Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real

I stumbled across this on youtube, and being a bit of a dragon freak, I gave it a watch. Firstly, the dragons are fantastic and the Walking With Dinosaurs style documentary sections are beautifully done. It's just a shame that when it comes to the humans that the worst actor was given the most screen time! I have seen a thousand B-movie actors who could do a better job than Paul Hilton. In fact, just about every other actor in this film could have done a better job! He was like a private investigator out of the least classy B rated crime flick ever. For me, he honestly let the whole film down. I guess his script had a lot to answer for too. Surely someone must have said during the recording of Dr Tanner's dialogue and voice-overs "there is no way any self-respecting biologist would speak/act in this way". Every time he came on screen I cringed. That said, Ian Holm's Attenbourgh-esque narration of the dragon's evolutionary journey was fantastic and the special effects and dragon designs were marvellous. And yes, the theories put forward wouldn't stand up to any real scrutiny... but if you are watching a fictitious documentary about the evolution of dragons throughout the ages, I think you can afford a little suspension of disbelief...

This would have received a 9 from me if it weren't for Dr Tanner's character.

Dragons appear in the histories of many distant civilizations, enough to raise the speculation of their existence. This film documents in a very logical way, the finding of a dragon frozen in a Carpathian Mountain ice cave. The wildly imaginative story of how this dragon lived and died is the basis for this wonderful film. The c.g.i. images of dragons in their imagined habitats is simply outstanding. Though based on legend, "Dragon's World" is far more entertaining than most reality shows, which are limited by facts. These are not merely bones in a cave, they tell a story that spans the ages, and lets your imagination take flight with the magnificent flying, fire breathing beasts. Highly recommended. - MERK

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 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.