Firebreather

This has been on the back of my head for a long time now. I remember having seen a movie of a high-school guy with a cool blonde quiff who could spit fire. And there it is, a short movie about the clash between the humans and the legendary Kaijus in a futuristic setting, where the protagonist obviously suffers an internal conflict as he is half human and half "monster". Most of the story seems to be left unexplained, but it doesn't take away that this is top notch animation for the time it was made, the characters are memorable and, despite all the clichés, I know this is a lowkey classic. Potential contender for what could be a great animated series.

Firebreather can be said that a good animation. But it's not a great one. Mostly because of a fact that doesn't make sense. A child born with a dragon? I can understand that they wanted to create a character with the ability to produce fire, but it's not the perfect way to do it. If you think carefully, its not possible. How can a woman can have a child with a dragon? It entirely doesn't make any sense.

Except for this fact, Firebreather is kind of a good animation. If they could do something that makes sense, it'd be better than this.

Stumbled upon this flick by accident while reading reviews of other animations in a similar genre. I'll make this short and sweet. The pros of the movie is the CG graphics, the cons also include a super simplified and sometime barely evident history of each character and the under-developing of pretty much everything.

This is a good Saturday morning time killer or in general a snack for those who want some action vs. elongated dialogs between villains and heroes. Think of this analogy; Watching Firebreather is like playing Need For Speed Underground vs. Gran Turismo.

The common denominator I would say is the young superhero and the giant monsters. Fans of teen hero series such as Teen Titans, Young Justice and Batman beyond, as well as appreciators of the classics such as King Kong, Ultra Man, and (dare I say) the Power rangers may also enjoy this animation.

Nothing special but overall fun to watch.

Firebreather is one of those childhood movies that I thought for sure wasn't gonna hold up - knowing what I know about films and storytelling, and how far the art can be taken. But I was very pleasantly surprised to give the movie two rewatches in a single week - after not watching it in about 12 or so years - and find myself enjoying and appreciating the movie more than I ever did. The movie isn't for everyone, and it's UNDENIABLY filled with the angst of teenage boys that want to be cool, but if you don't mind an action-adventure filled with kaiju then this could be your thing. There is genuinely a lot to love here.

First, the presentation. The art direction is really unique with some really cool, but eerie, kaiju designs and even Duncan himself has a really great look to him. The environments look great, from the high school to the canyons. The cinematography is also really stellar. It's slick, but keeps focus on the action in a really compelling and epic way. But then there's the animation in motion. The animation can be quite inconsistent. At times characters move really smoothly, in a believable fashion even. Then there's times when the animation is a bit janky and almost puppet-like. It can be a bit jarring.

Firebreather also has a pretty good soundtrack. A catchy theme song, that's pretty much the typical badass rock song you here in many action-fantasy animations, but with a bit more angst. The more low-key tracks, such as what we hear in the first seconds of the movie, the music we hear in the canyons and even calmer moments at the school have a mellow and almost dreamlike nature to them. The overall atmosphere of the movie is also pretty well done, as it fits with the slightly mature story. The movie juggles between light-hearted, high school teen drama and a more eerie kaiju fantasy. It's really compelling.

Finally, there's the story and writing. Firebreather has a pretty good narrative premise, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. I think the story and plot is decent. Duncan's character arc is good and he does come with a bit of nuance. What the story struggles with is the world around Duncan. There are certain things that aren't explained all too well and the worldbuilding feels a bit sloppy. But what REALLY impressed me about watching Firebreather, after so many years, is how great the writing is. The dialogue in this movie is honestly the best part of the whole thing. There's so many clever lines - backed up by great performances - and there's just a suave feeling to it. The writing is sharp, sometimes mature, and just really entertaining. Although one thing that plagues the story and writing on a slightly obnoxious level is the whole theme of 'father figures'. There are quite a few times when the conversation of growing up without father figures feels forced or heavy-handed. At times, it makes the overall theme of the story come off as kind of cringeworthy. And the story unfortunately suffers from that, too. But in more positive terms, there are also some REALLY great scenes and setpieces throughout the movie. These scenes showcase the strong animations and presentation, as well as the writing chops that the movie has going for it.

Firebreather is a good time if you're looking for an underrated gem of an action-adventure animation. It's got some great action, punchy writing, a good atmosphere, some mature themes, and a mostly great look. If you can get past some of the worldbuilding shortcomings and the teenage angst, Firebreather is a nice little treat and a forgotten Cartoon Network classic.

The movie is also based off a series of comics, if you're looking to dig deeper into the world of Firebreather. Although, said comics are a lot more gritty and unapologetic than the film, which is a bit more sanitized.

Not being one to turn away from animated movies, I sat down to watch "Firebreather" with no particular expectations, as I had no idea what the story was or who did the voice acting.

My initial impression of the movie is that the graphics were fairly "sterile", in lack of better words. The animators had skipped on minute details, and there was a sense of work in progress to the background most of the time. Now, that being said, I am not saying that the movie wasn't nicely made, because the graphics did look cool, I just personally could have used more details in the backgrounds and scenery.

The story is about Duncan, who stands out in a crown because of his orange-tinted skin and scale-like texture on his skin, trying to fit into the new school and community where he just moved with his mother. Upon being bullied at school, Duncan discovers that he is able to breath forth fire, and that sets things into escalation, and Duncan finds out the truth about who his father really is.

There is a lot of action in "Firebreather", but the story is also nice in the aspect of having to find your place even when standing out in a crowd, plus there was also a side story of love and friendship. However, the main storyline, or at least what they put the most effort into, was the situation between humans and the Kaju. The subplots were skimmed only, not really given the proper attention to flesh them out in a satisfying manner.

Personally, I wasn't overly impressed with "Firebreather", as there are far better animated and far better story-driven animations available. But I am sure that "Firebreather" will appeal greatly to boys in the age 6 to 12.