Director: Tomer Eshed
Writer: Johnny Smith (Screenplay) Cornelia Funke (Book)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Felicity Jones, Freddie Highmore, Patrick Stewart, Nonso Anozie, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal
Plot: A young silver dragon teams up with a mountain spirit and an orphaned boy on a journey through the Himalayas in search for the Rim of Heaven.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Dragon Rider starts when the humans start to move closer to the hidden dragon world, young dragon Firedrake wants to help find safety for the dragons, leaving with his best friend Sorrell in search of the Rim of Heaven. The adventure takes them to London where they find Ben an orphan who is on the run, who pretends to be a Dragon Rider.
The reappearance of a dragon has grabbed the attention of mechanical dragon Nettlebrand who has been waiting to feed on the dragons, leading to a race against time to save the dragons before it is too late.
Thoughts on Dragon Rider
Characters – Firedrake is the young dragon that has always dreamed of seeing more of the world, he wants to prove himself to his kind and when the humans start getting close, he decides to try and find them a new home, he is naïve in nature, too welcoming to the human and must learn to be the brave hero he was always meant to be. Sorrell is the brownie that joins Firedrake on the adventure, she is a tough fighter despite her size and doesn’t trust Ben at any stage of the adventure. Ben is the orphan that is on the streets committing crimes, who pretends to be a dragon rider to escape and along the way he learns about moving on from the tragedy he has been through. Nettlebrand is the mechanical dragon bulit to fight and destroy dragons, he has been waiting for years to find a new victim and chases Firedrake around the world for more dragons.
Story – The story here follows a young dragon that goes in search of a new home, wanting to prove himself to elders, in an adventure that takes them around the world, while being hunted by a dragon eater. This is a nice story about finding your place in the world, mixing the idea that the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ movies happened in this world, without people knowing the dragons are real. We do get a host of mythical creatures that Firedrake meets along the way, showing us that not everyone is the evil as they believe them to be. We get to learn that not everybody is who you think they are, and opening up can help find peace.
Themes – Dragon Rider is an animated adventure film that will take the mythical creatures around the world in search of a new home, on a journey which will let them meet other mythical creatures along the way. If you are a fan of learning about the creatures that might well have once lived, this will give you stories about them still being around.
Dragon Rider is a fun family adventure film that will get laughs and an enjoyable number of mythical creatures.
