for a lot of people, dragons evolved in China. This goes back further than when Bruce Lee became known as The Dragon. Dragons are ingrained in country’s history and art. While the young adult novel Dragonkeeper was written by the Australian Carole Wilkinson, the CGI animation adaptation was produced in China (and also Spain). This cultural exchange plays out well on the screen. The story gets delves into the relationship between dragons, their keepers and the people that covet the power of the dragons.
At one point in Chinese history, the dragons joined up with select people to fight back against powerful necromancers. After this battle, the bond between dragon and people went bad. The dragons became captives by those wishing to be powerful. Into this world arrives a baby known as Ping (voiced by Mayalinee Griffiths). She’s sold into slavery to a leader who has a pair of dragons trapped in his dungeon. People have a sense that she has special powers. She really gets a sense of herself when she falls into the dragons’ lair. Instead of being eaten up like the bones on the floor seem to hint, Ping has the ability to communicate with the dragons including Danzi (Love Actually‘s Bill Nighy). The dragons know that they can trust her with their only egg. She needs to escape from the place with the egg so it can be placed in magical waters of life. This is the last dragon egg so there’s a lot riding on her. It’s not a simple journey since someone close to the emperor wants the egg to transform them into a necromancer. Can Ping carry off such a legendary task?
Dragonkeeper is a captivating film. The CGI animation looks great as you see details such as the story of dragons on the walls in a castle. You don’t get too lost in the mythos. Ping is an interesting character with her magical powers and ability to talk to her. Mayalinee Griffiths’ voice fits the character. The dragons flow across the screen. If your kids are into dragons, the story will have them interested. The story is interesting enough for adults. The necromancers versus dragons element elevates the story from other animated dragon movies I’ve seen. Dragonkeeper is a fantasy tale that keeps the magic flowing.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer looks good on the DVD. The animators did a fine job of using shafts of light on the background and characters. The Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 in English. The mix sounds fine for the fantasy action. The movie is Closed Captioned.
Trailer (1:38) shows the how Ping becomes a dragonkeeper.
Shout! Studios present Dragonkeeper. Directed by Salvador Simó and Li Jianping. Screenplay by Carole Wilkinson, Pablo Castrillo, Ignacio Ferreras and Rosanna Checcini. Starring Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Anthony Howell & Mayalinee Griffiths. Running Time: 98 minutes. Release Date: August 27, 2024.
