A Tribute to Will Ryan
On Sunday, February 28, 2022, the family, friends and colleagues of performer, composer, singer and writer Will Ryan gathered together in a touching tribute to him. CelebWorx live-streamed the event and has made it available for online viewing. Click here to see the video, and know what a wonderful man Will Ryan was.
Two Drunk Dragons
From the Rankin-Bass production of The Flight of Dragons, Gorbash (John Ritter) and Smrgol (James Gregory) indulge themselves in a wine cellar. They consume a hundred hams, 60 cheeses, and 30 barrels of mead, much to the consternation of the innkeeper. Always remember: friends don’t let dragons fly home drunk!
The Science of Dragons
Have you ever wondered how dragons can fly, despite their bulk? Or how they breathe fire? Or why they hoard gold? Author Peter Dickenson figured out an answer, and wrote about it in a book called The Flight of Dragons, which was later adapted into an animated movie by Rankin-Bass, made in 1982 and telecast […]
The Honesty of Lumatic Animation
Usually when a studio licenses the media rights to a book, the studio will make certain creative decisions that differ from the author’s presentation. Characters may change. Characters may disappear. Not every scene in the book is filmed. New scenes are added. Whatever the reason, the explanations for these choices are usually not made known […]
How to Announce Your Dragon Premiere
October 3, 2020. Director Tomer Eshed posts a Facebook video announcing the premiere of the English-language version of Dragon Rider at the Festival of Animation, Urania, Berlin in Germany. Watch for the surprise at the end. If this isn’t visible in Firefox try viewing it in Chrome or another browser. or click on this link.
Firedrake vs. Common Sense
Enroute to the Rim of Heaven, Ben asks Firedrake … … to show off his fire-breathing prowess … … as they are approaching a raging sandstorm. Makes sense, doesn’t it? To the filmmakers: Why not show the sandstorm blow up to our heroes from behind?
What happened to the samosa?
Seeking directions to the Rim of Heaven, Firedrake and his companions arrive at the Temple of the Dragon Rider in India. Subisha Gulab, the local guru, tells them the prophecy of Varin, the first Dragon Rider. Her husband Deepak arrives with a plate of samosa to refresh the visitors. He sets the plate on a […]
Side by Side with Firedrake
From Constantin Music, “Side by Side,” composed by Stefan Maria Schneider, sung by Reema, featuring a montage of clips from Drachenreiter / Dragon Rider / Firedrake The Silver Dragon: Details in German, here. Jawad Buddy presents the full extract from the film, here: https://youtu.be/EepMV585vEg#t=0m4s Lumatic calls this “The Montage Sequence,” and these are their notes: […]
Drawing Firedrake
From Lumatic’s “Making of Dragon Rider” webpage, some nice, expressive drawings of Firedrake the Silver Dragon. Click the image to unsqueeze and enlarge.