The Flight of Dragons

The Flight of Dragons
US DVD Cover
Directed by	Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. Fumihiko Takayama Katsuhisa Yamada
Produced by	Rankin/Bass
Written by	Romeo Muller (Screenplay) Peter Dickinson (Novel) Gordon R. Dickson (Novel)
Starring	John Ritter Bob McFadden Don Messick James Earl Jones
Music by	Maury Laws Don McLean
Distributed by	ABC Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	August 17, 1982 Video Release (USA) August 3, 1986 (USA)
Running time	92 min.
Country	United States Japan
Language	English

The Flight of Dragons is a 1982 animated film produced by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. and loosely combining the speculative natural history book of the same name (1979) by Peter Dickinson with the novel The Dragon and the George (1976) by Gordon R. Dickson. The film centres upon a quest undertaken to stop an evil wizard who plans to rule the world by dark magic. A major theme within the story is the question of whether science and magic can co-exist. This is told mostly through the experience of character Peter Dickinson, drawn from the 20th Century into the magical realm.

Released direct to video on August 17, 1982, it was aired as an ABC Channel 'Movie of the Week' in August 3, 1986, and released by Warner Brothers as a made-to-order DVD in the US on 17 November 2009 as part of the "Warner Archive Collection".

The opening song is sung by Don McLean.

Plot

The opening title.

The 'Green Wizard' Carolinus (Harry Morgan) discovers magic failing as humanity embraces science, and summons his magic brothers Lo Tae Zhao (Don Messick) the Golden Wizard; Solarius (Paul Frees) the Blue Wizard; and Ommadon (James Earl Jones) the Red Wizard, accompanied by their dragons Shen Tsu, Lunarian, and Bryagh (James Gregory), to whom he explains that the world's magic is dying and outlines a plan to save it by creating a 'Last Realm of Magic' wherein all magical beings can live, hidden from the rest of the world. Rather than join the others, Ommadon instead threatens to take control of the world himself; whereupon the other wizards decide to seize and destroy Ommadon's crown, the source of his powers. Since the magic brothers cannot war on each other, they volunteer Carolinus's dragon Gorbash (Bob McFadden when not Ritter-as-Peter) along with the knight Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe (Bob McFadden), to begin a quest to do so, with Solarius giving a magic shield to deflect dark magic and Lo Tae Zhao giving a magic flute that will lure dragons to sleep. Requiring a third protagonist, Carolinus summons Peter Dickinson (John Ritter), whom he finds in a pawnshop explaining a game he has created whose pieces resemble the wizards and Gorbash. Having arrived in the past, Peter becomes enamoured of Princess Milisande (Alexandra Stoddart), Carolinus's adopted daughter.

Ommadon, learning the others' plan, sends his dragon Bryagh to capture Peter; whereupon Carolinus casts a spell to save him, which mistakenly combines Peter's mind with the body of Gorbash. Knowing nothing about being a dragon or about magic, Peter is mentored by an older dragon named Smrgol (James Gregory). During their journey they are joined by the wolf Aragh (Victor Buono), a woodland elf named Giles, and the archer 'Danielle of the Woodlands' (Nellie Bellflower). The dichotomy of magic and science appears when Smrgol teaches Peter how to be a dragon in magical terms, whilst Peter explains them with principles of science; and in later approaches of each character to similar subjects. In Carolinus's home Princess Milisande falls into a trance and views the protagonists magically from afar. At an inn near Ommadon's realm, an Ogre captures Sir Orrin and Danielle. Smrgol teaches Peter how to defeat the Ogre, but ends up defeating the Ogre himself after Peter is subdued. After killing the Ogre, Smrgol dies of his injuries, combined with old age. Upon entering the Red Wizard's realm, the heroes face off against a giant worm that excretes "foul magic", which the scientific Peter recognizes as Sulfuric Acid, followed by an evil spell designed to induce hopelessness, which Peter also defeats using a magical shield. When Ommadon sends an army of dragons against the heroes, Giles plays a flute given to Carolinus by Lo Tae Zhao which puts them all to sleep, except Bryagh, who seems to kill Giles, Aragh, and Danielle but is slain by Sir Orrin, who also dies soonafter. When Ommadon appears on the battlefield, Peter separates himself from Gorbash to confront him, and it is Peter's explanations of science against Ommadon's declarations of magic that destroy the latter; whereupon the others are restored to life and the "Last Realm of Magic" takes shape.

Peter returns to his own time, taking the flute and a shield given by Solarius, which he sells to the pawn shop owner. He is then joined by Princess Milisande, who comes bearing Ommadon's crown, and the two embrace.

Cast

• Nellie Bellflower - Danielle
• Victor Buono - Aragh the Wolf
• Paul Frees - Solarius (uncredited)
• James Gregory - Bryagh the Dragon, Smrgol the Dragon (both credited), Antiquity (uncredited)
• James Earl Jones - Ommadon
• Jack Lester -
• Bob McFadden - Gorbash the Dragon, Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe
• Don Messick - Giles of the Treetops, Lo Tae Zhao
• Harry Morgan - Carolinus
• Ed Peck -
• John Ritter - Peter Dickenson
• Alexandra Stoddart - Princess Milisande
• Larry Storch - Pawnbroker

Crew

Producers	Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Associate producers	Masaki Iizuka, Lee Dannacher
Screenplay by	Romeo Muller
Based on The Flight of Dragons by	Peter Dickinson
Additional story material from The Dragon and the George by	Gordon R. Dickson
Design by	Wayne Anderson
Original score by	Maury Laws
Title song by	Jules Bass, Maury Laws
Title song performed by	Don McLean
Additional material written by	Jeffrey Walker
Animation coordinator	Toru Hara
Storyboard and Animation directors	Katsuhisa Yamada, Fumihiko Takayama

Reviews

Filmsy.com said of the film, "Animated fantasy films geared for family viewing just aren’t made like this anymore... The voice acting in this movie is excellent, to say the least... Though the animation might seem a bit “dated”, it remains beautiful by 1982 standards", "The dialogue is surprisingly intelligent and may confuse some children but it is nice to see an animated film that will stimulate adult minds a little... The voice cast are all great and I can’t find a single fault with any of them", whilst 'The Unknown Movies' said "There may not be a strong constant thread in The Flight Of Dragons, but all its moments of warmth, imagination, and interest combine to make magic."

Other reviews were less positive: "I'm sure fans of The Flight of Dragons, sick of looking at crappy downloads or worn VHS copies, will be satisfied with what's here, but if you didn't grow up with this one, it's best left alone."

Distribution

Various VHS editions of the film have been released since its debut in 1982. There was also a LaserDisc release from which some VHS copies were produced. The LaserDisc release was made by PolyGram Video,there was also a Betamax release. A DVD was released (available only in the U.S.) under the Warner Archive brand on November 17, 2009.

An unofficial live-action fan film was announced in September 2012 on FlightOfDragonsMovie.com

Soundtrack

The original score was composed by Maury Laws. The film's theme song, also entitled "The Flight of Dragons", was written and composed by Jules Bass and Maury Laws, and performed by Don McLean. An official soundtrack was never released.

Live Action Adaptation

In September 2012, an official live action film was announced. A production team is set to work on the project for a 2014 release date, including contributions from Maury Laws, Chris Achilleos, and Wayne Anderson. The forthcoming film is loosely based on The Dragon Knight by Gordon R. Dickson.

See also

• List of animated feature films

External links

• The Flight of Dragons at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wonderful World of Rankin-Bass
• The Flight of Dragons Live Action Movie; 2014
• The Flight of Dragons Wiki
• Critical analysis of the movie's theme of "magic versus science"