I know I do not talk about covers much but yikes. It is way too happy, and Carolinus's robe is the wrong color. The British one is way better. That fits the tone.

Sure, the coloring is still off, but this represents the movie.

I saw it the best way to start a movie, having no idea what the plot is. With today's internet world that does really not happen much, but there is nothing like picking a VHs simply because I know Rankin and Bass did it, and seeing it for the first time. It was made by them shortly after The Hobbit, and I think this makes it clear they could have gone full Lord of the Rings in the alternate world where they made it instead of Ralph Bakshi.

It starts with Carolinus screaming "Gorebash," and it adds some good mystery on whether this guy is a hero or villain.

It is immediately noticeable that the Dragons are very fat when flying. That is revealed later that they super inflate themselves with helium, and I like how consistent they are with this. Carolinus reveals to Gorebash that Man is starting to choose logic and science over magic, and this will lead to the end of the age of dragons.

Next scene some pixies ride a swan who gets cut up by a water mill, and they all nearly die. Carolinus sadly looks at them wishing that magic and science exist side by side isntead of destryign each other. He declares himself protector of nature (he is the green wizard) to the mill owners and attempts to destroy it.

It does not go well, as his magic just falls. They laugh at him as he sadly walks away lamenting his declining power. He talks with his daughter about his sickness and declining power and summons a meeting with his brothers.

The old dragon Smrgol wants to beat the mill workers, and Carolinus has to remind him that he is getting old and the younger Gorebash now has to do the physical work. Carolinus and his daughter, Melisande contact the other wizards. Carolinus is over nature. The blue wizard is over space and water. The gold wizard is over peace and wind. Ommadon (voiced by Darth Vader himself) is ruler of black magic.

Obviously he is the villain, and all my pictures of him will make it clear his biggest hobby is making the whole screen red. The other two want to help, but he just thinks this will be funny. He has Vader's voice, but he is far more fun loving and enjoys being evil. He is one of those villains like The Demon Shredder who knows he is over powered and thinks victory is assured, thus he might as well focus on enjoying every second of his inevitable victory. Melisande wonders why Antiquity (basically God) forces him to include Ommadon, and Caolinus answers that without evil good is "impotent" and evil is a part of life to show good. That is an actual philosophical argument for The Problem of Evil. Sure it has plenty of counters and not the one I endorse, but it is actual philosophy.

There are many things magic can represent. It can be nature, intuition, sense of wonder, fantasies, the unknown, the old ways, and religion. I think this movie uses all of them with a clear main focus on fantasy.

Gorebash is introduced as dumb, but determined, helpful, and polite. He is big on going on an epic quest, so obviously he will be a very important character later on.

At the meeting the wizard brothers discuss their declining powers, and Carolinus's plan to build a magic shelter secluded from the rest of the world. Man is choosing logic over magic, because logic is so logical. Oddly my intuition always told me logic, but my logic always told me intuition since I overthink everything. No wonder I decided to make a blog. Thus they must separate away in two different worlds, one governed by science and one by magic with the magic world protected in a dome created by what is left of the four brothers' magic. They all agree except for Ommadon. Carolinus gives a speech about how future technology is inspired by fantasy stories, and that magic enhances science. The other two love it, but Ommadon keeps making jokes at it.

He reveals his own plan. Due to man's fear they are paranoid and turning on each other making his own powers stronger instead of weaker. He will continue that and teach them how to use their new machines. It is obvious where this is slowly going.

His speech has a slow and dramatic pace with it slightly getting worse and worse and ends with him clearly enjoying it. This was written and filmed during The Cold War, and this is still a constant fear today. Another image shows bulldozers wrecking forests showing the other fear than man is destroying the planet, and it is hard to not look in the mirror here. The other three discuss their options, and the Rankin-Bass crew like most of their works are very good at making exposition into natural dialogue. They are allowed to inspire a quest to stop Ommadon, but not to wage war on him. It must be on land and be waristic so only Carolinus can inspire a quest. He needs three so he is sending the knight Orrin, Gorebash, and Antiquity will give him the leader of the quest.

Antiquity tells them their leader, a very distant descendant of Peter the dragon trainer from the 1990s also named Peter who unlike the others is a man of science. They see and later learn that he is an educated scientist who got bored with it, and instead studies fantasy finding it far more interesting. I can relate, as I always found STEM irritating and dull with there only being one way to do it, while Liberal Arts was the opposite. He is trying to write a book, The Flight of Dragons explaining what he thinks is the science of how they worked, and sell a fantasy based board game he made. It should be noted this is based off a book called George and the Dragon and the real Peter Dickinson's book of the film's name. The real Dickinson was a writer who wrote a book trying to explain science behind dragons. I have not read it, and I do not know how seriously he took it. Gorebash and Carolinus are not impressed until they see his figurines for his game are them and the other people in the realm of magic, so they time travel back with him. It also gets confirmed that the time period is around 1000AD. Peter might actually be nerdier than Po with how excited he is about dragons.

Peter and Melisande fall in love with Carolinus being surprisingly supportive of his adopted daughter's feelings. With how rare that is in fiction it is actually refreshing. They have more surprisingly interesting exposition like that dragons destroy their beds and gold is the only thing that lasts explain their hordes. I think I am part of a niche audience who loves thinking stuff like this through (but normally with superheroes instead). Of note Gorebash is not happy Peter is not bringing armies with him and is not a fighter clearly showing future conflict between them. Peter figures out that fire is crucial for how a dragon flies, as it is how they steer. Peter is voiced by John Ritter, and I am surprised I am never hearing Clifford mainly because their characters are so different.

Gorebash has to rescue Smrgol. He was attacked by the other dragons, as they have been mind controlled into serving Ommadon.

Why is Peter helping? He wants to win Melisande's love, Carolinus really appeals to him by showing him his unfinished book, and he really wants to help save the fantasy creatures he loves studying. He is given a few magic items.

The writer missppeledd his own name.

The same scene shows probably the biggest benefit of science over anyhting magic based, medicine. Peter is able to figure out Carolinus's illness is an ulcer from the symptoms, and he knows milk is the cure, and that works. It is a nice scene for the theme and showing why our key characters are allied.

Ommadon sends Bryagh, his evil dragon (no mind control) to capture Peter. Gorebash makes a point of calling Peter "your [Carolinus's] scientist for Ommadon." This makes a point that he does not consider Peter worthy of leading the quest. Still he flies to save him, while Carolinus struggles to make a removal spell. He bumbles the spell, and it removes Peter's body and Gorebash's mind and combines what is left. Now Peter is a dragon. This was very surprising since they really build up Gorebash's character for it to have almost no significance. I do not find this to be a problem. I like red herrings and misdirection, and his character still added to establishing the mood and world.

Now Smrgol is in the quest with Orrin and Peter/Gorebash. Unfortunately the notes for the wizards also go to Ommadon. I really like this next scene of Smrgol teaching Peter to be a dragon. Peter is figuring out and explaining how this all works to understand it with Smrgol telling him all he has to know is that Dragons can fly, breath fire, and need to eat their limestone to do it. It really does mimic many conversations I have been in. Peter still blows away all is fire while trying to learn, and he clearly is struggling as a newbie. They rejoin Orrin.

I (and I think every viewer) really like Orrin. In fiction knights normally come in two extremes. 1) They are the modern man somehow stuck in Medieval Times. This guy clearly has some chauvinism and his chivalrous attitude. 2) Evil forces of hypocrisy. Again no. He believes in helping those weaker than him, and he always does that. He is the great protector and hero.

He tells the story of when he found Bryagh eating dragon eggs and mostly through luck was able to save them. It does show the seemingly dumb hero archetype has plenty of intelligence.

He used some dragon body mechanics Peter is trying to understand like how they fill with air to fly and have electricity in their mouths to beat him. He gave the last surviving egg the name Gorebash and gave him to Carolinus. He was supposed to be wed to Melisande when she came off age and jokes about jousting Peter for her.

Next few scenes are episodic. The group gets in trouble and a new character rescues them and joins the group. The old members are always useless when in danger, but Peter really feels like a failure because of it. Of importance is Ommadon disguised as the Blue Wizard gets Carolinus to do something that puts Melisande in a coma.

The most crucial one is the last one where they stop at Hell's Way Inn (the innkeeper should work on his marketing skills). It is one day from Ommadon's realm. In the way is a castle guarding the way manned by a giant ogre.

The innkeeper is stuck between two realms and cannot take sides meaning Ommadon's men are also guests there.

Peter and Smrgol further bond over a drunken song (it adds plenty of bonding between them), and the heroes forget to leave a lookout.

The Ogre captures most of the group, destroys Hell's Way Inn, and kills the innkeeper. They agree only Peter can fight him, and Smrgol tells him how. They are thick boned and nearly bite proof, and their skin is fire proof. He must not get grabbed, throw him over a cliff, or get his throat. It is clear Smrgol has fought ogres, and Peter is not a fighter. Smrgol has been considered Gorebash's uncle, and he is clearly not happy about him being gone, but by now he has really bonded with Peter even is he is frustrated with him not knowing how to be a dragon.

Does he have superior vision on the right side?

They fight and Peter attempts to brute strength his way to victory after a while and gets clobbered until Smrgol then flies. When old dragon beats the Ogre he uses his tail to blind him. Peter tries to fight like a young man with brute strength and trying to prove he is the superior fighter. Smrgol fights like an old man going for the eyes to blind his opponent knowing he has to win. Smrgol succeeds in knocking him off the cliff, and his heart then gives in. He dies happy he went down in a blaze of glory.

When they get there they beat a few obstacles one by one, and I presume each one was a chapter in the book. The first is an acid worm. Peter finally becomes useful by recognizing its harmless looking slime as a flammable acid and uses his fire to burn the whole thing. Unfortunately that makes a huge spectacle that alerts Ommadon (good move by the villain there). My only problem is that with all the science in this movie they repeat the myth that if you cut a worm in two it makes multiple new worms. No, it dies.

Next is a spell that makes them all just want to lie down and die, but one of the magic items given to Peter earlier protects him, and he uses it to throw it off. This for the first time in the movie makes Ommadon angry, so he sends the titular Flight of Dragons after them.

Peter somehow realizes that the second magic item given to him can put all nearby dragons to sleep. There goes The Flight of Dragons, but also himself, and the villains were smart enough to keep Bryagh as a reserve, so now it is him vs the remaining four members.

Of them I have only mentioned Orinn since he is the most important, but I do like the other 3 fine. If I went into all of their roles then this review would be way too long (and I might make a companion piece on that in the future). One has been developing a romance with Orinn. Another is an old fan of Gorebash. The third, Giles is... I think he is trying to atone for a past failure or something.

Bryagh tosses Orinn around and kills the other three with great pleasure. Orinn gets engulfed in flames and then throws his flaming sword right into Bryagh's heart setting the whole dragon ablaze and dead. Prine Philip eat your heart out. Orinn crawls to his love and dies leaving only Ommadon standing.

Ommadon claims victory, but then Peter walks out of Gorebash's head for the battle of scientist vs wizard. The "filthy little man thing" got out by realizing two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time, and since logic is stronger than magic he is out.

This leads to probably the strangest, hardest tot follow, least magical, yet fun, logical, and magical climax I have seen.

Ommadon laughs at him again and transforms into all black magic. He says he will pluck down the sun and... Now Peter is mocking him, and for some reason I enjoy how they insult each other like middle schoolers. We see the sun as it was eight and a half minutes ago meaning he cannot pluck it down. Ommadon goes to fry him and...

Peter calls him an allusion, which removes his power. He denies his existence. Omaddon is fine with that since if he does not exist then no magic does. He dares him to deny all magic knowing he will not deny his life's work, new friends, and... Peter denies all magic and makes his powers vanish one by one. Ommadon desperately delivers some incantations that do nothing as he turns to dust.

After that all the magical creatures are in the retirement village safe, and Peter is lost to them forever, until Melisande reveals before leaving Peter gave her Ommadon's crown and a kiss that woke her up. The protected dome is separated form man for all time except for brief glimpses for inspiration.

In the end Melisande agrees to leave the land of magic to be with Peter.

I have spent some time trying to figure out how denying magic works. I think it means Peter forced himself to disbelieve in it knowing he could make himself believe in it again later and did just that.

I knid of wish other fantasies tried this route.

You lose old man!
You don't get it do you boy. You don't exist.
I love my job!

As you can probably tell from all the pictures I love this animation. It looks cheap, but the designs and details are great, and I loved watching them. It is way less detailed and ugly than the usual Rankin-Bass 2-D animation and easier to get used to.

The story is something I am still trying to understand and tell if it is brilliant or stupid, and that is why as soon as I saw it I knew I was going to review it here.

For the rating I have no idea if it is a high 4 Tree Stars or a low 5 Tree Stars.

For next time on August 24th I guess since I reviewed a great film with no nostalgia I should review a terrible film with some nostalgia. Next time is The Animals of Farthing Wood movie, and I am sure I will write something about the Stargirl premiere in that time.

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