Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real

I noticed this DVD for sale at Wal-Mart but being impecunious at the time I passed it by. It haunted me so a few days later I went back and spent the not inconsiderable asking price. Prepared to be disappointed, I sat down to watch it. Utter glee followed. I had seen the previous Animal Planet shows on dinosaurs and was suitably impressed. The hard edge of "nature red in tooth and claw" had surprised me in the earlier productions - perhaps I was expecting "Bambi" - and this degree of reality was welcome. Now for "Dragons' World". Is anyone old enough to remember the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie? It's tagline was something like "You will believe a man can fly." After watching "Dragons' World" I can only paraphrase, "You will believe that dragons lived." Produced in the exact manner of its real-life predecessors, including the use of some scenes several times, the flashbacks, the astonishing CGI and a strangely familiar T. rex, the verisimilitude is perfect. Above all the dance and mating of the doomed mountain dragons is alone worth the price of admission. The nearly convincing zoological speculations anchor the whole production. From the beginning we know, as with the dinosaurs, that the dragons are doomed so no one should be surprised by the sadness and tragedy of the story. However, if you love palaeontology, legends and have even a hint of imagination, "Dragons' World" will prove a fine way to spend some time.

The Carpathian Mountains of Romania: hikers exploring this fabled range have stumbled onto a unique find, one that requires an official investigation. Paleontologists arrive to find an ice cave in a glacier, revealed by unseasonably warm weather in the region. Inside, they find the corpses of several 15th century knights and make an amazing discovery; a frozen, yet perfectly preserved body of a creature once thought to be only a myth: a dragon.

So begins the latest foray from the BBC and the Discovery Networks, "Dragon's World: A Fantasy Made Real", with effects by Framestore, the same company that gave us "Walking with Dinosaurs". The story takes a simple concept - what if dragons were real - and runs with the idea, using science to explain how these animals might have existed.

I'm a big fan of the dragon, perhaps the most powerful and inspirational beast of myth, legend, and literature. As a fan of these spectacular beasts, I was practically salivating when I first saw the teaser in January for this program on Animal Planet and have been checking out their website since. It was an exciting thought to think that I would be seeing wyverns taking on T-Rex and winged drakes soaring over snow capped mountains. Dragons were coming to life in the real world.

Personally, I enjoyed the program I saw on Animal Planet, narrated here in the US by Patrick Stewart. Stewart is an excellent narrator, and even he apparently got caught up in the action of the program, actually missing a cue at one point. His narration will be missed when I get the actual program, which I hear is narrated by Ian Holm. The program transitions smoothly between the dragons scenes and the scenes involving the investigation into the dragon corpse. Even the autopsy scenes are done well; I wasn't tempted to go look for a snack during these scenes.

This program is not without it's faults. While I can believe how an animal that can get to be 900+lbs took off, I'm not quite as sold as how they breathed fire. I can see why the writers and producers went with this method - ancient manuscripts describe the dragons' fire in this way - but I prefer the "Reign of Fire" method. I'm also a little wary about how dragons warmed their eggs; somehow, the idea of dragons "cooking" their eggs doesn't appeal to me, but again, according to most ancient literature, this is how it was done. I also felt that the program should have paid more attention to the aquatic and marine dragons, the fabled "wingless" dragons of China.

Perhaps my favorite scene was the mating dance of the mountain dragons, inspired by the rituals of eagles. To see these dragons grasping their claws together and free falling is a sight that anyone would have been awestruck to witness. I was also impressed with the scenes involving the dragon corpse, which actually looked real in many scenes. Usually, when Framestore uses latex models, they somehow can't seem to make them look like anything other than rubber puppets; this was not the case here. In a program where the majority of the dragons were CGI productions, this is a plus.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is a fantasy aficionado, or someone who likes dragons and a good story. I've read one reviewer's comments that maybe that this should have been on the Sci-Fi Channel instead of Animal Planet, but I disagree. As one producer said, this is the ultimate animal, one that is known by nearly all human cultures, from the Inuit in the north to the Aboriginies of Australia. It would have probably been more at home on the Discovery Channel, but considering that the BBC has a contract with Discovery's parent company for programs like this, I'm not complaining. And one must remember that while it is done in the style of a documentary, it is a story; but then, isn't that what a documentary is anyway?

I was expecting a show about the mythological origins of dragons, as well as the observations of real animals or misperceptions of other natural phenomena that may have inspired the myths. Instead, I was presented with a proposed account of the evolution of dragons, as if they were real. The narrator did mention in passing that dragons didn't exist, with such clauses as "if dragons were real," and there may have been a disclaimer at the beginning, which I missed. However, the program gives the impression that dragons did exist at one time and that hikers in the Carpathians actually did discover bodies of dragons and scorched knights. Perhaps the producers weren't really trying to deceive, but the program does seem like a hoax in the making. In any case, whether it had been presented purely as a work of fiction or as alleged science, it didn't belong on Animal Planet. Animal Planet is supposed to be about real animals. The show Animal X tends to push the boundaries a little too much as well, particularly with its spooky narrator who tries to encourage viewers to lower their skepticism. The Sci-Fi Channel or The History Channel would have been a much better choice for broadcasting this show.

All that said, however, this was a very fascinating program. The production values were excellent, and the science behind dragon evolution appears sound. As a "what if" program it's excellent.

The plot of this movie is about a scientist who believes dragons to be real. The first indication is a scorched skull of a T-rex in his museum. Then he is able to explore a cave in the Romanian mountains where the frozen bodies of medieval knights and the remains of an unknown creature were found.

By examining the carcass he finds evidence for an unknown animal that can fly and spit fire. They cococt 'scientific' explanations for these impossible abilities. Everything is underlined by views on the dead bodies and very realistic computer animated scenes of the life of 'real' dragons.

I have to admit having some problems with the genre of this movie. Despite being called a 'documentary' it is pure science fiction. The scientific explanations for a dragon being able to fly and spit fire sound good but do not stand close examination. There is no space here to give detailed comments on this topic.

However I liked this film, because it is innovative despite a simple plot and above all the animated scenes are very realistic. They are at least equal to 'Jurassic Park'.

Altogether everything looks so real and sounds so rational, people without scientific background may think that it is a true story.

The end of the movie is open, we might see Dragon's World II sometimes in the future.

I rented this movie tonight out of curiosity. First I thought this would be some lousy action movie with even lousier effects (think Ice Planet, for example). But I was positively surprised to find out that this science fiction quasi-documentary was actually thoroughly enjoyable.

I am a fan of "Walking With Dinosaurs", and as a fantasy enthusiast, this documentary was right up my alley. Sure I know that dragons weren't real, but the theories provided seemed sound enough to me. And I have to admit, I was touched by the tragedy of the mountain dragons as well as awe-struck by the beauty of the dragons mating, taking the plunge and scorching the ground as they pull up.

As a "what if" documentary this was a 10/10. If somebody wants to complain that this isn't a "real" documentary, they should pay in mind that it was not planned as such. Dragon's World is a different and enjoyable document to see, as long as you don't take everything too seriously.

Besides, you never know...