
The animated genre has produced remarkable films in the last couple of years. For instance, the previous year had The Super Mario Bros Movie, Trolls Band Together, and PAW Patrol: the Mighty Movie released, which gained popularity and managed to beat even the most anticipated blockbuster films. This week the completed animated feature film that graced the box office is DRAGONKEEPER. This enthralling fantasy is brought to life by Ilion Animation Studios, the studio behind Wonder Park & Planet 51. Sergio Pablos (from Rio, Despicable Me) and Borja Montoro (from Zootopia) are the two who formed this company.
The film takes inspiration from the first 6 books of Wilkinson’s bestselling and award-winning series. It depicts the rich realm of Chinese mythology with the right amount of charming blend of magic and personalities to cater for all audiences. This brings us to the question, with Bill Nighy in this film, can this film deliver the animated extravaganza that we look forward to or should we just leave Dragonkeeper where it is, in the fables of Chinese mythology?
REVIEW
Hold on to your seats because tickets for DRAGONKEEPER aren’t easy to come by and for good reason, it’s a magnificent film. Despite the fact the movie features uniformly beautiful animations, a well-placed soundtrack, and stunning humor fit for all ages, it is the amazing storyline that steals the show. Parents will be entranced by this enthralling and engaging quest to protect the last two of the magical dragons for future generations. In addition, it will make you want more. For some viewers, the combination of a Chinese-style animation in the film with mostly English voice talents may be a curious sight even though it is by no means a serious limitation of the pleasure of watching a great 99 minutes on screen. What it does is offer pure unfiltered entertainment in the form of stunning visuals and an engaging plot warmed up by a well written story and loved characters.
CHINESE MYTHOLOGY
The whole film succeeds in the incredibly difficult part of making Chinese mythology accessible to a wider audience. The filmmakers have been able to weave a story that is both colorful yet rewarding and, of course, culturally rich by exploring Chinese culture further. The story focuses on the peculiar relationship that existed between men and dragons, who used to be fierce partners. But human greed caused the distress of dragons which ended in their destruction. With only a few remaining, evil masters use the creatures’ life force to gain favor from the emperor who wishes to extend his life.
Following this, the movie issues forth promptly regarding the dragons and the Dragonkeepers who are a specific group of persons. These people have a natural affinity with the dragons that enables them to protect them. As a result, the Dragons take the keepers into their realm, so it is beneficial to both parties.
ICONOGRAFIA
The quintessential reality is picturised in the magnificent background of the Chinese aspects which also lays the grounds of the unfolding spectacle. Now, moving on to the story, we get to meet an infant girl orphaned at birth, who was adopted by a peasant who worked for one of these dragon slavers. The charm that she has around her neck bears the name Ping. As she matures and grows into the position within the warlord’s regime, she only wishes to free the dragons kept chained up in the dark corners of the castle.
What follows next is the eternal saga which covers the history of war and further elaborates on how the world in general and Ping, in particular, was chosen by fate to forever bear the Dragonkeeper’s burden. After stealthily scaling the fortress, Ping comes face to face with the last of his kind – the great dragon Danzi. Of his kind, Danzi is the very last dragon, who is guarding a single, precious unhatched egg, and has given the almost impotent baby Ping the task of taking it safely to the designated, blessed, dragon birthing pools in the holy seas. Still, such realization comes to her too late. Other factions already want the egg and its coveted secrets for themselves.
ANIMATION By far the most interesting aspect of this story is how it’s told, and it is probably one of the best parts of the movie as well. The visual style of the film is highly Chinese with great depth in the use of Chinese imagery. Even though the costumes are exquisitely detailed, the scenery is capturing the essence of the culture, and the stylistics are all based on authentic sources. It’s not just the characters and the surroundings that are the focal point and made in a particular style, but a great attention to detail as well.
The dragons featured in the film are the same feature in every aspect connected to Chinese culture. Fighting bulls have ridiculously long protruded noses – a typical stereotype of an Asian race. They have all the grace of a tiger and yet the face of a geek. Not that it distracts from the end product. The colors are bright, the animation isn’t shaky, and it feels like all the illustrations in the book have come to life.
FUN CHARACTERS In addition to the rich themes, the playable sandbox is complemented by a plethora of delightful characters. Other than the fact that she is a young person dreaming of a life outside servitude and actually gets more than she bargained for, there are numerous fantastic characters for us to appreciate. The lovely Danzi is a dragon voiced by the good Bill Nighy. The way he interacts with Ping is done very well. He acts as a guide to Ping and teaches the myth to the audience.
It would have been challenging to grow a bond to a chosen human for the dragon. If no humans were able to talk like vultures then it defeats the whole realism that the project in question aims to achieve. The filmmakers address this particular issue by bringing about the idea of a telepathic connection where the dragon and its keeper share thoughts and emotions. As for Ping, she is expressive in her lines, while Danzi does so through telepathy, body gestures, and some form of movement. This option has much grace while allowing to keep the grand character of the myth intact. As a welcome bonus, this style also results in funny interactions between the two and Ping\’s rodent helper, Hua, who embarks on the quest with them.
ENDEARING JOURNEYS
So sweet are the interactions of the various characters that they compel the audience to some sacred story. It is true, even if they are characters who walked the realms of mythology, still, there is still a depth in their creation that brings them closer to the audience. For young people everywhere, the coming of age and self-discovery for Ping as a character is sure to strike a cord with them. There is a good chance all of them will be looking for a dragon egg during the next trip to the shops – such is the magic of the story.
The antagonists of the story are portrayed in a nice manner as well. Putting aside the typical villains, they are bent on capturing the last dragon egg and using its enticing properties for personal gain. This seeks to address the issue of climate change as well as the abuse of the earth’s resources in a rather gentle manner. Neither is it used to further an agenda. Instead, it helps to pass the message that explains the need to care about the natural beauty of the Earth.
SOUNDTRACK
Completing this winning combination is the extraordinary atmospheric music by Arturo Cardelus, who composed the film’s score. The emerging Spanish-American composer and performer fully integrates China’s outstanding culture to the animated picture with a stunning score throughout. The dramatic soundtrack complements the narrative and leaves some very emotional and poignant scenes. The soundtrack has ingrained elements of violins, strong drum beats, and Eastern instruments to take the audience on a dramatic cultural adventure. The music composed by Cardelus is a true masterpiece as it represents his background while also being a collaboration between Chinese and Spanish studios. The music scores were inspiring and made for the proper touch that exudes love and beauty.
DETRACTIONS
This virtually leaves us with none of the negative aspects common in other particular films of this same genre. For obvious reasons, this is the only real scale of disappointment for the viewers watching this film. The creators could easily rely on English voice actors because they are Australian, an Australian/Spanish coproduction film. Bizarrely, the creatives behind the film’s English dubbing hired an entirely different caster. For any other circumstance, this decision would not attract negative comments. This time, however, the actors attempted to portray Chinese characters by adopting a strong South London dialect. The outcome is that every individual who attempts to watch this film’s animation must feel uneasy. Moreover, they incorporate real-world patois in their lines that only serve to distract from the atmosphere that the film attempts to portray.
The rationale behind this choice is rather baffling and poorly executed, which does not help with the final result of the film. For a movie that is rich in cultural background, it is hard to ignore the predominance of cockney accents across nearly all characters. Luckily, this does not break the brilliance displayed in this film. However, it certainly robs the film of some of its overall excellent impact.
OVERALL JUDGMENT OR VERDICT
All in all, Dragonkeeper is just amazing. The film is a true treasure thanks to its breathtaking animation, beautiful music, and inspiring story. This is the standard all animated films should aim for. Admittedly, the unnatural English accents do spoil the film somewhat, but one has to praise the overall tremendous synthesis of laser-focused animation.
Thus, get ready to explore the beautiful world of Chinese folklore for tears and smiles. With Bill Nighy’s unbeatable voice to guide you, this is a fantastic movie for everyone. You’ll definitely cry, laugh, and have fun as you gaze upon Ancient China. A must-see.
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