The Flight of Dragons: One of the Best Animated Films Ever

When does one become a legend? It is when one has made a huge impact and a big difference to a large group of people. It is also when one probably existed in one point of time like dragons perhaps or the animated film, The Flight of Dragons. Yes, only people in my generation in the age of around middle 30s and up have seen this back in our TV screens in 1982 and, it has etched and occupied itself in our fondest memories and in our hearts. It is one of the best animated films ever. Why do I say that this has become legend? Well, it is because of the fact that it is that good but not on DVD, the standard medium to which people play their movies now. The Flight of Dragons is only on VHS copy and streaming in the internet as torrent files and You-Tube snippets. No one knows why a great animated film like this has not been formatted and packaged in DVD with all the marketing glory trimmings like what the Disney animations and Pixar Computer Graphic Imagery (CGI) movies have. It has stayed in the annals of whoever owns its rights now, gathering dust but still in the memories of those who have seen it. The pictures I took of my PC screen below are scenes from the Flight of Dragons as shown in my Windows Media Player.

Good Versus Evil and Science Against Magic

It is a great animated movie. Ask those in my generation and others who have watched it, and you will see their eyes gleaming, and they will suddenly talk about the artwork, parts of the story and the dialogue even. The Flight of Dragons is about a quest to save man from evil's conquest of the realm of magic and the realm of science. Seeing the need to separate the two worlds, Carolinus, the green wizard of nature, recommends his plan to his brothers Solarius, blue wizard of space and sea, Lo Tae Shao, gold wizard of the air and solemnity and Ommadon, red wizard of evil and dark magic. Being the embodiment of evil and greed, Ommadon does not agree to the plan and intends to use magic to inspire man to use science to make creations that will inevitably lead to his destruction. To stop Ommadon, one has to capture his red crown, the source of all his power.

With the quest and eventual battle being staged on land, the territory of Carolinus, the green wizard chooses his dragon Gorbash and friend Sir Orin Neville Smythe, a knight. For the leader and third member of the quest, Carolinus asks Antiquity for assistance to make the selection. Antiquity chooses Peter Dickinson, a 20th century man of science upon the puzzlement of Carolinus. From there, Peter is brought to the realm of magic from 20th century Boston and in an accident is merged with Gorbash before the quests even begins. Sir Orin, Gorbash/Peter and Smrgol, the dragon uncle of Gorbash proceeds to Ommadon's territory and gathers allies along the way such as Arak, canine friend of Gorbash, Danielle, a female archer and Giles of the Treetops, the elvin outlaw. Together they face dangers such as the Ogre of Gormly Keep, the giant worm that secretes highly corrosive acid and Ommadon's horde of dragons under his dark spell. Peter and Ommadon eventually battle in the end as science against magic, respectively.

Seven Reasons Why The Flight of Dragons is a Great Animated Film

In the story, Peter Dickinson is the ancestor of Great Peter, the dragon master, the one who tamed dragons and taught them how to speak. The two are separated by 777 generations. With this, I present the seven reasons why The Flight of Dragons is one of the best animated films ever.

1. It is About a Quest

Ah, yes. A quest is a buddy, road trip and David versus Goliath movie rolled into one. It brings a small band of main characters with various backgrounds together in an adventure. Along the way, they get close and face insurmountable odds. This formula has been appealing in movies whether they are animated or live-action.

2. It Has Creatures and Characters of Magic and Fantasy

Dragons, wizards, knights, archers, ogres and fairies feed the imagination of the audience. Movies take the audience away from reality to the world of fiction and even fantasy. Aside from the said traditional magical creatures and characters, The Flight of Dragons also has its unique creatures such as the giant worm and the horde of sandmerks. Forgive me for the spelling if it is wrong, but there are no subtitles because the movie is not on DVD yet. Individually, they are just like rats that stand on hind legs and around two feet tall, but collectively, they can drive one mad with their mind-maddening chattering.