Zog is a children’s picture book, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, about a young dragon eager to earn a golden star at his dragon school. He is helped by Pearl, a princess-in-training who prefers to be a doctor.
Zog was published by Alison Green Books in England in 2010, and in the U.S. in 2012, as A Gold Star for Zog, by Arthur A. Levine Books.
The book was adapted as a film by Magic Light Pictures, directed by Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon, and broadcast on BBC One on Christmas, 2018. In the U.S., Zog began streaming on Amazon Prime on December 16, 2019.
The cast, as listed on Wikipedia:
• Sir Lenny Henry as the Narrator.
• Hugh Skinner as Zog, the orange accident-prone dragon (the main character in the story) who tries his best every day to win a golden star.
• Kit Harington as Sir Gadabout the Great, the knight in the story who, at one point, joins Zog for a fight.
• Patsy Ferran as Princess Pearl, the princess who lives in a castle with her uncle and dreams of being a doctor.
• Tracey Ullman as Madame Dragon, the green-skinned teacher at Dragon School who teaches the dragons throughout the school days.
• Rob Brydon as the Horse, Castle Guards and Additional Voices/Vocals.
French composer Rene Aubry provided the music.
Magic Light Pictures has posted behind-the-scenes discussions on the making of this remarkable film on YouTube, as follows:
Zog Animation Insights | Art Direction and CG | Behind The Scenes
Posted December 14, 2019
Sarah-Jane Williams, art director
Daniel Snaddon, director
Max Lang, director
Kane Groudace, CG supervisor
Zog Artwork Gallery | Animation Insights | Behind The Scenes | Zog Movie
Posted December 25, 2019
Daniel Clarke, colour keys
Zog Rigging & Animation | Animation Insights | Behind The Scenes | Zog Movie
Posted January 1, 2020
Malcolm van Aardt, lead character technical director
Jac Hamman, animation director
Max Lang, director
Zog Texturing & Shading | Animation Insights | Behind The Scenes | Zog Movie
Posted January 8, 2020
Roxanne Joyner, lead texturing artist
Darren Heng, lead shading artist
Max Lang, director
Daniel Snaddon, director
Zog Lighting & Composition | Animation Insights | Behind The Scenes | Zog Movie
Posted January 15, 2020
Max Lang, director
Daniel Snaddon, director
Andrew Wilkins, lead lighting artist
Sarah Scrimgeour, lead compositing artist
***
Eaton De Jongh, camera
Phil Cooper, camera
Will Wilkinson, editor
Kiron Wolfson, sound mix
Barney Goodland, producer
Now, watch this brilliant opening:
https://youtu.be/51jdJgU6xQc?si=Rap-FxBe0WBenIji
