Review: Dragon Hunters (2008)

[Scott Mendelson]

Dragon Hunters
2008
82 minutes
Not Rated

by Scott Mendelson

Dragon Hunters delivers something that is all too rare in cinema
today. It has the imagination to show images that we have never seen
before. It is a visually rich and emotionally satisfying adventure
movie that deserves to get noticed. It may not have the social/
political subtext and potent sorrow of Wall-E. It may not have the
crackerjack action scenes of Kung Fu Panda. But it does have a visual
vocabulary all its own and there are moments in this film that deserve
to be framed and hung on a wall.

A token amount of plot: Every thirty seasons, a mythical dragon 'the
world-gobbler' returns to wreak death upon the lands of Lord Arnold.
All of his subjects have fled in terror, leaving him alone with his
orphaned niece, Zoe, who someday wishes to be a dragon hunter.
Meanwhile, penny-ante monster-slayer Lian Chu (Forest Whitaker, doing
his very best impression of John Goodman) and his scheming sidekick
Gwizdo (voice over veteran Rob Paulsen) accidentally find themselves
hired to slay said 'world gobbler'. So, completely unprepared for the
task but bound by honor (and the promise of gold), Lian Chu and Gwizdo
set out to do the impossible, little knowing that Zoe has snuck along
to live out her dreams of dragon-slaying.

So the plot isn't anything out of the ordinary. But the tone makes a
difference, as the stench of death and failure pervade their journey.
While there is much comic relief from Gwizdo (he's the usual tiny,
fast-talking sidekick), the mood is one of hopelessness and
inevitability. When Gwizdo acts out in a cowardly fashion, it is not
because he is cowardly, merely because he doesn't want to watch his
best friend die in battle. The animation is more than good enough, but
it should be noted how much of the character development is rendered
in near silence, with subtle facial animation rather than over the top
monologues or zany expressions. I'm also fond of a mid-film battle
between our heroes and a wonderfully creative monster that is made
entirely out of hundreds of red bats.

But what really stands out in this film is the world in which this
battle takes place. The entire world is one of floating islands and
various floating landmasses, where characters literally hop from one
city to the next. This provides for countless gorgeous shots of our
heroes standing in the clouds as the entire world literally revolves
around them. And when they do get to the land of the World Gobbler...
well, that would be telling, but it is a breathtaking image that I
have never seen before. And when we do finally meet the World Gobbler,
the film does not cop out. He is gigantic and terrifying, truly a
creature of nightmares (there is a climactic moment of the dragon
standing in front of fire that made me laugh out loud at its sheer
visual perfection).

Dragon Hunters is France's official submission for 'Best Animated
Film' at this year's Oscars. For what it's worth, it is easily one of
the three best cartoons I have seen this year. Regardless of its
awards-chasing, it is a visual treasure and a solid adventure fantasy
for all ages. It is well worth hunting down.

Grade: B+