Dragons are the ultimate creatures for heroes to defeat in cinema and animated films plus a few television shows! The first dragon on film was Fafnir in Fritz Lang’s adaptation of Die Nibelungen (1924). It is an early silent movie, the color looks golden now, but considering the time a good dragon. The 60’ long puppet has a long neck with scaly folds and a smooth, Brontosaur-type head with dopey eyes. It has big plates on the body with spines and the legs are floppy, connected together, like a puppet spider. It’s about a 3 minute, 30 second scene. In a forest, Siegfried (Paul Richter) makes his way from the forest, he reaches the cliff side where the waterfall is seen, with Fafnir on the other side of the pool. The shot with the foreground and Siegfried in a shadow looks like a painting! The dragon could turn its head and open its mouth with short fangs, possibly with a roaring sound.
His front legs could hop moving Fafnir a little foward. He could also thump his tail and in a closeup, move it side to side. Fafnir could also twist his head back. He could also breathe fire, in bursts, and just in a long blast with Siegfried trying to close in with his sword. Ultimately, Siegfried stabs Fafnir in the chest with blood pouring out! I’m impressed that the dragon, animatronic?, has a good design. The body doesn’t move, just the neck and head, with the legs giving occasional movement, up and down. The fire breathing is incredible. Of course, the goofy eyes and dinosaur head and body are not out of any illustration. In context, King Kong was nine years later! Next, is the dragon Taro, in 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). It was directed by Nathan Juran who also directed 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) that featured the Dynamation effects of Ray Harryhausen.
The dragon seems to have Fafnir’s body, but more refined with a rounded body, legs with claws, red spines that looks like a sail and pebbled body that is green. It has a lashing tail, but no wings. Taro’s neck, is more curved than Fafnir, and the head is more reptillian than dinosaur. It was chained by the sorceror Sokurah in a cave on the island of Colossa. Taro is discovered when Sinbad (Kerwin Matthews) enters the cave to find Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant). The dragon sends out a large blast of flame. It is freed by Sinbad and snaps its chain to get into an epic fight with the Cyclops! The flame breathing is not used against the Cyclops. A head design that is similar to the next film. Side note: One of the best dragon designs is in the Disney animated films, Sleeping Beauty (1959), with Maleficent’s dragon form.
More animated dragons followed with the next two films. The Hobbit (1977) from Rankin and Bass Productions, this was ased on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel. Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass were the directors. A stunning design of the dragon, Smaug, who had hair around his jaws, two protruding fans on the side, and pointed ears. He has an armored underbelly, finally wings, and a dark hair on his back to his tail. The dragon’s greatest weapon is of course his flame breath. Smaug (voiced by Richard Boone) matches wits with the Hobbit of the title, Bilbo Baggins (Orson Bean). Then, we have the animated dragon, Elliot from Pete’s Dragon (1977). This was a live action/animated film directed by Don Chaffey. He has the cartoony bulbous jaw, pink hair and wings, but the same rounded, green body. Elliot (his harumping sounds are by Charlie Callas). He has a tail with three pink appendages that can pick up the orphan Pete (Sean Marshall).
Rankin and Bass Productions also adapted a 1979 book by Peter Dickson in The Flight of Dragons (1982). The animated film featured Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe (Bob McFadden) facing the dragon Bryagh (James Gregory). This all leads to the greatest dragon on film in my opinion, Vermithrax Pejorative, in the fantasy film, Dragonslayer (1981). It was seen only by its claws and tail like Jaws (1975), but then Vermithrax rises from a lake of fire behind apprentice wizard, Galen Bradwarden (Peter MacNicol), sent to slay the dragon. It has a horned fringe around its jaw, head like Taro, armored underbelly. It was about 40 feet long with enormous wings! Galen survives with his shield of dragon scales. Vermithrax pursues him, using the tips of his wings to pull itself forward, it moves like a pterosaur. Robbins was very specific on the dimensions and behavior of the dragon. Vermithrax sniffs and then nudges the bodies of its young dragons killed by Galen. The actions are very animal-like and there’s almost compassion for the dragon.
It hunts Galen in its cavernous lair, Galen leaps down on its neck with his magic sharpened lance, and stabs it! Vermithrax is vicious, unrelenting, and deadly. A more gentler dragon is the luck dragon, Falkor, in the Neverending Story (1984). This was adapted by co-writer and director, Wolfgang Petersen, from the 1979 novel by Michael Ende. Falkor is about 43 feet long and resembles Chinese dragons like the Bailong. He has a long tail and thin body with pearlescent scales and white fur. Falkor flies without wings. His head is designed like a white terrier puppy with floppy ears. He does have hooded eyes, a more human-like nose, and moustache like hair on his upper lip. Falkor (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) finds the warrior Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) and helps him to save Fantasia. As Falkor says, “Having a luck dragon with you is the only way to go on a quest.”
One of the first computer generated dragons on film was Draco in Dragonheart (1996). The fantasy action movie was directed by Rob Cohen. He matched the knight, Bowen (Dennis Quaid) against Draco (voiced by Sean Connery), Bowen manages to pin the dragon’s jaw open with his sword and they eventually come to an alliance. Draco is smaller in scale compared to the other dragons, he is said to be 43 feet long like Falkor, but seems more compact. He has a small, T-Rex-like head, and several horns on it. There are spikes along his back and wings. A dragon that came from a fantasy novel, in this case, How to Train Your Dragon (2010) was based on the 2003 book by Cressida Cowell. The film was directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. Toothless is a rarely seen dragon, the Night Fury, who ends up trapped by awkward Viking inventor, Hiccup (Jay Bruchel). Night Furies are small, but powerful, his black scales make him the perfect stealth predator.
The snout of Toothless is compact, more like a black cat, than dinosaur-like creature. He is about 26 feet long, with two long, curved ears and two small horns. Toothless has sleek body that ends with a fan-like tail that gets injured. The number of dragons, designs and culture, expands the dragon worlds. A mention of television dragons since there is Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal in the fantasy program, Game of Thrones. It is based on the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. The first book was in 1996. The show began on 2011, the hatchlings are raised by Daenrys Targaryen (EmiliaClarke), the Mother of Dragons. By season two and three, the dragons mature enough to be deadly. In 2013, there was the live action film of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, where we encounter Smaug as a character. The film was directed by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit, Bilbo, now played by Martin Freeman encounters Smaug now buried in piles of gold.
Bilbo disturbs a stream of gold coins that reveals the eye of the dragon and then it snorts out a breath! Smaug slides down, pouring coins from his head, and then rises up. He has a curved snout, horn appendages around his jaw, and small, curved teeth. Smaug has a long, thin neck with blackish top scales and reddish scales for the rest of his body. It is said he is 470 feet long! The dragon cannot sense Bilbo who is invisible with the One Ring. Smaug, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, tries to manipulate Bilbo to reveal himself. He has the bands of armor on his belly, long wings (both like the1977 movie), and spiked tail. Smaug’s chest begins to burn like a furnance when he is about to unleash his flame breath. In 2022, the House of the Dragon series launched which was based on Martin’s Fire & Blood (2018) book on the history of House Targaryen. The Rogue Prince, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) rides Caraxes.
The Blood Wyrm has a thin upper mouth, almost like a T-Rex cut in half, but with two horns. The lower jaw has the spiky horns of Targaryen dragons. He has a long, snake-like neck. The upper body of the dragon is brown with a reddish under belly and massive wings. His tail is split in two spikes. A dragon built for war. Syrax is the dragon of the heir apparent, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), whom Daemon supports. The dragon of the heir apparent, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) whom Daemon supports, is Syrax. She has a spiked tail that ends in a small fan. Syrax’s head has four horns extending from the back. The ridge over her eyes make the dragon look sinister. She has a light brownish color. Spikes run from her head along its back. An agile, deadly flyer. Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) claims the Iron Throne which divides the loyalty of supporters of Rhaenyra and the Iron Throne.
We have come full circle with the live action movie of How to Train Your Dragon (2025)! Dean DeBlois returned to direct and co-write the film. Mason Thames is now Hiccup. Toothless had the same design, wide mouth, large eyes. So we started with the dinosaur-like Fafnir that changes into the fierce Verminthrax Pejorative and then the kindness of Falkor. Still, it seems that there are missing dragons. A series with dragons and incredible world building? They are all found in Dragonflight (1968) in Anne McCaffrey ’s Dragonriders of Pern series. Dragonriders like the Targaryens, but Pern has its own culture with telepathically bonding. This was done by Lessa who escapes the brutal Lord Fax and bonds iwth the queen hatching, Ramoth. The dragons are the only chance to stop the alien Thread from invading Pern! There are endless dragons of cinema and small screen, there's still lairs for Pern's dragons to soar above us!
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